A volcano, with a flying orange dino hanging in he steam, plays central role in telling the story of how Mesozoic climates shaped history of life on Earth. (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History)
A volcano plays a key role in telling the story of how Mesozoic climates shaped the history of life on Earth. (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History)

Curators and exhibit staff at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) are busy bringing back the popular dinosaur exhibit Dinorama: Miniatures Through the Mesozoic.

The exhibit opens Saturday, Oct. 17 and runs through March 14 in Sprague Pavilion, where visitors can get a new perspective on deep time as they tower over a landscape of tiny dinosaurs, and cross millions of years in a single step, organizers said.

When Dinorama: Miniatures Through the Mesozoic debuted in 2021, the museum didn’t know how it would go over, but “visitors of all ages took to them like ichthyosaurs to water,” SBMNH said.

“Many visitors, especially the seven-year-olds, had long, deep, scientific conversations with the museum’s interpreters. The little exhibit left a big impression,” organizers said.

This year, three paleontologists curated a fresh incarnation with more biodiversity and nuance. Jonathan Hoffman, Dibblee Curator of Earth Science; and Ben Rotenberg, fossil preparator, called in Justin Lemberg to provide key expertise.

Lemberg is the John Johnson Chair of Anthropology, but his background in vertebrate paleontology drew him into helping with Dinorama. (Lemberg’s dissertation is about the famous transitional fish Tiktaalik.)

The three experts said they hope visitors “come for the dinosaurs and stay for the science.” The combination of whimsical staging and hard science makes this exhibit compelling and fun for all ages, they said.

“I hope people notice how interesting and strange the Triassic was,” said Lemberg. “It was a time period when the ecological role of ‘crocs’ was filled by giant amphibians and the role of ‘dinosaurs’ was filled by crocodile relatives and giant, egg-laying mammal relatives.”

He encourages guests take time to look for the details and Easter eggs. “Don’t rush through it on your way to T. rex.” he said.

“The biodiversity through the Mesozoic is amazing,” said Hoffman. “Each period has its own assemblage of vertebrates with different characteristics: giant size, formidable headgear, protective armor, winged flight, and streamlined swimming.

“And every year, paleontologists are discovering new species of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic vertebrates.”

Dinorama is included with museum admission (members always visit for free). The Sprague Pavilion is ADA accessible.

Founded in 1916, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a private nonprofit supported in part by philanthropy, membership, and visitors. For more, visit sbnature.org.