January Field Trip: LACMA Samurai Exhibit and La Brea Tar Pits

One of my goals for this new year has been to get out and see and do more with the kids. There is so much available to us here in Los Angeles, but besides the factors of time and money, I struggle against an overwhelming desire to just stay home. I love to just be home, but I do want to take advantage of the opportunities around us, so I set a goal to have a "field trip" once a month with at least Conor (the other kids too, if they're here, which they're not right now.)

A friend drew my attention to the Samurai exhibit currently on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She raved about it, and I knew Conor would love that, so to be sure it would happen, I scheduled it in my planner and told him it would be a date.

It really was incredible. The exhibit is a portion of the private collection owned by Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller. Gabriel's father and grandfather were both art collectors and he has had a fascination with the Samurai since he was a boy. The items he's been able to collect are absolutely stunning, dating back over the last 700 years. I was so impressed by the fine craftsmanship and exquisite attention to detail. Here are some of my favorite pictures, snapped with my iPhone.

Conor brought a sketchpad and was so cute as he sat there sketching helmets. Twice, adults came and sat next to him and did their own sketches. I walked around the room and read placards while he sketched away.

Conor was hungry by that time and wanted a cheeseburger, so we walked down Wilshire and stopped at a food truck.

The Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits are right next door to the LACMA, so we headed over there too. I've been wanting to go to the Tar Pits for years.

This is a ground sloth! No thank you!

This mother mastodon and her six year old child (child? calf?) were found together. So sad!

The Columbian Mammoth. Those tusks have got to get in the way.

The Dire Wolf wall. All skulls from dire wolves found in the excavation sites at La Brea.

Here's a dire wolf skeleton.

The Paleontology lab. What tedious work!

Once through the museum, we walked around to the tar pits, where there are still active excavations.

Crates of fossils waiting to be worked on.

And on our way back to the parking garage, Conor wanted a quick shot of him lifting this massive boulder.

We had a terrific time together. Conor is such a pleasant museum buddy, and these two were right up his alley. A day well spent with my boy!