A Tyrannosaurus Rex running outside of Edinburgh Castle.
Past exhibitions

Tyrannosaurs

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National Museum of Scotland

About Tyrannosaurs

Tyrannosaurs explored the most feared and revered of all dinosaurs, bringing the latest palaeontological discoveries to life and challenging preconceptions about these ferocious predators.

While the most famous of the species is the mighty T. rex, tyrannosaurs came in all shapes and sizes, and their history extends over 100 million years. The exhibition featured extremely rare fossil specimens, cast skeletons – including one of ‘Scotty’, one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons in the world – and incredible models of feathered dinosaurs. Visitors explored the diversity of tyrannosaur skulls and found out what variations in structure can tell us about different hunting and feeding strategies. 

Tyrannosaurs used cutting-edge technology, including hands-on and multimedia experiences and an interactive augmented reality experience where visitors could play with life-sized dinosaurs in the gallery.

Despite their final demise during one of Earth’s biggest mass extinction events, tyrannosaurs live on both in popular imagination and even through to their present-day bird cousins. 

Tyrannosaur research is one of the hottest areas in palaeontology – several species have been described in just the past decade – and exciting new discoveries are regularly re-drawing the family tree. 

'Jurassic thrills which will have kids gasping in the greatest amazement, and which are bound to make it a guaranteed hit.'

The List

'Fascinating'

Herald Scotland

'Roarsome, jawsome, awesome!'

Primary Times

Inside the exhibition

Behind the scenes

Take a look behind the scenes and watch the construction of Scotty the T. rex. 

Visitor views

Created by the Australian Museum and toured internationally by Flying Fish

Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery

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