La Brea Tar Pits & Museum

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What visitors say

• R Edmondson★★★★★

  Unforgettable, Smelly, and Weirdly Satisfying! ​Visiting the La Brea Tar Pits has been on my bucket list since I was a little kid. If I'm being completely honest, my childhood dream wasn't necessarily to look at fossils—it was just to play in the sticky tar with a stick. While I did finally get to live out that dream and poke around a bit, be warned,the staff heavily discourages it nowadays! ​The indoor museum gives a quick but incredibly thorough history of how these asphalt pits came to be and how they were discovered. It is packed with interactive exhibits, making it absolutely perfect for families with kids between the ages of 4 and 11. ​Once you step outside, you can walk around several active, bubbling pits. And yes—the smell is exactly what you’d expect (which is to say, not great!), but it’s all part of the authentic, prehistoric experience. It is a fascinating, sensory trip back in time right in the middle of Los Angeles. Just leave the sticks alone if you want to stay on the staff's good side! Quick reminder and they will be closing soon for a remodel.

  a month ago

• Jonathan Reed★★★★★

  We went during Free For All Museum Day and it has a sizable collection on display with many skeletons of past animals fallen into the nearby tar pits. The theater was closed the day we went (may be due to the crowds for the free day admission). The museum can be seen as quick or slow as you like, and the surrounding outside tar pits were also fun to find around the grounds. All the outside tar pits and grounds around the museum are free to walk through even if you're not planning to enter the museum. The viewable pits are fenced off and do bubble up which you can actually smell from the pits when up close. Thank you for allowing free admission for this year's Free For All Museum Day. We are so appreciative for you welcoming us to the museum ☺️

  6 months ago

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