Three architect-led teams will compete for the job of leading master planning for renovation of Los Angeles' famed La Brea Tar Pits.

Officials of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County announced the beginning of the long-term initiative on Thursday.

The Tar Pits are an active Ice Age excavation site that have yielded millions of fossils including saber-toothed cats, dire wolf and mastodon skeletons, as well as samples of plants, small animals and insects that give researchers insight into 50,000 years of history. In addition to being an active paleontological research facility, the Tar Pits receive more than 400,000 visitors each year.

The teams competing to reimagine the 12-acre campus are Dorte Mandrup of Copenhagen, Weiss/Manfredi of New York and Diller Scofidio + Renfro of New York.