REGINA – “Scotty,” one of the world’s largest tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, is coming to Regina.
The Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) announced that construction to facilitate the dinosaur is underway. Despite this, the museum will not be closed for the duration of the work.
“The RSM is a world-class organization and continually offers new experiences to its visitors, the addition of Scotty will prove to be one of the most exciting additions yet,” said Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Gene Makowsky in a press release. “In a few years, we may forget what the RSM previously looked like, make sure to visit through the holidays to see the transformation and continue to visit when Scotty is revealed in the spring of 2019.”
Currently Scotty’s skull sits on a podium near the museum’s main entrance.
Work began in early November and is expected to be complete in spring 2019. Visitors can still enjoy the Life Sciences, First Nations and Earth Sciences Galleries.
The dinosaur skeleton is part of a larger facelift of the museum. The Friends of the RSM and the museum itself are putting $1.2 million towards the work. The federal government is chipping in $472,000 for functional improvements to the facility.
Scotty’s skeleton was found by a Saskatchewan high school teacher in 1991 during a paleontology expedition. The skeleton was excavated in 1994.
Scotty is not the largest, that title belongs to Sue who resides at the Chicago museum of natural history.