Big news: The largest land animals that ever lived are upstairs at the Academy! Fall in love with sauropods this season with colossal dinosaur models, hands-on interactives, and programs for junior paleontologists.

The World's Largest Dinosaurs was on view from May 26, 2023, through January 21, 2024.

Take a deep breath: About one pint of air just filled your lungs. Got 173 more? That’s how much a Mamenchisaurus hoovered up with every inhale. Be blown away by this Jurassic giant and other ancient herbivores in the Academy's newest exhibition, open daily.

  • Marvel at life-size models of supersize sauropods
  • Discover the secrets of sauropod size, respiration, and evolution
  • Touch interactive displays that inspire young imaginations

Disfruten una vista previa de la exposición en español con Dámaris Echevarría Soto de Telemundo y Adriel Malagón, presentador de la Academia.

Sensory advisory: This exhibition contains a strobe light, sounds and music, and interactive media screens. View our interactive map for a sensory guide to all Academy exhibits and spaces.

Toddler looks up at Mamenchisaurus model in World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibition at the Academy

Living large

Guests are greeted by the enormous head of an Argentinosaurus, considered to be the world’s largest sauropod at up to 140 feet long and 90 tons. Inside, a 60-foot-long Mamenchisaurus spans the length of the exhibition hall. Stand up straight: How do you measure up next to a 15-foot-tall Supersaurus hind leg?

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Woman and 2 girls read a display about daily diet of sauropod in World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

The need for feed

To get big, you have to eat big—and for a young adult Mamenchisaurus, that meant munching up to 1,150 pounds of plant matter per day. See what a hungry sauropod could scarf up in an hour at this interactive feeding station.

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Woman holds child touching an egg replica in a hands-on display in World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

Hands-on history

Ancient history is at your fingertips throughout the exhibition. Touch and compare sauropod teeth with those of today’s animals, activate a zoetrope to watch a sauropod herd in motion, and lift a surprisingly light sauropod neck bone.

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Guests watch a flatscreen display under a life-size model of Mamenchisaurus lungs and heart in World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibit

Feel the beat

Look up: A life-size model reveals how Mamenchisaurus’s circulatory and respiratory systems kept its blood flowing and lungs going. Like birds, its lungs received oxygen on both inhale and exhale, meaning it spent half as much energy on breathing as a sauropod-sized elephant would.

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Hours & location

The World's Largest Dinosaurs is open daily through January 21, 2024. Find it in the Forum Gallery on Level Two, directly above the Academy Café.

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    Exhibit Technician Alejandro Valenzuela puts the finishing touches on a titanosaur nest in World's Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

    Setting up our sauropods

    Exhibit Technician Alejandro Valenzuela puts the finishing touches on a titanosaur nest.

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    Exhibit Preparator Liza Yee installs a model of Mamenchisaurus's massive lungs in Worlds Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

    Exhibit Preparator Liza Yee installs a model of Mamenchisaurus's massive lungs.

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    An exhibit preparator perfects Mamenchisaurus's textured skin in Worlds Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

    An exhibit preparator perfects Mamenchisaurus's textured skin.

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    Senior Exhibit Preparator Ian Hart touches up Mamenchisaurus's painted musculature in Worlds Largest Dinosaurs exhibition

    Senior Exhibit Preparator Ian Hart touches up Mamenchisaurus's painted musculature.

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    Human skeleton model inside a shipping crate at the California Academy of Sciences

    All exhibition elements, like this human skeleton model, are carefully packed in shipping crates.

The World’s Largest Dinosaurs is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with Coolture Marketing, Bogotá, Colombia.

Generously supported by:
The Bernard Osher Foundation logo