September 2014. This 18-exhibit complex opened in 2009. It replaced the majority of the former area known as Horn and Hoof Mesa. Its theme is an exploration of the extinct animals of Southern California, interpreted through living examples of their descendants or similar animals. The complex is a long path that can be entered at either end. Fossil Portal is the major interpretive center of the complex and features a staffed education counter and a central 'tar pit' with simulated tar that empties to reveal simulated fossils.
