BE ADVISED: On Saturday, June 20, Wilshire Blvd will be closed between Fairfax Ave and Curson Ave due to a nearby event. Visitors can access the museum parking lot on Curson Ave via 6th St. For questions or directions, please call 213.763.3466 or email info@tarpits.org.

guest taking picture of sabertooth exhibit tar pits interior

Browse by Topic

Cats

Exhibitions

Ice Age Encounters

Learn more

3D Theater

Travel back in time with Titans of the Ice Age.

Learn more

Stories

An illustration of an American lion and saber-toothed cat

Meet Biggest Big Cat at the Tar Pits: The American Lion

Get up close and personal with the fiercest Ice Age Angeleno

Smilodon, Saber-Tooths, and Tigers…Oh My!

How Smilodon became saber-toothed tigers—and why they're really saber-toothed cats

Children looking at flowers with magnifiers

Nature Gardens Turn 10

A look back—and forward–at all the nature thriving in NHM’s Nature Gardens.

Saber-toothed Cat 101

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

Suiting Up for Smilodon

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

Year of the Tiger

Celebrate the 2022 Lunar New Year with highlights from the collection

Discover more

A researcher in a white lab coat returns a fossil to a shelf in a row of compact shelving

Samuel Oschin Global Center
for Ice Age Research

A New Scientific Research Hub

Saber-toothed Summer Self-Guided Tour

Smilodon for the camera and capture some purrfect pics on this selfie scavenger hunt. Discover everything there is to know about the fearsome feline with the killer canines only at La Brea Tar Pits.

Live Theater Shows

The team behind the Performing Arts department at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County creates original theatrical performances based on our exhibits, research, and events.