The World's Largest Dinosaurs
Now Open Through Sept. 7
Special Ticket Required
"The World’s Largest Dinosaurs” invites you to explore the mind-bending biology and amazing anatomy of sauropods — the largest land animals to ever live. From eating and breathing to reproducing, size affects almost everything an animal does. Through imaginative and enthralling exhibits and displays, including a towering, life-sized model of a 60-foot-long Mamenchisaurus, you will go beyond the bones and into their bodies to discover the fascinating mechanics behind how these titans lived their lives on Earth millions of years ago. Exhibition content is presented in English with the option for a Spanish audio guide.
The World’s Largest Dinosaurs is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org).
Exhibition Walkthrough
An Argentinosaurus Welcome
The enormous head of an Argentinosaurus, considered the world’s largest sauropod, greets you as you enter the exhibition.
Comparing Sizes, Living and Extinct
This section explores the biological effects of size in animals both huge and tiny, living and extinct. To provide perspective, a 15-foot-tall replica of a Supersaurus hind leg is displayed among models, specimens and bones of living animals such as a hummingbird, a dwarf gecko, an African elephant and a human.
Meet Mamenchisaurus
Standing 11 feet tall at the shoulders and measuring 60 feet long — approximately the size of a tractor-trailer — the centerpiece of this exhibition is a life-sized, fleshed-out model of an 18-year-old female Mamenchisaurus.
Life at a Giant Scale
As you move through the displays surrounding the Mamenchisaurus, explore how sauropods functioned at enormous scale — from small brains and powerful hearts to highly efficient lungs and lightweight, far-reaching necks.
An Incredible Growth Rate
In this section, you’ll discover how hatchling sauropods, emerging from an egg smaller than a football, grew to an enormous size in a short amount of time.
Colorado’s Sauropod Showcase
Millions of years ago, sauropods lived in what is now Colorado, and the Museum has an impressive collection of fossils from these dinosaurs that you can see in the exhibition. You can also catch a glimpse of the very first dinosaur bone that Museum scientists ever collected — which happened to be a sauropod!
Conclusion
As you leave, consider how sauropods thrived for more than 140 million years — and how studying their extraordinary biology continues to shape what scientists understand about life at the largest possible scale.
