In Valencia you can now travel, without leaving the cultural center, to a remote territory populated by giants: the exhibition Dinosaurs of Patagonia turns the rooms of CaixaForum Valencia in a window to the Mesozoic, with authentic fossils and life-size reproductions.
The proposal, developed by the Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum (MEF), reviews the evolution of Patagonian dinosaurs through 13 species and can be visited until March 1th 2026, after garnering more than a million visitors in other cities.
A sample to travel to the past
The contents place the public in a Mesozoic Patagonia very different from the current one: without the Andes mountain range, with a more temperate climate and large forests capable of supporting these enormous animals.
At the presentation, the director Álvaro Borrás, the coordinator Alejandro Pérez and the head of Science at the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Javier Hidalgo., highlighted the balance between rigor and spectacle, in addition to the logistical challenge of setting up large-format replicas alongside original parts.
One of the claims is the outdoor installation: the monumental replica of a sauropod presides over the Agora Square, facing the Cloud, so that its silhouette can also be seen from outside the building as a preview of the interior tour.
The colossus Patagotitan mayorum
The main character is the Patagotitan mayorum, one of the largest known land animals: it reached 38 meters long and about 77 tons, about five meters high to the shoulder blade, a size equivalent to fourteen African elephants.
The exhibition brings together holotypes of this species—two femurs, one humerus, one ulna and one radius—that is, the original specimens with which the taxon was scientifically defined, accompanied by panels that explain their study and conservation.
The discovery began with the attentive look of a rural worker in Chubut; the region also recorded the discovery of a dinosaur egg, and led to excavations by the MEF that recovered more than 140 bones In very good condition: part of the neck, a good part of the tail and elements of the limbs, which allowed us to reconstruct its anatomy with unprecedented detail.
Research associated with this giant has provided clues about the gigantism of titanosaurs and on physiological traits —such as the air bags linked to the respiratory system—which birds share today, essential for supporting bodies of such size.
More species and featured pieces
The tour also features large predators such as Tyrannotitan chubutensis —about 12 meters long and about six tons—, which have been identified dozens of teeth in the same area as the Patagotitan deposit; it is estimated that it could have reached speeds close to 30 km/h.
There is room for tiny, early species: the small Manidens condorensis and the peculiar Brachytrachelopan, with short necks, live in the room with the very old ones Eoraptor lunensis and Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, which help to understand the first evolutionary steps of the group.
Among the original materials are vertebrae of ornithopods, sauropod teeth such as Bagualia alba and theropods of the family of the carcharodontosaurs, in addition to samples of fossil flora that contextualize the ecosystem of that time.
The contextual section recalls that, when South America was part of Pangea, the Patagonian region offered forested environments crossed by rivers, a favorable setting for the development of giant herbivores and their predators.
Activities and resources for the public
The parallel programming includes the conference cycle Land of giants, with specialists such as Penelope Crusader-Knight, Francisco Ortega, Angela D. Buscalioni y Angel Galobart, focusing on diversity, sites and extinction.
For families, the cycle Little moviegoers: Movie dinosaurs It offers popular titles with a didactic introduction and subsequent discussion, a format designed for enjoying and learning in company.
Younger audiences will be able to put themselves in the shoes of a paleontologist in the workshop. Jurassic Camp, and participate in the Dinosaur Academy, an experience fair where adaptive traits are explored through games and tests.
The offer is completed by a scientific illustration workshop with the artist Hugo Salais, and guided tours and tours adapted for schoolchildren and families, with a focus on scientific methodology and Field work.
With this display of original parts, scale replicas and educational proposals, CaixaForum València offers an accessible and documented itinerary through the diversity of Patagonian dinosaurs, with the aim of patagotitan as an emblem, 13 species in the room and closing date scheduled for March 1th 2026.
