La Brea Tar Pits

Los Angeles CA

This is a nice museum, and it seems to be geared more for school children with its displays.
This is the Lake Pit with models of the animals. This lake is left over from asphalt mining operations in the late 1800s. Back then the tar from La Brea was used to seal roofs and roads. Today, the lake’s bubbles, sheen and stink come from a deep underground oil field, which also produces patches of tar on the ground.
Harlan’s Ground Sloth. All of the animals displayed in the museum lived and roamed around the Los Angeles area in pre-historic times.
Antique Bison
American Mastodon
Extinct Camel
Shasta Ground Sloth
Columbian Mammoth
Size perspective of the Columbian Mammoth
Merriam’s Giant Condor
Short-faced Bear
Extinct Western Horse
Saber-toothed Cat
American Lion
Dire wolf
This block of asphalt containing fossil bones was removed from one of the smallest pits in 1914. It shows the amazing density of specimens found in the excavations.
Fossil Lab. A really cool thing for kids to watch archeology in live action!
American Scimitar-toothed Cat
Giant Ice-Age Bear
Saber-toothed Cat attacking a Bear.
The museum also has a 3D movie, Titans of the Ice Age.
The Ground Sloth lived in caves, and their poop is well-preserved! This allows archeologists to examine the poop and learn what the Goud Sloth ate.