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Explore LA

Your last chance to visit La Brea Tar Pits before it closes for two years

The skeleton of an ancient animal with huge tusks is on display in a large museum room
Exhibits like the American Mastodon at the La Brea Tar Pits will be closed for the next two years.
(
PATRICK T. FALLON
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

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The La Brea Tar Pits are heading into a multimillion-dollar renovation — that means the museum will have to close to the public for two years.

The history

Built in 1977, the George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits has a special place in the hearts of Angelenos who’ve ever taken a field trip to see its massive mastodon skeletons or dire wolf skulls. Don’t worry — all that stuff is staying, said museum educator Kay Lai.

Why now?

“This museum, as beloved as it is, definitely needs that refresh. And I’m really excited for the next generation of kids that get to grow up and make new memories here with this new space,” Lai told LAist.

What’s going to be new?

Lai said the museum refresh will include a new focus on Zed, an 80% complete Columbian mammoth found at the site. With new outdoor classrooms and a 1-kilometer pedestrian pathway that will take visitors past excavation sites, the idea is to make research more visible to the public.

Last chance to visit La Brea Tar Pits
Where: 5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
When: Mon., July 6, 9:30 a.m-5 p.m.

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