The La Brea Tar Pits

The La Brea Tar Pits are in the middle of Los Angeles.  They have places where natural tar has bubbled up from the ground for thousands of years. Many ancient animals got stuck in the tar and their bones stayed preserved. Nowadays, they keep finding new bones to show in the museum.  You should check it out if you're in LA!

Long ago, big animals like mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and dire wolves lived in what is now Los Angeles.  We know this because scientists have found many skulls and bones in the La Brea Tar Pits, which are famous for having lots of fossils.  They built a museum there, where kids and adults can look for fossils and learn about dinosaurs and ancient life from experts.  Between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, many animals got stuck in the thick, sticky tar that bubbled up from underground, near where Wilshire Blvd is today (although back then, there was no Wilshire Blvd).  Animals that stepped into the tar couldn't get out and died slowly.  There's a big statue of a mammoth family near the museum to show how sad it was.  You can also see the pits where they're still finding fossils today, right outside the museum.