Exhibition Overview
This exhibition hypothesizes that T. rex was an opportunistic scavenger rather than a predator. Evidence for this hypothesis is based on comparing the anatomy and behavior of present-day predators and scavengers with the fossil evidence from T. rex and other theropod dinosaurs. Using a "trial" format, viewers are asked to examine the evidence presented and to evaluate the hypothesis. As members of the "jury," viewers may cast their ballot judging whether T. rex was a predator or a scavenger.
Through the use of real fossils, casts of fossils, and interactive displays, this exhibition
- encourages scientific investigation
- describes the group of dinosaurs known as theropods
- compares physical characteristics of predators and scavengers
- features complete skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex, Allosaurus, and Deinonychus
- displays, in lifelike settings, robotic models of T. rex, Triceratops, Deinonychus, Apatosaurus, Tenontosaurus, and Maiasaura
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