La Brea Tar Pits Los Angeles
Lawn at the Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits, named for the tar pits on Wilshire Blvd in the Miracle Mile, is one of the most famous museums in Los Angeles. The museum is officially called the George C. Page Museum, a part of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Located next to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and with Craft and Folk Art Museum, these make up the Museum row on Wilshire Blvd. Constructed in 1977, the museum houses a large collection of mammal bones from the last ice age. I remember a skeleton of the La Brea Woman who was on display at the museum.
Other famous exhibits: the large mastodon (woolly mammoth elephants), wolves, ground sloths, and horses. With my interest in paleontology, scientists at work in the bubble laboratory are fascinating. With the expansion of the Metro Purple Subway Line underneath they found more fossils.
For those living in Los Angeles, the Tar Pits Museum is a great place to take children. Elementary students often visit the site. I like the park around the museum. I usually use a stick to poke at new leakages on the lawn of the tar pits. There is a nice steep grassy hill where one can lie and enjoy the afternoon. I roll down this hill fast.
Free the first Tuesday of the month. Parking is cash only: $7. Park at the meters after 18:00 for free parking. Check the latest calendar.
Watch Dr. Will Ferrell's show on the website! Check out their blog.
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