La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

If your kids goes crazy for dinosaurs—and really, what kid doesn't?—then a visit to La Brea Tar Pits is sure to be the highlight of their trip. Although they look like the set of a cheesy PG movie, hot tar has been bubbling from the earth at this spot—along Museum Row just east of Beverly Hills—for about 40,000 years. And from the gooiest part of L.A., about 100 tons of Ice Age fossils, representing between 400 and 600 different species, were discovered. The adjoining Page Museum houses many of the artifacts found here and consequently is home to one of the largest collections of Ice Age fossils in the world.

You can check out the tar pits completely free of charge, but the Page Museum costs $12 for adults. Reduced entry fees are available for children, students, seniors, and military. Most recent visitors agree that the exhibits are well worth the cost of admission. The museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Budding paleontologists should note that you can volunteer to help out at an excavation or in the facility's laboratory. You should, however, be prepared for the strong stench of asphalt that hangs in the air. For more information, check out La Brea Tar Pits' website.