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Dinosaurs Are Forever

Name: Dinosaurs Are Forever
Start: 2026-08-11
End: 2026-11-01
Location: Blenheim Palace

See the life-size skeletal sculptures between
10th August - 1st November

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Dinosaurs Are Forever

From 10th August to 1st November 2026, we will host Dinosaurs Are Forever, a major new exhibition by artist Jay Jay Burridge, created in partnership with the Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford. At the heart of the exhibition are five monumental sculptures of Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur ever to be scientifically named. Discovered in Oxfordshire in 1824, Megalosaurus changed our understanding of the natural world and helped lay the foundations of modern palaeontology.

The fossil remains of Megalosaurus are now on display at the Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford.

These sculptures are not traditional museum reconstructions. Built from advanced modern materials and designed to be fully articulated, the sculptures reimagine dinosaurs through a contemporary lens. Making their public debut at Blenheim Palace, the exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to encounter the world's first named dinosaur reimagined for the 21st century. This exhibition is included with an Annual Pass.

Also, more Summer, less spend. Save when you visit between 25th June -1st September!

Megalosaurus: The First Dinosaur

In 1824, the scientific naming of Megalosaurus, meaning "great lizard", changed how we understood the world. Fossils discovered by quarry workers in the Oxfordshire village of Stonesfield were studied by geologist and clergyman William Buckland, revealing evidence of an enormous prehistoric reptile unlike anything previously known. At the time, the word "dinosaur" did not yet exist. It would be another eighteen years before Megalosaurus, alongside Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus, was grouped into a new category of animals called Dinosaurs, meaning "terrible lizards”.

Image Courtesy of Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford.

Oxfordshire: The centre of Dinosaur Discovery

The discovery transformed our understanding of Earth's history and began a scientific journey that continues today. From museum galleries and scientific discoveries to novels, films and popular culture, dinosaurs have become some of the most recognisable and influential creatures ever imagined. Two hundred years later, Oxfordshire remains at the centre of dinosaur discovery. Recent finds, including one of the world's largest known dinosaur trackways at Dewars Farm Quarry, just outside Bicester Village, continue to reveal new insights into these prehistoric animals.

Image Courtesy of Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford.

Future Fossils

The sculptures in Dinosaurs Are Forever are not reconstructions of prehistoric animals. They are synthetic interpretations, engineered forms that sit somewhere between biology and machine. Created by Future Fossils, an art and innovation studio founded by Jay Jay Burridge, the project combines art, science, engineering and storytelling to imagine what dinosaurs might become if shaped by the technologies of today.

To create them, Jay Jay Burridge worked with palaeontologist Dr Matt Dempsey to produce a new scientifically informed digital reconstruction of Megalosaurus, combining the original fossil material with evidence from its closest known relatives.

The Making of the Megalosaurus Sculptures

Each sculpture is built around a lightweight articulated framework and can be assembled and posed in different configurations. Onto this structure, every bone is individually carved by hand, combining traditional sculptural techniques with advanced contemporary materials. Inspired by ideas explored throughout Burridge's fictional World of Supersaurs, the exhibition imagines what dinosaurs might become if shaped by the technologies of today. Looking simultaneously backwards and forwards, Dinosaurs Are Forever explores the space between ancient life and future possibility.

See the bones of the Megalosaurus in Oxford

Visit the Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford to see the original Megalosaurus fossils, as part of brand new displays about Oxfordshire's prehistoric past. Founded in 1860 as the centre for scientific study at the University of Oxford, the Museum now holds the University’s internationally significant collections of entomological, geological and zoological specimens. The Museum’s growing collections underpin a broad programme of natural environment research, teaching and public engagement.

To discover more about the Megalosaurus and the birthplace of dinosaur science, visit their webpage here.

Image Courtesy of Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford.