The new permanent displays is of a set of 12 dinosaurs including the giant Tricerotops, a 45 foot long Tyrannosaurus rex and the tiny but vicious-looking Velocirator. The roll call of names - jaw-breakers familiar to every 9 year-old - includes Edmontosaurus, the bullet-headed Pachcephalosaurus, a graceful Struthiomimus, Eustreptospondylus, and Camptosaurus.

Prominently featured are dinosaurs discovered in Oxfordshire, including the giant carnivorous Megalosaurus (from Stonesfield), the very first dinosaur ever described (in 1824), and the brontosaurus-like Cetiosaurus (from Kidlington).

As the museum's director, Professor Keith Thomson says "dinosaurs are not all from far-off places: at least four kinds are found in Oxfordshire rocks and Eustreptospondylus was found only a mile or two away, on the site of St Edward's School playing fields in North Oxford. These local discoveries occupy a special place in the whole history of palaeontolgy."

This Panorama of the Oxford's Dodo comes from our upcoming tour of the Oxford University Museum. See a preview here.