Fantastic creatures of land, sea, and air have long lived in our imaginations. Legends and fairy tales, ancient and modern art, theatre, dance and movies and even accounts by early naturalists all feed our fascination for these legendary beasts.

This exhibition will present original artifacts and objects from a multitude of cultures, as well as models of some of the world's most famous mythical creatures, including a gigantic dragon with its large wings spread wide. Visitors will be able to admire spectacular sculptures, paintings, textiles and specimens from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History. They will also see remarkable artifacts from the Museum of Civilization's collections and a number of scientific, historical and ethnographic objects. Rarely will so many cultures have been represented in a single exhibition.

This exhibition is the fruit of a partnership between the Museum of Civilization and the American Museum of Natural History, New York, the Field Museum, Chicago, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, and the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta.