La Brea Tar Pits & Museum

The La Brea "pack rat" reimagined by Artist Mark Dion, on view at La Brea Tar Pits & Museum through September 2025.

Mark Dion's uncanny installation "Excavations" continues to showcase the #TarPits’ unparalleled cultural and scientific significance through art alongside early museum materials, dioramas, and maquettes of Ice Age mammals. 

Explore the #pstART exhibit now through Sept. 15: tarpits.org/mark-dion-pst

🦬 Think bison are just plains animals? 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. These Ice Age heavyweights once thundered through what’s now Los Angeles—and they left their mark at the #TarPits: bit.ly/BisonHerd

Wallis Annenberg, visionary philanthropist who helped transform L.A., dies at 86 Wallis Annenberg, philanthropist who made massive donations to arts, education and animal welfare causes and whose name is on venues around Los Angeles County, has died.

Wallis Annenberg harnessed the power of shared spaces to connect us to nature and inspire wonder, responsibility, and a profound sense of belonging. We mourn and celebrate a true Los Angeles icon.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Wallis took delight in the Butterfly Pavilion and all the ways that our visitors interact with nature. She supported exhibitions such as "Becoming Jane Goodall" and "Fierce! The Story of Cats" and the opening of #NHMLA's new wing, NHM Commons.

As a long-time Trustee and supporter of the #NHMLAC, Wallis Annenberg brought her deep love of animals and nature to her support of the Natural History Museum (@nhm.org) and La Brea #TarPits.

Wallis Annenberg’s vision and generosity transformed Los Angeles. Her legacy is a civic garden she cultivated across the city, rooted in her belief in L.A.'s potential. She didn’t just support public spaces; she nourished them, investing in places that foster belonging, curiosity, and civic good.

Summer Nights at the Tar Pits Join us for science, live music, hands-on activities, food trucks, and drinks at the Tar Bar—a perfect laid-back summer night at the Tar Pits!

Summer Nights returns to La Brea #TarPits & Museum TONIGHT! Enjoy free after-hours museum admission along with special programming, hands-on activities, music, local food trucks, and drinks 𝙋𝙇𝙐𝙎, “Ecos: La Brea” gaming stations!

Free with RSVP. Visit TARPITS.org for full details. bit.ly/LBTPSN25

💩 Giant ground sloths once roamed Ice Age L.A., and while their size is impressive, it’s their tiny droppings that give scientists big insights!

Get the scoop on sloth poop: bit.ly/SlothPoops

🦣☀️ Don't miss your last chance to enjoy science and summer vibes–all in one place with #SummerNights at the #TarPits this Friday, July 25—doors at 6PM! Free with RSVP.

Save your spot: bit.ly/LBTPSN0725

While we don’t know if there were ever such fetching coats as these, carnivores like tigers and leopards roaming forested habitats today do sport spotted, vertically striped, and horizontally striped fur as camouflage.

🐾 Are you a saber-toothed cat person, or do you prefer to chill with giant sloths? Pick Your Summer and learn all about these polar opposite Ice Age mammals during your next trip to the #TarPits: go.nhm.org/tpsummer

😎 TONIGHT. Science, live music, activities, food trucks, Tar Bar drinks, and more collide as #SummerNights return to the #TarPits!

Enjoy the Museum after-hours with special activations, Ecos: La Brea gaming stations, live discussion, and more—free with RSVP: bit.ly/LBTPSN25

☀️ This Friday, Summer Nights return to the #TarPits! July 18, the Ladies of Sound are ready to kick off your weekend with live DJ sets complete with after-hours museum admission, special programming, hands-on activities, local food trucks, gaming stations, and more!

Free with RSVP: bit.ly/LBTPSN25

YouTube video by La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Are Dire Wolves Back? with Dr. Emily Lindsey

🦴 𝘼𝙧𝙚 #direwolves back? Dr. Emily Lindsey, Associate Curator and Excavation Site Director at the #TarPits, shares some insight about the Ice Age Angeleno that's making headlines.

youtu.be/v9d1Yu3OZBw

🦣 Meet the #TarPits' resident mammoth, Zed!

Catch a glimpse of the most complete Columbian mammoth discovered in the heart of LA, only at La Brea Tar Pits!

We hope you get to visit soon! 🥳🔜

We can't stop trying out the #TarPits Tar Pull 😮‍💨 Witness what it's like to be trapped in Tar—maybe you'll be able to escape! 👀

Dulled image of a butterfly with text "Los Angeles is our home. We're here for our community. WE LOVE L.A." with the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits logos.

Museums can be places of respite, peace, and recreation, and we strive to make the Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits welcoming for all. We’re with you, L.A.

YouTube video by La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Inside a Real Life Animatronic! #TarPits #LA #california #animatronics #puppet

When the #JimHenson Creature Shop returns her to the #TarPits for our Ice Age Encounters show, her old fur and parts will have been reconditioned, and this 75-pound creature will have a few replacement parts to keep her going strong and feel like new!

youtu.be/SotmkD3NG48

🐾 After 15 years of strenuous shows and appearances, the animatronics and mechanisms of Cali—our resident saber-tooth cat puppet—have endured a lot of wear and tear. Sections of her deteriorating fur became completely threadbare, and her eye blink even started developing an occasional wink.

Tomorrow night's discussion takes place at @nhm.org's NHM Commons Theater, followed by a cocktail reception. Save your spot today!

Cali, the saber-toothed cat puppet, and Nibbles, the saber-toothed kitten puppet, at La Brea Tar Pits & Museum.

🐾 To those who inspire wonder and encourage curiosity. Happy Mother's Day!

Photo of a Teratorn.

Right side of a larger Charles Knight mural from 1921. Overlooking a probable fight to the death amid a sticky asphalt pit, the three Teratorn perched in the tree are practically salivating.

A Teratorn skull from the La Brea Tar Pits collection.

🪶 Soaring over Ice Age L.A. with wingspans up to 12 feet, teratorns were the undisputed aerial giants of their time—and the largest birds ever found at the #TarPits.

Discover the story of these sky kings of the Pleistocene: bit.ly/MeetTeratorn

The decorative entrance of Los Angeles Zoo adorned with colorful banners, palm trees, sunshades, patrons, and more.

🐘 Teachers! Saturday, May 10, join us as we head to the #LAZoo for our final Educator Workshop of the school year! Explore connections between past and modern-day animals along with Museum Educators and Excavators, hear from Zoo Keepers, enjoy a walkabout, and more!

Free with RSVP: bit.ly/TPEW0525

Close-up view of the iconic dire wolf skull wall at La Brea Tar Pits & Museum with its warm-hued orange background.

👋 Sorry, but they’re still extinct. #NHMLAC experts weigh in on why dire wolves have not, in fact, been successfully cloned, and the surprising perils of de-extinction: bit.ly/SryDrWlvs

YouTube video by La Brea Tar Pits and Museum Are Dire Wolves Alive Again? #TarPits #DireWolves #Paleontology #Shorts

🐾 Are #direwolves alive again?

Dr. Mairin Balisi (Augustyn Family Curator at @alfpaleo.bsky.social and Research Associate at the #TarPits) has studied dire wolves for over 15 years and published numerous papers. Listen as she shares insight about the Ice Age Angeleno.

youtube.com/shorts/8KAYl...

Dire Wolves | La Brea Tar Pits

Visit for more about these Ice Age canines! tarpits.org/topics/dire-...

Aenocyon dirus lower jaw fossil (approximately 13,082 years old) on view at La Brea Tar Pits & Museum. Photo courtesy of Tyler Hayden.

Among the thousands of dire wolf specimens at La Brea #TarPits is this 𝘈𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘶𝘴 lower jaw. Known as “The Endling”—the last known #direwolf fossil on Earth—this fossil is dated to be approximately 13,082 years old.

See the fossil now on view in our Fossil Lab!

Close-up photograph of a dire wolf skull specimen from the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum Collections.

Dire? Yes. Wolves? Not so much. While dire wolves may be the talk of the town, the #TarPits Collections includes specimens of more than 4,000 real dire wolves, including a bone that belonged to the last known dire wolf in North America: tarpits.org/topics/dire-...

Preparator Connie Clarke examines fossils with a colleague at UWI Zoology Museum in Trinidad.

A Preparator examines a fossil up-close at UWI Zoology Museum in Trinidad.

Preparator Connie Clarke examines fossils with a colleague at UWI Zoology Museum in Trinidad.

How familiar are you with the #TarPits of the world? The B.R.E.A.S Team is currently in the field sharing insights into Trinidad’s unique fossil record, complete with fossil prep workshops at UWI Zoology Museum.

💡 Follow along with the team on social for updates along the way!

Colorful STEM-related art featuring flowers, grass, a science beaker, rocket ship, and Maker Faire robot in a pink lowrider with text, "Join us at Exposition Park / City of STEM + Los Angeles Maker Faire / Los Angeles Public Library / Free Event • All Ages • April 12, 2025".

🔬 This Saturday, Apr. 12, join the #NHMLAC in Exposition Park for SoCal’s largest festival of science and creativity! #CityOfSTEM and L.A. Maker Faire have joined forces for another all-day event tailor-made for scientists, makers, engineers, creators, and explorers of all ages: cityofstem.org