NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM ABU DHABI – DINOSAURS
About the Project
The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is set to become one of the world's great natural science institutions. Spanning over 35,000 square metres on Saadiyat Island, the museum tells the 13.8-billion-year story of our universe – from the Big Bang through the formation of the solar system, the emergence of life on Earth, and the rise and fall of the dinosaurs.
eye-candy.xyz partnered with NGX Interactive Vancouver to deliver production-ready real-time 3D assets for the museum's prehistoric life galleries. Our scope covered 3D modeling, texturing, and shading for a diverse roster of dinosaurs and ancient marine creatures, all built and optimised from the ground up for interactive real-time rendering on the museum's large-format installations.
Every asset had to hold up under close-range visitor inspection while running at real-time frame rates – a fundamentally different constraint from offline VFX. Geometry budgets, texture resolution, LOD strategies, and shader complexity were all carefully balanced to deliver cinematic fidelity within a real-time engine. The species roster spans hundreds of millions of years of evolution – from armoured Triassic reptiles and towering sauropods to apex predators of the Cretaceous seas.
Species
Quetzalcoatlus
Late Cretaceous, ~68–66 Ma
The largest known flying animal, with a wingspan exceeding 10 metres. This azhdarchid pterosaur likely hunted on the ground like a modern stork, stalking small dinosaurs across Cretaceous floodplains. Named after the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl.
Arizonasaurus
Middle Triassic, ~243–240 Ma
A sail-backed ctenosauriscid archosaur up to 3 metres long, discovered in the Moenkopi Formation of Arizona. Its prominent dorsal sail, supported by elongated vertebral spines, may have served in thermoregulation or display. One of the apex predators of its time.
Mosasaurus
Late Cretaceous, ~82–66 Ma
Reaching lengths of up to 13 metres, Mosasaurus was the apex predator of Late Cretaceous oceans. This marine squamate had a streamlined, hydrodynamic body, powerful paddle-like flippers, and a jaw equipped with conical teeth designed for seizing prey. First discovered near the Meuse River in the Netherlands in 1764.
Cyamodus
Middle Triassic, ~247–235 Ma
A heavily armoured placodont reptile roughly 1.3 metres long, Cyamodus inhabited shallow Triassic seas across what is now central Europe. Its broad, turtle-like body armour and flat crushing teeth were adapted for feeding on shellfish. An early example of convergent evolution with modern sea turtles.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Late Cretaceous, ~72–66 Ma
The undisputed icon of the Mesozoic, reaching up to 12.3 metres long and weighing over 8 tonnes. Its banana-sized serrated teeth could crush bone, and recent studies suggest it possessed keen binocular vision rivalling modern raptors.
Juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex
Late Cretaceous, ~72–66 Ma
Young tyrannosaurs were built very differently from the adults – leaner, longer-legged, and likely far faster. Palaeontologists believe juveniles occupied a different ecological niche than adults, functioning almost as a separate predator class in their ecosystem.
Camarasaurus
Late Jurassic, ~155–145 Ma
The most abundant sauropod of Late Jurassic North America, reaching about 18 metres in length. Its name means "chambered lizard", referring to the hollow chambers in its vertebrae that reduced skeletal weight without sacrificing structural strength.
Tenontosaurus
Early Cretaceous, ~115–108 Ma
A medium-sized ornithopod herbivore about 6.5–8 metres long, notable for its exceptionally long, stiffened tail that comprised more than half its total body length. Frequently found alongside Deinonychus fossils, providing key evidence for pack-hunting behaviour in raptors.
Liopleurodon
Middle–Late Jurassic, ~165–150 Ma
A formidable pliosaur that patrolled Jurassic seas, growing to around 6–7 metres. It propelled itself with four powerful hydrofoil-like flippers, and its interlocking conical teeth made it one of the most effective marine predators of its era.
Xiphactinus
Late Cretaceous, ~100–66 Ma
One of the largest bony fish ever to have lived, reaching up to 6 metres in length. A famous fossil specimen – nicknamed "fish within a fish" – preserves a nearly complete Gillicus inside its ribcage, swallowed whole shortly before the Xiphactinus itself perished.
Ammonoid
Devonian–Cretaceous, ~409–66 Ma
Among the most successful marine invertebrates in Earth's history, ammonoids thrived for over 340 million years. Their coiled, chambered shells served as buoyancy regulators, and their extraordinary diversity makes them invaluable index fossils for dating rock strata worldwide.
Quetzalcoatlus – Flight Pose
Late Cretaceous, ~68–66 Ma
A second turntable of the giant azhdarchid captured mid-flight, emphasising wing membrane translucency and the aerodynamic profile that allowed an animal the height of a giraffe to become airborne.
About the Museum
The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is part of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District – home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and the Zayed National Museum. Designed to inspire curiosity and environmental stewardship, it will house over 2,000 specimens and artefacts, including some of the world's rarest fossils.
The museum's galleries are organised around a narrative arc that spans cosmic origins, planetary formation, the evolution of complex life, and humanity's relationship with the natural world. Large-scale immersive installations – powered by real-time 3D technology – bring extinct species back to life, allowing visitors to observe their anatomy and behaviour up close.
At approximately 35,000 m², the museum is one of the largest natural history institutions in the Middle East and positions Abu Dhabi as a global hub for natural science education and research.