U.S. museum expecting large crowds when new T-Rex exhibit opens

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U.S. museum expecting large crowds when new T-Rex exhibit opens

A special, prehistoric visitor will be part of a new exhibit at a Smithsonian Museum here in Washington. But unlike the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, this giant reptile will make visitors smile. CGTN’s Jim Spellman has details.

Washington DC’s newest visitor has arrived–a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil that will soon be on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  The fossil was shipped via FedEx from a lab in Canada where the bones were being prepared for exhibition. When it’s complete, the T-Rex will stand four-and-a-half meters high and 12 meters long, and will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit called “Deep Time.”

“Dinosaurs are a perfect combination,” said Matthew Carrano, the curator of the exhibit, called “Dinosauria.” “Dinosaurs are incredibly fantastic animals. You can use your imagination to think, ‘what do they sound like? What do they smell like?’  But you know in the back of your head they are really real, so it’s not just fantasy.”

The exhibit will open in June of 2019. When it does, the Smithsonian expects about six million people from all over the world to visit, including thousands from China where interest in dinosaurs has been increasing as more fossils are being uncovered there.

“China has phenomenal dinosaurs,” said Kirk Johnson of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. “Many of the breakthroughs in dinosaur science since the mid-90’s have happened in China.”

The T. Rex exhibit will be designed to command attention from visitors, and vividly demonstrate the power of this giant reptiles.

“When the hall opens, this T-Rex is going to be standing on its feet,” said Carrano. “It’s going to have its mouth around the head of a Triceratops, and it’s going to be in the process of decapitating that Triceratops, so it’s going to be a pretty lively view for our visitors.”

So who would win a fight between a T. Rex and a Triceratops? The T. Rex will win this particular match, but in reality, experts say the outcome wouldn’t have been so certain.

“I think it’s fair to say they are pretty evenly matched,” said Carrano. “In this case, one animal has gotten the upper hand but it could have easily gone the other way.”

Photo gallery of new T-Rex Exbit