One of the latest news items in the world of paleontology is the upcoming close of the Fossil Hall at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The exhibit will close on April 28, 2014 and reopen in 2019. During this five year period the entire space will undergo renovations to create the new 31,000 square foot exhibit named National Fossil Hall.
One of the reasons for this renovation is the acquisition of a new and nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that will be on loan from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Museum of the Rockies for the next 50 years. A cast of the new T. rex skull has been on display since January 16, 2014 and will remain so until the arrival of the entire skeleton on April 15, 2014. Even though the hall will be closing, the museum will still have exhibits of dinosaurs on display throughout the 5-year period.
In the meantime, the new T. rex will be the star of the show in The Rex Room which will be located in Mammals Hall from April 15, 2014 to October 20, 2014. The skeleton, which was discovered in eastern Montana in 1988 by Kathy Wankel and later excavated by Dr. Jack Horner, will undergo study and preparations for display over the next five years. The Rex Room will give the public a special view of this work as well as the preparation of other fossils for the new exhibition.
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