The ‘World's Largest Dinosaurs' Are the Stars of This ‘Saur-iously Cool Exhibition

GARGANTUAN BEASTIES... crossing the Golden Gate Bridge? Toothy titans roaming Treasure Island? A colossal creature stomping up California Street? Well darn: These are all unlikely sights, outside of a fantasy film, and wishing we could see a real dinosaur exploring San Francisco must remain an unrealized dream. But there will be a colorful way to connect with "The World's Largest Dinosaurs" when a sauropod-sized exhibition begins its multi-month roar at the California Academy of Sciences in late May. The dino-deep display will celebrate the sauropods, those behemoths synonymous with super-long necks and lengthy tails. The American Museum of Natural History is behind the exhibition, a show informed by extensive paleo-biological research. Scientists did a deep dive into the research, considering "... living organisms to make inferences about how these giants — some of which grew to be longer than 150 feet, or the length of four standard city buses — were able to thrive, as a group, for approximately 140 million years."

THE SAUROPOD CENTERPIECE: Adding to the sheer coolness of these fascinating finds? A life-sized Mamenchisaurus measuring 60 feet will play a major role in the exhibition. True, Coit Tower is taller, if you're trying to visualize how big that really is, but about three-and-a-half Mamenchisauruses standing end-to-end would measure about as long as the iconic tower is high. Other considerable critters, including the Brontosaurus and the Apatosaurus, will also receive their dino-riffic due. And as for the contemporary cousins to these prehistoric superstars, like modern-day birds and crocodiles? The exhibition will also consider how the sauropods compare to some of the animals that share our planet right now.

DINO DEVOTEES, UNITE: Renowned paleontologist and Academy Executive Director Scott Sampson, PhD shares, "As a paleontologist, I'm thrilled that the Academy has this opportunity to share the latest insights about the biggest dinosaurs ever to walk the Earth. 'The World's Largest Dinosaurs' exhibition goes well beyond fossilized bones and teeth to explore these ancient giants as living, breathing creatures. From explorations of the pressure needed to pump blood all the way up those crazy-long necks, to understanding how much food was needed to maintain such incredible bulks, awed visitors will come away with a better understanding of how these super-sized beasts lived and thrived." For tickets, details, and everything to know before stomping for the California Academy of Sciences, sink your teeth into all things sauropods at this science-cool site.