The dinosaurs were amongst the largest creatures ever to live on Earth. They dominated the land and the sea for three geological periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, a timespan of hundreds of millions of years. Experience them here in Street View and VR!

Did you know: there are fewer years between us and the last dinosaurs (65 million years), than the last dinosaurs and the first dinosaurs (approximately 178 million yeas).

Take a look the Brachiosaurus, or Giraffatitan as it's now known, at the Natural History Museum, Berlin.

Many people across the ages had found dinosaur bones, but it was only in the 19th Century, with the discoveries of William Buckland, that people began to think that they might be ancient lizards, rather than dragons or giants.

Buckland was the first to describe a dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus. Before long, Iguanodon, was discovered by Mary Ann Mantell, who believed it resembled a modern iguana. This duck-billed Anatotitan was discovered in 1904 in central Montana by Oscar Hunter.

Discoveries were soon made across the world, and the fashion for all things prehistoric exploded. Dinosaurs play key roles in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book The Lost World, and the iconic 1933 film King Kong.

Tyrannosaurus rex may be one of the best-known of all dinosaurs, and while you wouldn't want to be stuck in a room with one, it was by no means the largest. Behind this skeleton at the Naturmuseum Senckenberg is the giant leg of a Supersaurus, truly one of the largest to exist.

For decades, scientists couldn't agree on how the dinosaurs were wiped out. Some suggested a massive volcanic eruption, others that they died of an infectious disease, or that mammals simply outcompeted them.

It was only in the 1980s, when the Chicxulub impact crater was discovered, that the theory of an asteroid impact became widely accepted. But today we know that not all were killed, some of their descendents live among us, having evolved over millennia into birds.

Ok, these aren't real, and by modern standards they aren't very accurate. But these concrete sculptures were the first dinosaurs many people saw, and they started the craze for these 'terrible lizards'.

They were made in 1854 for the Crystal Palace in Bromley, London. Since then, they've inhabited a small group of islands in Crystal Palace Park, and while they may look a little shabby today, they're loved by many, and protected as historic monuments.

Thanks for joining this journey of discovery. But before you go - what do you call a one-eyed dinosaur?


Do-you-think-he-saw-us?

Widely regarded as one of the greatest paintings of the Dutch Baroque era, also known as the Golden Age of Dutch art, The Night Watch is perhaps the best known work by Rembrandt. 

Originally known as The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburgh, the painting features a group of military men and was completed in 1642 in Amsterdam. The work was likely commissioned by the men who feature in it, and was intended to hang in the Great Room of the Kloveniersdoelen, or the Musketeers Assembly Hall. 

But how much do you really know about this Dutch masterpiece? Is there more to discover than just a superb example of technical painting? Let’s take a closer look and see what we can find. 

Despite the updated name of the painting, the picture almost certainly does not portray a night time scene. The well known title was not actually given by the artist but probably applied some time later at the start of the 18^th century. 

By this time the tones of the painting had almost certainly darkened considerably thanks to layers of dirt accumulating in the varnish, giving it the appearance of being night.

Around this time, companies of civil militiamen had formed in the northern Netherlands with the aim of defending their cities. They would be tasked with guarding the streets, tackling fires, and generally maintaining order. Each company would have its own guild hall, which were often decorated with portraits of serving members, usually armed and dressed in their finery. As such, these kinds of pictures aimed to promote a sense of pride in their civic duty.

In The Night Watch, the company is under the command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, who you can see in the center foreground, dressed in black and with the white lace collar commonly worn by the upper classes at the time. 

Striding forward to meet him is Willem van Ruytenburgh, dressed in bright yellow. 

One of the most unusual features of the painting is the mysterious girl who emerges from the center of the painting.

Dressed in gold and with flowing blond hair, she carries a chicken tied to her waistband. 

The bird is the clue to the puzzle, as a golden claw was used as an emblem for the musketeers at this time. So, the girl probably personifies the whole company in the painting.

The musket is the most prominent weapon in the painting and the official weapon of the Kloveniers. They are given significance just behind the head of the captain and are painted to display the basic way to properly handle the weapon. 

On the left, the musketeer is pouring powder into his muzzle. 

Next, a helmeted figure fires off his weapon.

Lastly, another figure cleans the powder from his musket.