Tickets go on sale today (Friday February 21) for T. rex: The Killer Question, the Natural History Museum’s touring exhibition which will be on show at Peterborough Cathedral from July 20 to August 31.
The exhibition, which was last seen in the UK at Longleat in 2018, includes a 12-metre-long static model of a T. rex as well as a life-size T. rex skeleton and nine animatronic dinosaurs. It poses the killer question: Was T. rex a ferocious hunter or a mere scavenger?
To help visitors answer the question, the exhibition presents scenes showing the behaviour of several different dinosaur species, from the small and agile Sauronitholestes, to the savage Dromaeosaurus and the plant-eating Tenontosaurus. It also shows examples of bones and fossils to see what they can tell us about T. rex.
The roaring of animatronic dinosaurs will come from the early sixteenth century ‘New Building’ at the far end of the Cathedral where the exhibition will be on display.
On Wednesdays there’ll be a special ‘quiet hour’ at around 11am for visitors who prefer to see the dinosaurs without sound and movement.
This also means that the regular 11am service of Holy Communion can go ahead undisturbed.
Alex Burch, Head of Public Programmes at the Natural History Museum said – “We are thrilled to be bringing T. rex: The Killer Question to Peterborough. We hope that the exhibition will be able to educate and entertain an entirely new audience about dinosaurs, specifically the awe-inspiring T. rex. It is our hope that these exciting animals that once roamed our planet can inspire a love of the natural world and motivate people to protect our shared earth.”
On Thursdays during the exhibition there’ll be fun-packed craft and storytelling sessions for children, entitled ‘To Extinction and Beyond’. Sessions will run at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm each week and will focus on a different aspect of dinosaurs, from eggs to extinction to fossils.
Nearer the time, it will also be possible to book tower top climbs and family-friendly Cathedral tours on selected dates.
The Very Revd Chris Dalliston, Dean of Peterborough, said – “People have asked how we could possibly follow Tim Peake’s Spacecraft or Luke Jerram’s amazing artworks, but knowing how popular dinosaurs are at the Natural History Museum in London, we feel that this will be a fitting sequel. It’s going to be a great day out for families, not just to see T. rex and his friends, but also to spend time exploring this wonderful Cathedral and asking our own big questions about the world and our place in it.”
The Cathedral has been appealing for local exhibition sponsors and already Henson Crisp, Independent Financial Advisers, have come forward and negotiations are underway with other sponsors and practical supporters.
If you’d like to get involved in this exciting project, please contact Dawn Caplin at Peterborough Cathedral Trust (reg charity no 1159730) on 01733 355311 / 07849 946937, or dawn.caplin@peterboroughcathedraltrust.org.
Tickets to see T. rex: The Killer Question are £6 per person, or £20 for a family ticket (two adults and up to three children aged 3-16 years). Tickets for To Extinction and Beyond, the children’s craft and storytelling sessions on Thursdays, are £5 per child. All tickets are available via the Cathedral’s website www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/t.rex or by calling 01733 355315 during office hours.
Photo: T.Rex ©The Trustees of The Natural History Museum, London