Family Fun

La Brea Tar Pits Museum's ‘Saber-toothed Summer' is right on point

Cat-tastic doings are afoot — or "apaw," rather — at the Miracle Mile destination.

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What to Know

  • Through Labor Day Weekend 2023
  • La Brea Tar Pits Museum
  • Peek at the fossil lab, try a self-guided tour and cheer the "Ice Age Encounters" show (the one with the life-sized saber-toothed cat puppet)

Naming the softest of months, the most tender of time frames, the very pillow-iest part of the year?

Easy, at least if you're a resident of Southern California: It is June, when gloomy skies, breezes tinged with ocean air, and gentle jacaranda blooms capture our nature-loving fancies.

It is rather intriguing, then, that this especially cushiony and plush moment, a stretch when nothing feels especially hard-edged, should boast some of the pointiest and sharpest things around.

We're talking about the saber-toothed cat's fearsome fangs, of course, those terrifying teeth that make the jaw drop.

We can't even refer to them as "teef" in the cute parlance of the modern-day internet, for "teef" seem to belong to roly-poly kittens and not large prehistoric beasts. (Though even they were kittens once, we know.)

If you're drawn to impressive teef, er, teeth, and the fabulously furry icons of an earlier era, you'll want to pounce on this summer-long delight: La Brea Tar Pits Museum is celebrating saber-toothed cats through Labor Day Weekend.

Truly, the Miracle Mile destination honors these feline favorites throughout the year, but when school is out? The educational outings around the science-strong institution do awesomely abound.

That means self-guided tours, peeks at the fossil lab, and chances to take in shows like "Ice Age Encounters," which features a life-sized saber-toothed cat puppet, a creation that regularly elicits gasps from audience members. (The gasps are gleeful, not scared, on the whole; this is one cool puppet.)

Your museum admission gives you access to plenty of activities, but note that the live show, and the 3D film "Titans of the Ice Age" have separate tickets.

It is true that we're in the softest stretch of the year, but if you're seeking a sharper expression of summer, one that wraps up science and history and feline fabulousness in one furry, fang-rocking package, prowl over to Saber-toothed Summer faster than it takes a tar bubble to pop.

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