La Brea Tar Pits Museum to Close for 2 Years as $240 Million Renovation Begins

LOS ANGELES — One of the city’s most visited scientific institutions, the La Brea Tar Pits museum in the Miracle Mile district, will shut its doors to the public on July 6 for a two-year renovation project that officials say will transform both the visitor experience and the site’s research capabilities.

The George C. Page Museum, which has stood in the heart of Miracle Mile since 1977, is scheduled to remain closed until summer 2028, reopening just ahead of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The $240 million overhaul — the largest capital investment in the history of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County — will add new exhibition spaces, visible research laboratories, and a rooftop terrace, while upgrading aging infrastructure throughout the 13-acre Hancock Park.

“This is the largest capital investment in NHM’s history, and it reflects an extraordinary commitment from our civic and philanthropic partners to the future of La Brea Tar Pits,” said Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga, president and director of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, in a statement announcing the closure.

The museum houses one of the world’s most complete collections of Ice Age fossils, with an estimated 3.5 million specimens excavated from the asphalt seeps that have trapped and preserved animals for tens of thousands of years. Staff have already begun carefully packing the collection — including mammoth skeletons, saber-toothed cat skulls, and millions of microfossils — into custom-foam crates for storage during construction.

“Every bone, down to the last dire wolf rib, must be carefully sheathed in a custom foam shell,” the museum said in project materials, describing the logistical challenge of relocating the irreplaceable collection.

When the museum reopens in 2028, it will serve as the centerpiece of the newly established Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, a scientific hub focused on studying extinction, climate change, and ecological resilience through the tar pits’ unique fossil record. Newly displayed specimens will include “Zed,” a battle-scarred mammoth that has been undergoing preparation for public viewing.

Notably, the outdoor park and active excavation pits will remain open and free to the public throughout the construction period. Visitors will still be able to watch paleontologists work at live dig sites and view the famous bubbling asphalt seeps, though the museum building itself will be inaccessible.

Before the closure, the museum is hosting a series of farewell events, including a disco-themed “Last Dance at La Brea Tar Pits” on June 27. Through July 6, the museum remains open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission for Los Angeles County residents on weekday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m.

The project has been in planning for several years, with funding coming from a combination of public and private sources. The timing of the reopening is intended to position the revamped museum as a major cultural attraction for the millions of visitors expected in Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Games.

For now, officials say the priority is completing the move of the fossil collection safely and beginning construction on schedule. No delays have been announced, though the museum noted that the timeline remains contingent on construction milestones over the next 24 months.