La Brea Tar Pits

Honestly, I don't know why this place is so popular for tourists and new locals? When people come to visit they've heard of this attraction and want to visit. Why?? is always what I ask. It's really not that exciting of a place and it's a long drive. I understand it's one of the world's most famous fossil localities but I just don't see what the big deal is? Good luck going if this is your thing but you certainly won't find me there. more

I went there by accident on a day that I wanted to go to the LACMA but it was closed. La Brea tar Pits is more of a museum for kids. They show you animals, fossils, explain you what is tar pits and the tar pit history that happened in LA. It's definitely not very enjoyable for adults. The only fun thing that I liked was the fact that they have transparent windows of their labs so you can check out how the scientists work to clean up the fossils... The parking around that area is very difficult.. more

I think the La Brea Tar Pits have been in business for years, as I used to visit there as a kid. They have a historic location where tar pits once inhabited this area of Los Angeles. Kids will love the museum with all of the interactive exhibits. Parents will love it for the history and in-depth information. Parking is a little difficult, however. more

The tar pits are mildly famous, and thus make a good stop for the LA tourist. I was surprised at the bad smell - it pretty much smells like motor oil. The museum is great (fee) and has a wonderful collection of mammoth, wolf, etc. It's so interesting how the tar just bubbles up out of the ground to the point where little areas are roped off all over the park. Watch your nice clothes because little bits of tar are everywhere, and that stuff is hard to get out! more

I brought my daughter to the La Brea Tar PIts once to look at all the skeletons that are stuck in the tar and to also visit the Page museum right next to it. It was such an educational trip for my daughter and any child and adult for that matter. My daughter was so excited and fascinated by what she saw that she had asked me to buy her a few books about dinosaurs which I was more than happy to do. more

La Brea Tar Pits is a local favorite that has the tar pits outside and the Page museum right next to it. The tar pits are really interesting to see because they actually have skeletons of ancient animals that are stuck in the tar. The museum is also very intereting with a large collection of old bones of mammals and extinct plants. more

The La Brea tar pits are a must visit of you are in the Los Angelas area. Though do not plan on spending much more than an hour total (that includes inside the museum). The outside is just that, a tar pit. They have several "fossils" outside showing what animals used to live in the area and it is exciting for about 5 minutes (if that long). You should definitely take a visit inside to the museum. While not big, it is very interesting and informative. Children and anyone interetsed in history will have a blast. Overall this is a great place to visit, just dont plan to spend too long! more

Well... the outdoor part was very disappointing guess my kids are too creative to enjoy a couple of humongous plastic dinosaurs dying in a pit. The inside of the museum, however, was quite an experience. It is well worth visiting if you are interested in science, especially paleontology, or if you want to learn something about L.A. besides the standard Hollywood tourist traps. I still would recommend The Museum of Jurassic Technology on Venice Blvd. at Bagley, which is a parody of a Victorian natural history museum over La Brea Tar Pits. more

The La brea tar pits museum is a wonderful place to have a look into the past. The fossil museum, excavation zones and all the pictures and details of long extinct animals is a must see for all those curious and inquisitive children more

The La Brea Tar Pits is a nice museum for kids to go to. Kids can learn about the animals that died in the tar pits while see the fake ones that are actually placed in the tar pits. You should always keep an eye on your kids and you should no let them go near the tar pits. They may fall in. more

The Page Museum is a great place to go to. They have an area outside where customers can view tar pits and there are even some fake animals stuck in the tar pits. Inside the museum, customers can view fossils of dinosaurs and other animals. Most of the animals you see inside are animals that were killed in tar pits. more

The La Brea Tar Pits are an excellent place to go if you want to learn about things such as the wooly mammoths of ancient times. This place would probably more exciting to a child in grade school as it would fascinate their minds. They have actual tar pits on the location and there is a demonstration that shows exactly how sticky the stuff is. Definitely a place to go if you live in the Metro area. more

This is such a neat place. There is an actual tar pit on its grounds and there are nice paths for walking. They also do digs at the site that you can go and watch. The museum is small but has so many neat things. It has lots of skeletons and history about the region. You can also watch the archaeologists clean and put together bones that have been dug from the site. more

I came here for a class trip and had great fun. The way I remember it, I saw an excavation and enjoyed looking at exhibits of the dead animals recreated in scenes of what the Ice Age may have looked like. It may be the inner geek in me, but I loved looking at the bones of the saber tooth and being awed at the sheer size of it all. Overall, I had an educational experience that was not dull and droll in the least. more

If you are looking for a historical, educational trip for you and your family, look no further than downtown Los Angeles!! Located on Wilshire Blvd., the La Brea Tar Pits is an amazing display off artifacts from millions of years ago......to present!! You can actually see the tar pits as they stew and bubble up today!!! It's an amazing jaunt through history - I highly recommend it to anyone!!! more

The Tar Pits: pits of tar. With mammoths sinking in them. When I first saw the mammoths, I thought they were playing in the tar. You know, like a prehistoric hot tub. I later find that they are actually dying in them. But it’s ok, cuz they’re plastic. If you like this attraction, you should come by my apartment and check out our newest attraction: The Orange Drive Dirty Sink. Really educational. more

This place is interesting, I'll give it that...but it's not fascinating. It's small and quick and not really worth the schlepp out there unless you're visiting other local attractions on the same day. I recommend it, but only if it's on your list of tourist attractions that are nearby. It's informative and interesting enough for the kids, too. more

Located off Wilshire Blvd, among an array of museums in the area, the La Brea tar pits, stand out, offering a view of the rich scientific pre-history particular to Southern California. The first exhibit that you'll see will probably be a favorite- a mirror based optical illusion showing a Saber tooth cat coming alive from its fossilized remains. The museum is kind of disappointingly small, they pack a lot of displays and info in there. The movie, labs and tar pit tour are must-do highlights. more

65 million-year-old dinosaurs are very cool, but 10,000 year-old saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths and giant sloths are giving them a run for their money at the remarkable and unique La Brea Tar Pits. The collection of bubbling asphalt pits were the scene during the last four Ice Ages (40,000 to 10,000 years ages) of countless animals being entrapped in the sticky goo. Usually, an herbivore would wander in, sink down and get caught, and its struggle to escape would attract the attention of every predator in the area. Often these predators would get caught while trying to feast on the stuck prey. The Tar Pits are one of the world’s most famous fossil finds, possessing the largest and most diverse collection of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world. There are really fun exhibits like a simulation of trying to pull your stuck hoof out of the tar, and you can watch researchers cleaning some of the one million bones recovered from excavations of the pits over the last century. But truly the most fun thing to do is to walk around the parking lot and the rest of the grounds surrounding the museum and discover new tar pits bubbling up everywhere. Try it and you'll see what I mean. www.tarpits.org more