Newcastle University

Tyrannosaurus rex, the fiercest and most notorious of all the dinosaurs, is taking up permanent residence in Newcastle.

The life size skeletal cast of a T rex, which arrived this week at the soon-to-be-opened Great North Museum: Hancock, is set to be one of the major attractions when the new museum opens in late Spring 2009. The model will be a stunning centrepiece in the Fossil Stories gallery, where sound, touch and animation will bring back to life a world that disappeared millions of years ago.

The arrival of the T rex – whose name means ‘tyrant lizard’ – is a major milestone in the development of the £26 million Great North Museum. Project manager, Steve McLean, said: ‘Tyrannosaurus rex is probably everyone’s favourite dinosaur, and this full scale skeletal model is really impressive. It is so big that it has had to be assembled on site, and the rest of the gallery will now be built around it.’

T rex was one of the largest land-dwelling meat-eaters ever to roam the earth. Standing five metres high and 15 metres long, it weighed approximately the same as a fully-grown African elephant and could run at a speed of up to 22 miles an hour. It lived between 65 and 70 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period. T rex fossils have been found in Canada, North America and China.

The cast has been custom built in Canada especially for the Great North Museum: Hancock by Research Casting International, one of the world’s largest providers of Museum Technical Services.

The Great North Museum is a partnership between Newcastle University, Tyne & Wear Museums, Newcastle City Council, the Natural History Society of Northumbria and the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne.

It has been made possible by generous funding from a wide range of supporters including the Heritage Lottery Fund, TyneWear Partnership, One NorthEast, the European Regional Development Fund, Newcastle University, Newcastle City Council, The Northern Rock Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation and the DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund.

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Great North Museum: Hancock