To coincide with World Environment Day, Birmingham Museums and National Museums Scotland have announced the UK debut of Giants, a spectacular touring exhibition developed by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and toured by Nomad Exhibitions.

This immersive showcase of giant prehistoric animals will open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on 2 August 2025, before travelling to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh in January 2026.​

Giants invites visitors on a journey through time, from 66 million years ago to the present day, to encounter the awe-inspiring creatures that roamed the Earth after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The exhibition features life-sized 3D models and nearly complete skeletons, including the formidable Otodus megalodon, the mightiest shark of all time, the Mammuthus primigenius or woolly mammoth, weighing in at between six and eight tons with long thick fur and imposing tusks and Gigantopithecus blacki, an Asian primate comparable in size to three orangutans.

Interactive elements allow visitors of all ages to step into the shoes of palaeontologists and biologists, engaging with the scientific processes behind fossil discovery and reconstruction.

Immersive projections transport audiences into the natural habitats of these colossal beings, providing context to their existence and eventual extinction.

New giants have emerged since, such as elephants, rhinoceroses and whales, but they are now too under threat of extinction.

The exhibition also serves as a poignant reminder of nature’s fragility and the urgent need to protect these animals for future generations.

The announcement of the exhibition’s arrival coincides with World Environment Day on 5 June, which this year is focused on ending plastic pollution.

Giants opens on 2 August 2025 at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Ticket prices £15.50 adult, £8.00 open concession, free for children up to 15 years. Book at birminghammuseums.org.uk

Image credit: © Fisheye / RBINS