Meet the World's Largest Dinosaurs at the California Academy of Sciences

Visit the California Academy of Sciences this summer to meetThe World's Largest Dinosaurs! This special exhibition, on view through January 14, 2024, explores the uniquely super-sized dinosaurs known as the sauropods.

Distinguished by their colossal size, sauropods included a wide variety of dinosaurs, including the gigantic Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus). The World’s Largest Dinosaurs focuses on the biology and behavior of the sauropods through the current research that examines dinosaurs as living animals, primarily through comparisons with their modern relatives. These giants could grow up to 150 feet in length — the length of four city buses! — and thrived on earth for 140 million years.

The exhibition's imaginative exhibits — including  a life-size model of a 60-foot-long Mamenchisaurus — take visitors deeper than just bones into the bodies of these titans, shedding light on how heart rate, respiration, metabolism, and other biological processes are related to size. 

Visitors can touch and compare sauropod teeth with those of modern plant-eaters and carnivores or use a hand pump to discover how much pressure would have been needed to distribute blood through a sauropod’s long neck to its head. Families with kids should check out the special programming, including the Sauropod Adventure children's puppet show and Dinosaur Storytime. 

We had a chance to check out the show and it was really interesting, impressive, and educational. It's sure to be a hit with all the dinosaur fans in your family! While you're there, make sure to take in the other attractions at the Academy, including the Rain Forest, the planetarium, and the Steinhart Aquarium.

If You Go

The Cal Academy is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The Academy is open 365 days a year. Ticket prices vary depending on day and projected attendance.

To get there, take 101 south across the Golden Gate Bridge, then take the 19th Avenue exit onto Park Presidio Boulevard. Follow Park Presidio to Cabrillo Street. Turn right on Cabrillo, right again on 14th Avenue, and then right again on Balboa Street and cross Park Presidio. (No left turns are allowed on Park Presidio. Turn right on 10th Avenue into the Music Concourse Parking Garage or right on 8th Avenue to drive into Golden Gate Park.

Parking, especially on weekends (parts of John F. Kennedy Drive are closed to vehicular), can be a challenge. Street parking is limited to 3 or 4 hours (make sure you check the signs). Golden Gate Park's Music Concourse garage is a good option, but it can fill up early on busy weekends. Alternate parking sites and more information can be found on the Academy's website.

For more information, visit www.calacademy.org or call (415) 379-8000.

Photos: Nicole Ravicchio © California Academy of Sciences