La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Los Angeles

I loved this so much! Everyone was friendly and involved. I learned so much about not only the animals from the ice age but also history and just about the tar in general (it’s not even tar!?!?!?!). My mind was blown. Also obviously a great contribution to science. Amazing seeing people work and that they have people who volunteer. What an amazing place.

The museum isn't as large as you would think, but a lot of great stuff. Watch the paleontologists & volunteers clean bones, take time to watch a movie ($5 extra) , enjoy the atrium, or better yet, take a FREE guided walking tour! We had a great time on the free excavation tour, it's about 45minutes, but didn't seem that long, and had a great guide to take us along the pits and explaining the pits, bubbles & methane gases, etc. TIP: The LACMA is next door. Go and ask for a FREE NEXT GENERATION PASS application (for babies to 17). Each pass allows 1 adult in free. Can put up to 3 kids on an application. We added our 3 and were all able to get in FREE that same day! **TIP Save on food and pack up a nice picnic lunch. There are benches in front of Last Brea Tar Pits, but we took our picnic blanket and found a nice shady green spot.

An impromptu stop here turned into a delightful afternoon. Make sure to buy your tickets online (it saves a few dollars) and splurge for the show. This small museum packs an incredible amount of content and knowledge in it's space. I highly recommend the tour, as this certainly answered many of my son's questions. We left wanting more and with my son vowing to return again!

This museum is excellent at what it does: displaying remains from the nearby tar pits. However, the exhibits are pretty limited compared to other museums...because the subject matter is so limited. I had a good time but I was able to see all the exhibits in less than an hour. The highlights are the amazing "evolution of life" mural (which they don't sell posters of...) and the tar pits, which are outside and don't require an admission fee. It's worth going just to say you went, but I probably won't go back.

I love coming here. The fact that it's a real location where they dig up dinosaur bones is amazing. Also there is still some actual tar coming up from the ground which is awesome. The smell of tar can be a little overwhelming but I got used to it pretty quick. The museum it self is ok, not that great, but a pretty cheap price. Love that the Urban lights are just around the corner as well as the Levitated mass rock. Great place for awesome pictures.