The Climes They Are a-Changing
High School Earth Science
Duration
20-30 minutes
Location
Page Museum
Supplies

Worksheet

Pencil

Clipboard (optional)
Concepts

Los Angeles’ climate has changed since the end of the Pleistocene
era.

The fossils found at the La Brea Tar Pits help us understand how this
environment has changed over thousands of years.
Objectives

Students will understand that Los Angeles’ climate during the Ice Age
was similar to climates now found elsewhere in California and the
United States.

Students will understand that microfossils give us clues about the
environment and climate.

Students will use exhibit text to answer questions about climate
change.
Standards
Science Grades 9 - 12
Earth Science 6.c
Vocabulary
Climate
Climate Change
Microfossil
Outline

This activity assumes that students know that earth’s climate has
changed, and have a basic understanding of the geologic processes
that cause changes in climate. If necessary, review these concepts in
one classroom session prior to your Museum visit.

At the Museum, students will explore the La Brea Environment exhibit
to fill out their worksheet.
Student Work
High School Earth Science: The Climes They Are a-Changing
Pre-Visit
If necessary, review climate change and geologic processes with students to prepare them for the Museum
activity.
A helpful overview of this information is located in “Return to the Ice Age: The La Brea Exploration
Guide,” available for download on the Page Museum website. Climate and the importance of plant
evidence is located in sections 1 and 2 of the document. You can read this document for your own record,
or review the pertinent sections with students prior to the trip.
You can find it here: http://www.tarpits.org/sites/default/files/Exploration%20Guide.pdf.
Museum Visit
During their Museum visit, students will use information from exhibits to fill out the “Fossil Evidence of
Climate Change” worksheet.
Helpful Hints
The La Brea Environment exhibit is located on the wall in between the Window into the Collections and
the saber-tooth and ground sloth animatronic.
When students have completed their worksheet, they can explore the Pleistocene Garden to see up close
the kinds of plants that grew in Los Angeles during the Ice Age.
They can also see our scientists working to sort and identify microfossils of plants and animals in the
Fishbowl Lab near the La Brea Environment display.
High School Earth Science: The Climes They Are a-Changing
The Climes They Are a-Changing
Fossil Evidence of Climate Change
The environment of Los Angeles has changed since the end of the Pleistocene Era. Using fossils, we can
begin to understand these changes. For this worksheet, you can use the information you find throughout
the Museum, and especially in the La Brea Environment display. Answer each question, and use additional
paper as needed.
1. What information do plant fossils give us about climate change?
2. Name three kinds of plants that once grew at Rancho La Brea that now grow elsewhere. Where?
1.
2.
3.
3. How does the picture of Ice Age Los Angeles presented in the La Brea Environment exhibit compare to
the climate today?
Want to see the plants that grew here during the Ice Age? Check them out in the Pleistocene Garden!
You’ll also find our scientists identifying microfossils of plants and animals in the Fishbowl Lab.
High School Earth Science: The Climes They Are a-Changing