Science

‘Summer Nights at the Tar Pits' to Raise a Roar

DJ tunes, scientist chats, and chances to picnic near the pits are bubbling at the Miracle Mile museum.

La Brea Tar Pits & Museum

What to Know

  • Friday, July 22 from 5 to 8 p.m.
  • Free; reserve your ticket in advance
  • Music, educator pop-ups, and appearances by saber-toothed cat puppets Nibbles and Cali

Encountering a saber-toothed cat is not something any of us have penciled on our calendar, but if we know that we can meet the ancient animal in a convivial outdoor setting, one that has music, educational moments, and people enjoying picnics, we're totally up for a feline time.

And the extinct critters will rule "Summer Nights at the Tar Pits," a free event created fur, er, for families, and anyone interested in the beasties that used to roam through our modern city.

The famous Ice Age fossil site is the place (the "Tar Pits" part of the name was the giveaway), while the date? It all happens Friday, July 22, from 5 to 8 o'clock.

Of course, saber-toothed cats didn't wear wristwatches nor carry electronic devices that displayed the time, but we humans do, and if we're at the La Brea Tar Pits during that three-hour window?

We'll spy a pair of from-long-ago felines, in the fanciful forms of two realistic saber-toothed cat puppets named Cali and Nibbles.

(What would real saber-toothed cats have thought of Cali and Nibbles? Would they have considered them part of their clowder? Something to ask your kids on the way to the event.)

There are pop-up educational talks, DJ tunes from Ladies of Sound, and opportunities to picnic in the area, should you show with your own nibbles of the foodie variety.

A Tar Bar will be nearby, and snacks shall be for sale, should you feel as peckish as a big cat but without anything to chow down upon. (No one is asking you to find the sort of dinner that might have appealed to a saber-toothed cat; that's why human food will be available for purchase, phew.)

Admission to the museum, and event, is totally free, but do make an advance reservation to let organizers know you'll be there.

And following the early-in-the-evening fun? "Fossilized and Realized: Tar Pits Video Festival" rolls through shorts inspired by the age-old attraction, beginning at 8:30.

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