Embark on an extraordinary journey spanning 200 million years through the paths of the Jardin des Plantes to discover illuminated Jurassic species! From November 20, 2024 to January 19, 2025.
This year, the Jardin des Plantes is hosting a new edition of its famous light trail, entitled “Jurassic en route to Illumination”.
For fans of Jurassic Parka myth collapses: in the Jurassic, no T. rex or Triceratops, neither flowers nor grass! This new edition of the essential evening walk in the Jardin des Plantes shows the Jurassic as it is described in recent scientific publications: an era where the oceans teemed with life while dinosaurs reached the mainland and the first birds are making their appearance.
From deep oceans populated by giant marine reptiles to green valleys dominated by dinosaurs, explore 5 paleoenvironments and discover these species that once populated our planet.
Thanks to hundreds of illuminated monumental sculptures, some of which are animated, this magical journey through the heart of Paris features emblematic species such as plesiosaurs, archaeopteryx, and even ammonites.
A route designed with the Museum’s scientists
This 6th edition of the “En route d’illumination” festival, designed in close collaboration with Museum scientistsmixes science and magic to awaken your curiosity and raise your awareness of paleontology.
For almost a year, around thirty researchers and scientific illustrators from the National Museum of Natural History participated in the design of the route, ensuring a representation close to reality of Jurassic species and landscapes.
The Jurassic in 5 environments
- In the Big Blue, Lower Jurassic (from -201 to -175 million years ago)
Exploration begins in the open sea, at a depth of around 300 meters, where impressive marine reptiles swim alongside ammonites and belemnites, abundant in the Jurassic seas, as well as numerous species of fish and crustaceans. Microorganisms with astonishing shapes, radiolarians, evolve with the currents.
- Twenty thousand leagues under the sea, Middle Jurassic (from -175 to -161 million years ago)
The journey continues into the abyssal depths of the ocean where various animals have managed to adapt to the extreme conditions. Some, such as squid or jellyfish, produce their own light by bioluminescence and others gather around black smokers, hydrothermal vents from which a fluid of up to 400°C escapes.
- The Mysterious Island, Upper Jurassic (-150 million years ago)
Let’s get back to the surface! In the shallow water, a teeming world evolves: corals, rudists, octopuses, sea urchins, crustaceans, fish… On dry land, we encounter dinosaurs… And if we look up, we also see the pterosaurs which dominate the sky but are already competing with flying feathered dinosaurs, such as Archaeopteryx – whose descendants are still present among us: birds!
- The Valley of Wonders, Upper Jurassic (-150 million years ago)
The exploration continues inland, in a wooded valley crossed by a river. The dinosaurs are impressive and the flora is diverse: there are numerous ferns, cycads and horsetails, while ginkgoes and conifers form the canopy.
- The inhabitants of the marsh, early Cretaceous (-140 million years ago)
Final stage of the journey: the Jurassic gives way to the Cretaceous. Wander through the heart of a swamp of the future France, where exotic biodiversity flourishes. In dense and humid forests, we come across crocodiles, turtles, fish and various amphibians, small and medium-sized mammals but also dinosaurs!
More information on the Jardin des Plantes website
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