The Fish Bowl - Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits)

Not many people would like to have their boss looking over their shoulder while they worked.  The Page Museum has a work center with all glass walls so the public can watch as volunteers work cleaning and sorting various items.

Inside this huge 'office' you can see a tusk in white plaster (left side just above center) - one of two of the only Mammoth tusks just found in La Brea - apparently, the petrolium eats away tusks, but these managed to fall in a riverbed and were quickly covered in sand and clay sediments rather than tar.  The recent Mammoth find is priority work, but there is much more going on in here (as you'll soon see).  On the foreground desks are a variety of items - an ADD paradise! You can come every day and do something different each time.

Volunteer cleaning a large Mammoth bone.  Cleaning tar has got to be a messy job.

This volunteer is cleaning a jaw bone with a few teeth.  Perhaps a Dire Wolf?

Can't tell from this photo, but the lights have a powerful magnification lens attached. In the past, digs concentrated on large bones and animals, and much of the small stuff was never looked through and some was discarded.  They have found seed, pollen, small bones, bugs, leaves and plant parts and all kinds of goodies.

Of course, everything found here is kept here. That means a huge collections room where everything has been sorted, labeled, catalogued, and stored.

Here's a peek into the catacombs.

One last little thing about the fishbowl. Looks like they like to get 'stuff' from visitors and display them in the room...

 Must be a fun place to work!

Interesting at the very least!