Put Me In The Zoo: George Page Museum at La Brea Tarpits Review
Date of visit: November 24, 2012
Does this museum satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The George Page museum displays the Pleistocene megafauna that became trapped in the famous La Brea Tarpits from 50,000-10,000 years ago. It is said to be perhaps the greatest collection of Pleistocene megafauna in the world. It reminds us that great beasts once walked most of the continents in the relatively recent past. California (and most of the rest of the world) looked like Africa.
This museum has articulated skeletons of many megafauna species displayed. It also has displays on the ecosystems that these species lived in including the plants, invertebrates, and mesofauna (i.e., small and medium sized birds, reptiles, and mammals).
The American mastodon is represented by a mother and calf that were found together in the tarpits. There is also a great Columbian mammoth. There were no giraffids in California (or North America) so they are not at the museum, but it doesn't matter because there are so many other amazing species.
Does this museum have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Heck, yes. Dire wolves that were bigger than grey wolves, sabertoothed cats, ground sloths, extinct condor species, and many other Pleistocene megafauna species are on display here. This museum and its collection bring back the Pleistocene in a way that the San Diego Zoo tried to with Elephant Odyssey; in fact this museum was their model.
Does this museum have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
YES. A cool “pepper’s ghost” effect in which a smilodon (i.e. sabertoothed cat) skeleton is transformed into a fully fleshed out model of a living cat is here. A wall of 400 dire wolf skulls. Recreations of the mega-bird fauna that once snacked upon the megafauna. This museum truly immerses visitors in the Pleistocene. There is a “fishbowl” laboratory in which you can see volunteer scientists cleaning fossils pulled out of the continuing excavations of the tarpits. Their current major project is the most complete Columbian mammoth skeleton found in the tarpits. It is 80% complete and has the best preserved tusks of any Columbian mammoths found to date.
There are also regularly scheduled guided tours of the museum (free with admission and highly recommended). As of my visit in November 2012 there is an multi-media theatrical presentation about the biology of the tarpits and the animals that got trapped in them that is free and AWESOME. This show combines film, a live presenter, and a full- scale sabertooth cat puppet that looks like a real animal and is amazing. The sabertooth puppet (inhabited by a human puppeteer and looking completely real) wanders around in front of the audience and snarls as the presenter describes its natural history. The puppet was designed by the Jim Henson Company – one of the perks of the museum being in the movie capital of the world.
Does this museum have any good basic exhibits?
There are many educational exhibits that help interpret the animals, their ecosystem, and how the tarpits function. The “tarpits” are actually seeps of asphalt. These displays will greatly enhance the experience for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge, but are not essential to appreciating how awesome this natural history treasure is.
Does this museum have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The museum is definitely oriented for families. There is a play area/library with books and toys for little ones to play with and get to know about the animals around them. I visited on a weekend and there were interactive stations set up all over the museum with skulls, bones, and other artifacts that people could touch and with museum guides there to interpret. One of the most fun displays is a vat of asphant (i.e., “tar”) with plungers in it that people can pull up to experience how hard it is to pull out of the substance. It really helps one understand how a big animal could become trapped in the asphalt.
Does this museum have any interesting plans for the future?
I visit this museum every few years and there is always some new display. There is a new display on the unique microbiology being discovered with new asphalt-eating bacteria species being described. The sabertooth cat show described above is also new as of 2012. There are always new discoveries being pulled out of the tar like the 80% complete Columbian mammoth. During the summer people can watch the active tarpit excavations.
Would a zoo aficionado like this museum enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
This museum is a true world-class treasure. Any zoo aficionado who comes to Los Angeles would find this museum of great interest I would think. I think that just about ANYONE, whatever level of interest of animals they have, would find this place wonderful. It is a wonder for all ages and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is better than Universal Studios and Disneyland, because it is the real thing (and I really like those places too, but not as much as this). Make sure to set aside some time to see this place if you are in the Los Angeles area.
Date of visit: November 24, 2012
Does this museum satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The George Page museum displays the Pleistocene megafauna that became trapped in the famous La Brea Tarpits from 50,000-10,000 years ago. It is said to be perhaps the greatest collection of Pleistocene megafauna in the world. It reminds us that great beasts once walked most of the continents in the relatively recent past. California (and most of the rest of the world) looked like Africa.
This museum has articulated skeletons of many megafauna species displayed. It also has displays on the ecosystems that these species lived in including the plants, invertebrates, and mesofauna (i.e., small and medium sized birds, reptiles, and mammals).
The American mastodon is represented by a mother and calf that were found together in the tarpits. There is also a great Columbian mammoth. There were no giraffids in California (or North America) so they are not at the museum, but it doesn't matter because there are so many other amazing species.
Does this museum have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Heck, yes. Dire wolves that were bigger than grey wolves, sabertoothed cats, ground sloths, extinct condor species, and many other Pleistocene megafauna species are on display here. This museum and its collection bring back the Pleistocene in a way that the San Diego Zoo tried to with Elephant Odyssey; in fact this museum was their model.
Does this museum have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
YES. A cool “pepper’s ghost” effect in which a smilodon (i.e. sabertoothed cat) skeleton is transformed into a fully fleshed out model of a living cat is here. A wall of 400 dire wolf skulls. Recreations of the mega-bird fauna that once snacked upon the megafauna. This museum truly immerses visitors in the Pleistocene. There is a “fishbowl” laboratory in which you can see volunteer scientists cleaning fossils pulled out of the continuing excavations of the tarpits. Their current major project is the most complete Columbian mammoth skeleton found in the tarpits. It is 80% complete and has the best preserved tusks of any Columbian mammoths found to date.
There are also regularly scheduled guided tours of the museum (free with admission and highly recommended). As of my visit in November 2012 there is an multi-media theatrical presentation about the biology of the tarpits and the animals that got trapped in them that is free and AWESOME. This show combines film, a live presenter, and a full- scale sabertooth cat puppet that looks like a real animal and is amazing. The sabertooth puppet (inhabited by a human puppeteer and looking completely real) wanders around in front of the audience and snarls as the presenter describes its natural history. The puppet was designed by the Jim Henson Company – one of the perks of the museum being in the movie capital of the world.
Does this museum have any good basic exhibits?
There are many educational exhibits that help interpret the animals, their ecosystem, and how the tarpits function. The “tarpits” are actually seeps of asphalt. These displays will greatly enhance the experience for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge, but are not essential to appreciating how awesome this natural history treasure is.
Does this museum have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The museum is definitely oriented for families. There is a play area/library with books and toys for little ones to play with and get to know about the animals around them. I visited on a weekend and there were interactive stations set up all over the museum with skulls, bones, and other artifacts that people could touch and with museum guides there to interpret. One of the most fun displays is a vat of asphant (i.e., “tar”) with plungers in it that people can pull up to experience how hard it is to pull out of the substance. It really helps one understand how a big animal could become trapped in the asphalt.
Does this museum have any interesting plans for the future?
I visit this museum every few years and there is always some new display. There is a new display on the unique microbiology being discovered with new asphalt-eating bacteria species being described. The sabertooth cat show described above is also new as of 2012. There are always new discoveries being pulled out of the tar like the 80% complete Columbian mammoth. During the summer people can watch the active tarpit excavations.
Would a zoo aficionado like this museum enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
This museum is a true world-class treasure. Any zoo aficionado who comes to Los Angeles would find this museum of great interest I would think. I think that just about ANYONE, whatever level of interest of animals they have, would find this place wonderful. It is a wonder for all ages and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is better than Universal Studios and Disneyland, because it is the real thing (and I really like those places too, but not as much as this). Make sure to set aside some time to see this place if you are in the Los Angeles area.
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