The first real Tyrannosaurus rex to be displayed in England for more than a century will arrive at Nottingham’s Wollaton Hall Natural History Museum this summer with an exclusive school programme available.
Scheduled for arrival on Sunday 4th July, the focus of the new exhibition will explore the life and environment of ‘Titus’ the T. rex, a skeleton discovered in the Montana Badlands in the USA in 2018.
Taking over the first floor with four new galleries, the exhibition, Titus: T. rex is King, is designed around the T. rex himself and is said to offer students of all ages the chance to experience the sheer size and scale of the skeleton.
Alongside coming face-to-face with the T. rex skeleton, pupils can learn from the digital and interactive virtual media displays which will explain the journey from discovery in the USA, through to the experience of excavation, curation, examination, rebuild and final reveal.
Sue Mallender, learning programmes science officer at Nottingham City Museums, said: “The launch of the Titus: T. rex is King exhibition will be an extraordinary educational experience for all, where visitors can enjoy the unique journey of Titus, discovering all there is to know about this notorious dinosaur.
“The exhibition makes the perfect school trip – the opportunity to meet Titus himself and get involved with various assisted activities, then explore the king of dinosaurs in many interactive experiences including creating your own digital version of Titus and taking selfies with a T. rex head. It is truly an amazing experience and an absolute must-see.”
Students and teachers will be able to enjoy the exhibition independently from the public during the 10-11am school exhibition slot, as well as attend other time slots alongside the general public, and book exclusive facilitated school sessions with an information pack.
The initial facilitated sessions available include:
- Mary Anning & Her Fossils, exploring the world of the amazing Victorian fossil hunter with access to the museum’s fossil handling collections.
- Darwin in Colour and Darwin & You will look at the controversial evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin with real specimens of colourful insects, birds and mammals, real skulls and skeletons and replica hominid skulls.
- Be a Palaeo Artist, using science to create unique dinosaur artworks.
- Bones, identifying and investigating skeletons of creatures, and learning about the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for leisure and culture, Eunice Campbell-Clark, said: “We are thrilled that the exhibition enables teachers to offer a real life experience to students through the display of the T. rex skeleton, and that students will be able to discover and explore Natural History, evolution & the environment.
“It will be a unique experience to witness the skeleton of a T. rex and to delve into the world of Titus, and it is wonderful that is being exclusively released at Wollaton Hall.”
The 10–11am schools exhibition slot can be arranged with the learning and education team, and allows one free staff place for each set of ten pupils booked for the exhibition.
Other time slots throughout the day can be booked by teachers for student trips, though they may include the general public. There is a small additional cost for facilitated sessions.
For more information and to arrange a schools trip, visit the website at www.wollatonhall.org.uk/titus/learning-education.
