Targaryens and their dragons on display at the Natural History Museum

Image: House of the Dragon/HBO
Image: House of the Dragon/HBO

The history of George R.R. Martin’s Westeros can be as complicated, bloody and dense as anything from our own world. How are you supposed to tell all the different King Aegons from one another? Which Targaryen rode Syrax vs Moondancer vs Balerion vs Caraxes? Only with careful study can this knowledge be attained.

Or so we tell ourselves while poring over Martin’s tomes and ignoring actual history, which is much more boring because it doesn’t involve dragons. But let me ask you this: if learning about the history of Westeros was so unimportant, would there be a whole museum about it? Because there is. In the lead-up to the premiere of the first Game of Thrones prequel show, HBO Max has teamed up with the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles to bring us House of the Dragon: The Targaryen Dynasty.

The museum describes the exhibit as “a new, one-of-a-kind experience exploring the lives and legends of the HBO original series House of the Dragon. Visit the mythical world of Westeros, the Targaryen Dynasty, and the dragons that ruled beside them. Attendees will be the first to see new costumes and props from the series and have the chance to sit on a replica of the new Iron Throne. Through related digital and public programming, we will also explore the relationship between dragons and the real-life creatures that may have inspired them.”

(Fake) history comes alive with House of the Dragon: The Targaryen Dynasty

House of the Dragon: The Targaryen Dynasty will be on display from August 5 through September 7. The actual show premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21, so attendees can get a load of the exhibit before and after they see the fruits of HBO’s labors.

For more information check out the museum’s website.

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