In the heart of Los Angeles, California are the La Brea Tar Pits and the California Science Center.
La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits is a mashup of science, history, and a bit of outdoor weirdness–right in the middle of Los Angeles, California. You walk in and immediately see bubbling pits of tar in the middle of the city like it’s totally normal. Undoubtedly, the outside was cool, but the biggest thrill was all inside the museum.
Surprisingly, the museum at La Brea Tar Pits is great. We saw plenty of fossils, life-size animal reconstructions, and actual scientists working behind glass in the fossil lab. Overall, we saw a great collection of saber-toothed cats, mammoths, dire wolves, and all kinds of Ice Age creatures that were pulled straight out of the sticky ground just a few feet away.
Unfortunately, here’s the part we didn’t plan for: I dropped my phone behind one of the museum displays. Not just any display—one of those fossil wall displays with lighting and signage and zero room to reach behind. Cue the walk of shame to the front desk. A very kind employee had to come over and helped me fish it out with a meter stick. I thanked her profusely and promised myself I’d keep a tighter grip next time.
California Science Center
If you’re ever in Los Angeles, California and looking for something that’ll blow your mind (and your children’s minds too), the California Science Center is a must. Specifically, it’s one of those places where you walk in curious and walk out inspired. With this in mind, this place had a ton of hands-on exhibits to and lots of exhibits on ecosystems and engineering, it’s got something for every kind of science nerd—or just anyone who likes cool stuff. To that end, we didn’t plan enough time here–there are many hidden levels and things to see throughout.
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Walking into the Samuel Oschin Pavilion and seeing Endeavour sitting there in all its glory is surreal. It’s massive, majestic, and humbling. This shuttle flew 25 missions into space, and now it’s parked right in front of you, heat tiles and all. You can stand underneath it and look up at the engines.
There’s something about seeing a real space shuttle that feels historic in a way. It’s not just a museum piece—it’s a piece of history.
Note: Endeavour viewing is currently closed as they relocate it to a new exhibit hall on site. (It will be the only shuttle on-display in an upright position, including boosters!)
This was the second space shuttle that our family experienced in our quest to see all four on display across the country. Discovery, Enterprise, and Atlantis would all be seen eventually as we checked each one off our bucket list.
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