Other meanings of George C. Page Museum
Natural History Museum
The George C. Page Museum is a museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to showcasing the fossils of Ice Age animals and plants preserved in the tar pits. It is part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County and houses one of the world's most extensive collections of Pleistocene fossils.
The museum was funded by George C. Page, a real estate developer and philanthropist, who donated $1.5 million for its construction. Designed by the architectural firm of Welton Becket and Associates, the building opened in 1977, with its exterior designed to blend into the surrounding park. The museum was built adjacent to the tar pits to house the vast collections excavated from them, which had previously been stored at the Natural History Museum. The building's design includes a sunken courtyard and a reflecting pool, and its walls are made of concrete and glass, allowing natural light to illuminate the exhibits. The museum was later renamed the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, but the original name remains in common use.
The museum's permanent exhibits include the iconic skeletons of saber-toothed cats, mammoths, and giant ground sloths, displayed in dramatic dioramas. The Observation Pit, a glass-walled excavation site, allows visitors to see paleontologists at work. The museum also features a working paleontology laboratory where fossils are cleaned and studied. Notable exhibits include the "Project 23" collection, which consists of 23 wooden boxes containing fossil-rich sediment excavated from a nearby construction site. The museum's collection includes over 3.5 million specimens, ranging from microscopic pollen to large mammal bones, providing a detailed record of the region's climate and ecosystems over the past 40,000 years.
The museum is a center for paleontological research, with scientists studying the fossils to understand Ice Age ecology, climate change, and extinction events. The tar pits have yielded the remains of over 600 species, including insects, plants, and mammals. Research conducted at the museum has contributed to knowledge about the megafaunal extinction that occurred around 10,000 years ago. The museum also collaborates with universities and institutions worldwide, and its collections are used for comparative studies in paleontology and archaeology. The tar pits themselves are a unique fossil site because the asphalt preserves even delicate structures like feathers and plant material, offering rare insights into ancient life.
Beyond the famous mammals, the museum houses an extensive collection of fossilized insects, including beetles and flies, which are used to reconstruct past environments. The tar pits have also yielded the remains of a woman known as the "La Brea Woman," the only human skeleton found at the site, dating to about 9,000 years ago. The museum's collection includes a large number of dire wolf skeletons, making it the largest such collection in the world. The museum also has a significant collection of fossilized plants, including wood and seeds, which help scientists study vegetation changes. Additionally, the museum's research has revealed that the tar pits were not always as sticky as they are today; the asphalt seeps have changed over time, affecting the preservation of fossils.
The museum is also known as the La Brea Tar Pits Museum, reflecting its integration with the broader site.
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