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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2018

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Come face-to-face with prehistoric beasts in Cincinnati Museum Center’s new Dinosaur Hall

New gallery showcases rare dinosaur specimens on a grand scale Nov 17

CINCINNATI – The Jurassic Period is thundering into Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) in awe-inspiring style. The new Dinosaur Hall in CMC’s Museum of Natural History & Science debuts November 17, offering close encounters with dinosaurs you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

Walk among giants from the past and come face-to-face Jurassic beasts in the first new gallery to open in the Museum of Natural History & Science after a two-and-a-half year closure to accommodate the restoration of Union Terminal. The 7,000-square-foot gallery feature six massive dinosaur specimens from the Jurassic Period 153 to 148 million years ago, including five on display to public and the scientific community for the first time.

Walk in the shadow of the 60-foot-long Galeamopus, the most complete specimen of its species in the world. Hot on its tail is the apex predator of the Jurassic, the 35-foot, four-ton Torvosaurus, a dinosaur so rare you won’t find it anywhere else in the world. The two-legged carnivore boasted teeth nearly nine inches long and sat atop the food chain, stalking its massive herbivore neighbors, like the Galeamopus and Diplodocus, also on display in the gallery.

On the prowl nearby is another great predator, the Tyrannosaurus rex’s much older cousin Daspletosaurus. Accompanied by a T. rex skull, you can see the similarities between the two dinosaurs, including the blocky skull, short forearms and strong hind legs. The Daspletosaurus is one of less than a dozen specimens in the world.

The rarity of the dinosaurs featured in the Dinosaur Hall makes them especially important to paleontologists and researchers hoping to better understand their anatomy, behavior and evolutionary history.

But you don’t have to be a paleontologist to dig even deeper into these dinosaurs. Video microscopes let you go beyond the bones and interactive telescopes shed more light on the different bones and the physiology of these giants. Footprints on the floor encourage you to literally walk in the footsteps of prehistoric beasts. Explore the similarities between dinosaurs and birds as you learn that modern-day dinosaurs may really be chirping outside your window.

An interactive globe bookends the Dinosaur Hall, showing the movement of the Earth’s continents over 600 million years, drifting from a singular landmass to the seven continents we know today. Pay particular attention to the journey of our region, marked with a star, as it sinks beneath a tropical sea and reemerges onto firm ground.

The Dinosaur Hall showcases a portion of CMC’s stunning vertebrate paleontology collection and the groundbreaking research contributing to our greater understanding of our prehistoric past. Guests can see that work in real time in the new Paleo lab where CMC’s paleontologists and volunteers work to prepare future fossil specimens for display and research.

CMC is grateful for the lead gift from United Dairy Farmers and the Robert D. Lindner Sr. Family who made Dinosaur Hall possible. Additional support was provided by Walter L. Gross, III; Craig and Anne Maier; Fred and Joyce Moore; and Louis and Louise Nippert Charitable Foundation.

Visit 365dafa6.com/sciencemuseum/dinosaurs to learn more.