Central Europe’s largest predatory dinosaur, marine reptiles, giant trees and tiny mammals – all have been found as fossils in North Rhine-Westphalia and can be seen in the exhibition ‘About Life among Dinosaurs and Giant Lycopsids’.

Giants, mysteries and forgotten worlds: hidden beneath layers of time and stone lie traces of a reality that began long before the advent of humankind – including here in North Rhine-Westphalia. Fossils preserve moments from a distant past and continue to raise new questions to this day. It is precisely these prehistoric treasures and spectacular fossil finds that North Rhine-Westphalia will be showcasing in 2026 with a state-wide palaeontological exhibition entitled ‘überLeben’. The state-wide palaeontological exhibition is being organised on the initiative of the Ministry for Home Affairs, Local Government, Construction and Digitalisation.

Traces of extinct creatures can be found throughout North Rhine-Westphalia – the oldest of which are around 485 million years old. Alongside native dinosaurs, there is evidence of early mammals, the oldest plesiosaur, the oldest fully preserved flying insects and the world’s largest ammonite. Exotic habitats such as the Devonian reefs of the Rhenish Slate Mountains, the Carboniferous coal swamp forests of the Ruhr region, or the shallow seas of the Jurassic Wiehen Mountains and the Cretaceous Münsterland offer insights into a breathtaking diversity. A wide variety of multimedia reconstructions bring this diverse life and its environment to life.

'About Life among Dinosaurs and Giant Lycopsids' is the second of three exhibitions forming part of the Paläontologische Landesausstellung Nordrhein-Westfalen– initiated and funded by the Ministerium für Heimat, Kommunales, Bau und Digitalisierung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. The other venues are the Ruhr Museum in Essen and the Lippische Landesmuseum in Detmold (from 26 September). Each exhibition focuses on a specific geological epoch – but the central theme is always ‘survival’. The exhibitions explore both survival across the various geological eras and the fascinating biodiversity of the plants, animals and, later, humans that lived during each period.

A wall of ammonites also draws the eye to finds from the area around Münster. The centrepiece of this exhibition area is ‘Parapuzosia seppenradensis’ from Lüdinghausen-Seppenrade (Coesfeld district) – the world’s largest known giant ammonite. The original fossil, which weighs several tonnes, cannot currently be displayed due to building work in the old museum foyer. Instead, a spectacular life-size model brings the find to life.

Mammoths in Essen, dinosaurs in Münster and marine mammals in Detmold: from April 2026 to September 2027, three exhibitions will show how life has changed over millions of years. The Paläontologische Landesausstellung Nordrhein-Westfalen is a joint project of the Ruhr Museum, the LWL-Museum für Naturkunde and the Lippisches Landesmuseum Detmold, initiated and sponsored by the Ministerium für Heimat, Kommunales, Bau und Digitales des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Each exhibition is dedicated to a geological epoch – always with a focus on "survival": survival in different geological eras and the diversity of plants, animals and humans. Over the course of 485 million years, North Rhine-Westphalia has been constantly changing over the course of 485 million years – covered by the sea, shaped by mountains, swamps and river landscapes. The state exhibition brings this diversity to life in a scientifically sound, multimedia format that is accessible to all.

 More information about the projekt...

The project “About Life among Dinosaurs and Giant Lycopsids” is funded by the LWL-Kulturstiftung. It forms part of the cultural programme marking the “1250 Years of Westphalia” anniversary, which was celebrated in 2025 under the patronage of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and will continue to have an impact well into 2026.