La Brea Tar Pits Museum To Close For 2 Years Amid First Major Renovation In 50 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — The La Brea Tar Pits’ museum will close to the public for about two years beginning July 6 as the site prepares for its first major renovation since the museum opened nearly five decades ago.

The closure will allow for a comprehensive overhaul of the 13-acre campus and modernization of the George C. Page Museum Museum, which first opened in 1977, according to the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County.

The renovation will include work on visible research laboratories, new collections storage and displays, an immersive theater and a roof terrace overlooking the park, the museum’s atrium and its Ice Age frieze. The work is part of a broader effort to better connect the museum, active excavation sites and surrounding parkland, officials said.

Hancock Park, which surrounds the museum, will remain open during the project, though access to some areas will be phased as construction progresses. Plans also include a new roughly 1-kilometer pedestrian loop connecting excavation sites, research areas and exhibition spaces.

“This is the largest capital investment in NHM’s history,” said Lori Bettison-Varga, president and director of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County. She encouraged the public to visit the museum before it closes this summer.

Upcoming events include the free public KCRW Summer Nights with La Brea Tar Pits event on June 12, featuring after-hours access and site-wide programming, along with the Last Dance at La Brea Tar Pits, a disco-themed dance party on June 27.

While the museum building will close, research and fossil excavation at the tar pits will continue, and educational programs will remain available through school visits, public tours and a mobile museum.

Construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with the renovated campus scheduled to reopen in 2028 ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.