A long-necked dinosaur in a misty conifer forest at dawn, framed by softly blurred ferns

A JOURNEY THROUGH DEEP TIME

Their world vanished.Their story lives on.

Cross millions of years. Meet extraordinary animals. Follow the branches that connect the age of dinosaurs to the birds around us.

Begin the journey

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Follow the branches

A slender Coelophysis on a misty Triassic river plain at sunset

01 / SMALL BEGINNINGS 210 MILLION YEARS AGO

Small beginnings.
Extraordinary life.

CoelophysisLATE TRIASSIC · NORTH AMERICA

01 — ENTER THEIR WORLD

Between forest and floodplain.

Rivers threaded a landscape of conifers and open ground. Wet and dry seasons shaped life in the world preserved by the Morrison Formation.

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Diplodocus standing in its sunlit Jurassic forest habitat

02 / THE AGE OF GIANTS 150 MILLION YEARS AGO

A world
of giants.

DiplodocusLATE JURASSIC · NORTH AMERICA

01 — ENTER THEIR WORLD

Between forest and floodplain.

Rivers threaded a landscape of conifers and open ground. Wet and dry seasons shaped life in the world preserved by the Morrison Formation.

Continue
Iguanodon on a lush European floodplain

03 / NEW POSSIBILITIES 125 MILLION YEARS AGO

An extraordinary
defense.

IguanodonLATE CRETACEOUS · NORTH AMERICA

01 — ENTER THEIR WORLD

Between forest and floodplain.

Rivers threaded a landscape of conifers and open ground. Wet and dry seasons shaped life in the world preserved by the Morrison Formation.

Continue
Triceratops with three horns and a broad frill in a sunlit forest

04 / EXTRAORDINARY ADAPTATIONS 67 MILLION YEARS AGO

An extraordinary
defense.

TriceratopsLATE CRETACEOUS · NORTH AMERICA

01 — ENTER THEIR WORLD

Between forest and floodplain.

Rivers threaded a landscape of conifers and open ground. Wet and dry seasons shaped life in the world preserved by the Morrison Formation.

Continue
Artistic reconstruction of an asteroid impact beyond a prehistoric coast, framed by softly blurred ferns and dark ocean waterCHICXULUB IMPACT / ARTISTIC RECONSTRUCTION

66 MILLION YEARS AGO A TURNING POINT

An ending.
A living legacy.

  1. 01 / IMPACT

    An asteroid struck what is now Mexico. Material thrown into the atmosphere darkened the skies, disrupting climate and food webs.

  2. 02 / EXTINCTION

    All non-avian dinosaurs died out. Many bird lineages disappeared too.

  3. 03 / SURVIVAL

    Some bird lineages survived. Over the next 66 million years, their descendants diversified into the birds around us today.

Meet the living dinosaurs The evidence · Natural History Museum ↗
A European robin perched on a mossy branch in a sunlit forest

06 / THE LIVING BRANCH LIVING TODAY

Small beginnings.
Extraordinary life.

European robinLATE TRIASSIC · NORTH AMERICA

01 — ENTER THEIR WORLD

Between forest and floodplain.

Rivers threaded a landscape of conifers and open ground. Wet and dry seasons shaped life in the world preserved by the Morrison Formation.

Back to the beginning