Despite rain, cold, and miserable weather predictions, the San Diego Zoo’s Girls In Science set out on their spring field trip on Saturday, March 18. Neither current participants nor alumni seemed to care that the weatherman predicted misery all around, for they were headed to Los Angeles and the La Brea Tar Pits!

We got an early start and ate our breakfasts on the bus. The nasty weather slowly cleared the further north we traveled, and by the time we reached L.A., the sun had poked its head through the clouds. Our entire morning was spent at the Tar Pits, touring around, speaking with a docent, and of course, hitting the gift shops. We learned that the Tar Pits don’t actually contain tar, which is a residue from woody material processing, but asphalt, which is a naturally occurring substance often found near oil deposits. The majority of the bones extracted from the pits are from animals that were trapped there between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago””the last Ice Age.

Many of the animals exhibited in the Page Museum have modern-day relatives, but one that doesn’t is the saber-toothed cat. Often called tigers, which they aren’t, the saber-toothed cat is classified in a separate group from true cats. Its lack of a long tail and a few other physical characteristics make it more closely related to a bobcat than to a tiger or a lion, despite its large size.

We learned, too, that the remnants we were seeing were actual bones, rather than fossils, which are made of stone. The bones are all darkly colored from the asphalt staining, but are extremely well preserved. We could see injuries that had healed, rodent gnaw marks, and even ” pit wear” which is caused by the bones rubbing against one another while settling into the asphalt. The collection on display was quite impressive, and our docent was great at pointing out things the casual observer might not pick up.

When we had finished up at the Pits, we set out for a quick walk up to the Los Angeles Farmers’ Market, where we split into small groups and wandered around. The ride home was long, but warm and cozy, and we arrived back in San Diego tired out and ready for bed!

Thanks to Kathy Myers of the Zoo’s Education Department for handling all of the scheduling and logistics””we couldn’t have done it without her!

Cindy Spiva-Evans is an educator at the San Diego Zoo.

Girls In Science is a program for Roosevelt Middle School girls which creates science-based experiences with professional women at the San Diego Zoo. The program is funded through the generosity of the Wells Fargo Foundation.

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