La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Admission Ticket with Excavator Tour
4.5
146 Ratings
Los Angeles

Uncover Ice Age mysteries at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Watch paleontologists excavate fossils and explore an active dig site. Discover saber-toothed cats, mammoths, dire wolves, and more!

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • La Brea Tar Pits and Museum - Use your general admission ticket for entry to the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Here, Ice Age fossils are being excavated right in the middle of L.A.

Enjoy this truly unique attraction by experiencing all that it has to offer. Marvel at its outdoor Lake Pit, oozing with bubbling tar; travel back in time among the prehistoric plants of its Pleistocene Garden; and explore its active dig sites, where it seems excavators uncover something new daily.

The museum itself features its own wealth of offerings. Scope out the fossils of prehistoric mammoths, saber-toothed cats, wolves, and ground sloths, or take an opportunity to watch paleontologists working in the Fossil Lab on their most recent finds.

For a wonderful overview, reserve a spot on the Excavator Tour, free with admission. This guided tour delves into the history of the tar pits and explains just how so many massive creatures ended up stuck here. You’ll also visit the Fossil Lab, Observation Pit and Project 23, where excavators are continuously helping to unlock the mysteries of prehistoric L.A.

What's Included
  • Excavator Tour
  • Pit 91 Access
  • Atrium Access
  • Pleistocene Gardens
What's Not Included
  • Souvenir photos (available for purchase on-site)
  • Ice Age Encounters show and 3D Film (tickets are available on site when you arrive)
Additional Information

Uncover the mysteries of one of the most peculiar places in L.A., the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, with this entry pass. The location provides a distinctive experience illuminating the local enigmas of the Ice Age. Witness an operational Ice Age excavation location and observe paleontologists uncovering millions of fossils right before your eyes. From seeing saber-toothed cats, mammoths, dire wolves, to giant sloths and observing scientists perform work on recovered fossil bones—all taking place within the museum.

  • Involves a moderate amount of walking
Location
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
5801 Wilshire Blvd,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(146 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Jonathana404
Aug 30, 2024
Unique, up close and personal, smell the tar - My wife thought I had traveled to many tourist attractions in both large and small cities. You can explore the outside without paying any fee. We paid the $18 fee per person to see the museum. It was worthwhile. It was fascinating to see skeletons of huge bears, ground sloths, mastodons, Sabre-tooth cats, etc. We also paid an extra $6 per person and watched a 3-D movie about ice animals. The tar pits very unique. We have never seen anything like it. For one thing, you can actually smell the tar. The big tar pits are behind fences. However, there are a few small spots with tar bubbling up from the ground. They had construction cones to try to warn you to stay away from them. There were sticks that people had put in the tar. The consistency is like chocolate syrup that has been put in the refrigerator. If you were an animal who got stuck, it would be very hard to get out. Overall, the experience was very worthwhile.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
267peggyj
Aug 11, 2024
Great day out in LA - Excellent place to spend a day learning about our planet. Great for children too. Inside and outer displays and really well explained- we learnt a great deal.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T6110zvmichaelh
Aug 10, 2024
Unique glimpse into prehistoric life - Unique glimpse into prehistoric life. The active fossil site showcases tar pits that have preserved the remains of ice age mammals, which you can see being excavated. It's educational and intriguing stop for history and science enthusiasts a like.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_b
Aug 9, 2024
Fascinating place - Touching fossil and feeing what it is like to be stuck in tar. Helpful guides. Fun to watch them cleaning fossils.
Review provided by Viator
Manuela
Jul 22, 2024
A worthwhile little excursion. - The park is beautifully landscaped. Everywhere you can get well informed and then you feel like seeing what was recovered there and visiting the museum fulfills this wish in a really well staged way. The museum is very small but really lovingly built with nice dedicated staff. A bit of a shame were the somewhat hefty parking fees of 18$, because you don't really make a whole day trip here.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Suzette_l
Jul 7, 2024
Informative - Seeing all the different animals and the tar pits. The museum has a lot of exhibits that are authentic and really puts everything in perspective as to what life was like during the ice age.
Review provided by Viator
Carol_b
Jul 4, 2024
Postive - The La Brea Tar pits are an interesting phenom in the middle of LA. Also Viator was great to work with to purchase tickets.
Review provided by Viator
Helene_a
Aug 12, 2024
A fun way to understand... - A fun way to understand the tar pits in LA and the pre-historic animals found! Touchable exhibits for kids.
Review provided by Viator
Seven7777
Jun 25, 2024
It's very cool, but not much to do - Let me preface this by saying we love all things dinosaurs and fossils, and this has been on my bucket list for a long time. I was just happy to see the actual tar pits. That said, the museum is pretty small, and while the exhibits in there are really cool, there isn't much. The pits themselves are cool to view and include signage, but the active site was closed and could not be viewed. I think a few hands-on exhibits for younger children would really take this place up a notch, and it wouldn't be hard to have like a dino dig/fossil dig area, like many parks do. We really liked the exhibit where you tried to pull something up out of tar to show how hard it was for the animals to escape. I think more interactive exhibits could be what's needed to engage older children more. Overall, if your family loves fossils, science, or dinosaurs like we do, you'll enjoy it regardless.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Netster11
Jul 18, 2024
Small but interesting - Very interesting. Small museum, can do it within an hour, if you include the 3D Theatre part. The outside grounds, which is free, is great but can be done within half an hour. It’s easy to get to and of the weather is good, it’s nice for a stroll outside.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today
More activities from this operator
From $18
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Admission
4.5
68 Ratings
Los Angeles