Otago Museum hosts Dinosaur Exhibition

One-hundred-and-fifty-million years ago, they roamed what are now the plains of China. Now, these towering prehistoric creatures are about to take over the Otago Museum where the newest attraction in New Zealand will also be the oldest. And unlike the man-made imitations in theme parks or the digital animations in films, these dinosaurs actually roamed Earth millions of years ago.

In a stunning coup, the Otago Museum has managed to win the honours of hosting New Zealand’s first exhibition of Chinese Dinosaurs. Extensive negotiations have finally paid off for the Otago Museum, providing not only the Otago community, but residents of the whole South Island, with the very unique opportunity to see real dinosaur remains.

Twelve complete dinosaur skeletons, together with 43 other dinosaur fossils, will inhabit the Museum upon the arrival of Chinese Dinosaurs, the Otago Museum’s BIGGEST EVER exhibition. Among the attractions is a colossal 9 metre high sauropod, the Omeisaurus, which will occupy the foyer and be erected up through the Atrium. A gigantic 23 metre long sauropod, the Mamenchisaurus, will also dominate the premises.

Other highlights will include the awesome Velociraptor – made infamous by the film Jurassic Park, one of the world’s oldest stegosaurs, and a child-sized, parrot-beaked dinosaur. As well as dinosaur skeletons, the exhibition will feature dinosaur eggs, claws, teeth, skeletal spines, large plesiosaurs, tiny nothosaurs, turtles and other marine reptiles.

Chinese Dinosaurs will be the largest exhibition EVER to visit New Zealand. It will arrive in New Zealand in four shipping containers and will require eight Chinese technicians to assemble the skeletons.

“This is an outstanding opportunity and a real coup for Otago”, says Otago Museum Trust Board Chairperson Margaret Collins. “We are extremely excited at the prospect of hosting these magnificent dinosaurs and dragon birds”.

Chinese Dinosaurs was developed by the Australian Museum in association with two major natural history museums in China, the Beijing Natural History Museum and the Zigong Dinosaur Museum. The exhibition is made possible with the support of the Community Trust of Otago.

Guaranteed to leave lasting impressions, this very impressive exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is not to be missed!

The exhibition is open at the Otago Museum from 30 August until 2 November.

Huayangosaurus Courtesy of the Australian Museum Click here for a larger version	Velociraptor Photo supplied by Otago Museum Click here for a larger version
Tsintaosaurus Photo supplied by Otago Museum Click here for a larger version	Yangchuanosaurus Courtesy of the Australian Museum Click here for a larger version
Mamenchisaurus Photo supplied by Otago Museum Click here for a larger version