Opening of the temporary exhibition “Jurassic World: The dinosaurs beyond cinema”

On 12 August 2025, in the event hall of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, the museum’s Deputy Director Assoc. Prof. Tihomir Stefanov officially unveiled the temporary exhibition “Jurassic World: The dinosaurs beyond the cinema.”

The exhibition presents 12 original paintings by palaeoartist and palaeontologist Assist. Vladimir Nikolov, who is a doctoral student at the museum. In his exhibition, he invites visitors of the museum to step into the lost world of the Mesozoic era as imagined by 21st century palaeontology. The illustrated scenes of the everyday life of dinosaurs and other contemporaneous reptiles show life in our planet’s ancient past in all its diversity and colourfulness.

“The exhibition shows scenes from across the entire duration of the Mesozoic era. I wondered if the title should be “Mesozoic World,” but I ended up choosing “Jurassic World” for the reference to cinema and popular culture,” shared V. Nikolov.

Visitors of the event included the journalist, writer, and radio host Blagoy D. Ivanov, as well as colleagues and fans of palaeontology and palaeoart.

From the mid-19th century, when scientists realised that the large fossils found in Mesozoic-era rocks belong to an unknown group of extinct reptiles, dinosaurs have captured human imagination and have become a part of popular culture. An important part in this process plays palaeoart — a field of art dedicated to the scientifically-informed reconstruction of fossil organisms. Today, the public idea of what dinosaurs (and their Mesozoic cousins) looked like is largely influenced by movies like “Jurassic Park” and its numerous sequels.

But to what extent do the images of Hollywood monsters match modern scientific data? You can find the answer to this question in the exhibition “Jurassic World: The dinosaurs beyond the cinema.” Because the world of the dinosaurs is more than just monsters fighting each other.

In our museum shop, you can find a series of 5 postcards, 5 magnets, and 5 pins with some of the paintings from the exhibition.