Stories

Welcome to Stories, a place to explore—and be inspired by—the wonder of our natural and cultural worlds.

Digital mastadon at the Tar Pits

Geek Out in an Ice Age Daydream

Tar AR brings Ice Age animals back to L.A.

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Tar Pits MGM Parody

Saber-toothed Cat 101

La Brea Tar Pits presents everything you need to know about saber-toothed cats.

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donkey by inaturalist user garmonb0zia

Burro-Ing Into the Past

How introduced donkeys and the indigenous pumas that love (to hunt) them are helping to resurrect extinct food webs in Death Valley

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Callie looking cute

Suiting Up for Smilodon

An exhilaratingly lifelike recreation of a saber-toothed cat will thrill — and teach — audiences in Ice Age Encounters.

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Mammoth Pixel image flipped

Mammoths, meet the metaverse

Paleontologists from La Brea Tar Pits develop a whole herd of scientifically accurate extinct animals to use in AR and VR

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Mark Dion Tar Pits

Artist Mark Dion's Deep Dive Into The Tar Pits

What blows this celebrated artist's mind? Microscopic ice age plants and rat poop

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illustration of an ocillated turkey

Talking Tar Pits Turkeys

Dig into some ancient turkey with our Tar Pits team member, Preparator Laura Tewksbury.

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three-dimensional scan of the pathological pelvis and femur

Research and Collections

These Hips Don’t Lie: 3D Imaging of a Pelvis Suggests Social Care for Saber Tooths

A new display at La Brea Tar Pits showcases how modern science can shed new light on old fossils.

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E. Occidentalis

Horsing Around at La Brea Tar Pits

Say giddy up to the Western horse

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Black and white illustration of a sabertoothed cat

Here, Kitty, Kitty

It's been ice ages! Get reacquainted with your friendly neighborhood apex predator

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