T. rex: The Ultimate Predator

A life-sized fleshed out model of a T. rex is positioned lunging forward toward the viewer with its jaws open to expose rows of teeth with saliva D. Finnin/© AMNH
In this traveling exhibition, come learn about the most fearsome carnivore of the Mesozoic and discover other members of the tyrannosaur family. 

How did T. rex grow from a fluffy vulnerable hatchling to become the most fearsome carnivore of the Mesozoic? 

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator examines the remarkable features that allowed T. rex to dominate its competition, explores the sensory abilities and social behaviors of this powerful hunter, and reveals how the world's most iconic dinosaur evolved from a superfamily that included more than two dozen species and spanned 100 million years. 

Explore our evolving understanding of this theropod, learn about a number of recent tyrannosaur discoveries, and find out how paleontologists study fossil specimens to understand the biology and behavior of T. rex.

Highlights

The exhibition reveals the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world through stunning life-sized models, fossil casts, and engaging interactives.

Silhouettes of a group of people of different ages are shown interacting with an animation of a T. rex in a forest that fills the entire wall
A massive animated projection of an adult T. rex and its offspring in a Late Cretaceous setting reacts to visitors.
R. Mickens/© AMNH
A small, feathered bird-like creatures stands on two legs. It has brown and white feathers and a small beak with protruding teeth.
The exhibition explores the early developmental stages of T. rex, with reconstructions showing how the dinosaur began life as a vulnerable hatchling. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A large fleshed out model of a juvenile T. rex covered in feathers sits on top of a catwalk in the middle of a museum gallery.
Fully covered in feathers for warmth and camouflage, the juvenile T. rex had relatively long arms (unlike its adult counterparts), a slim body, and bladelike teeth that could cut through flesh but were not yet capable of crushing bone. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A full-size assembled T. rex skeleton is shown with its shadow cast on the floor beside it.
A full-scale cast of a T. rex fossil skeleton is the subject of the exhibition's Shadow Theater. The skeleton's 40-foot shadow comes to life and demonstrates how the animal moved and battled with prey and its own kind.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
Two children and three adults look down at and touch a table that features a 3D femur bone and digitally projected measuring tools.
At a tabletop Investigation Station, visitors can explore a variety of fossil casts ranging from coprolite (fossilized feces) to a gigantic femur, with virtual tools including a CT scanner, measuring tape, and a microscope to learn more about what such specimens can reveal to scientists about the biology and behavior of T. rex. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
Tarbosaurus fossils are shown: a full skeleton of a two-year old, and behind it, the much larger skull of an adult with jaws open.
A close relative of T. rex, these Tarbosaurus fossil casts show the same species at different ages. 
R. Mickens/© AMNH
A model of a dilong paradoxus shows a small and heavily feathered creature standing on two legs with long arms and a bird-like beak
The full tyrannosaur story includes more than two dozen different species and spans more than 100 million years of evolution. The exhibition includes life-sized models of a number of tyrannosaurs, including Dilong paradoxus, the first tyrannosaur found with fossilized feathers. 
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A giant femur sits on a table next to a graphic describing T. rex's big bones and a sign that says "touch this".
Visitors are invited to touch this cast of a T. rex femur to get a sense of scale for the animal's size.
R. Mickens/© AMNH
An adult and two children kneel down to look inside of a praxinoscope which shows movement through illustrations reflected in mirrors as it spins.
Visitors can experiment with a praxinoscope that animates the difference between walking and running—T. rex could only truly run when it was young.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
An upper jaw of an Alioramus shows alternating tooth growth; a lower jaw of a T. rex shows new teeth growing in underneath the old ones.
These fossil casts show how the teeth of tyrannosaurs were replaced in ways that prevented long periods with missing teeth or interference with their ability to feed.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A woman and two small children surround a digital touchscreen that shows a T. rex illustration and tools for adjusting the animal's appearance.
Visitors can choose from a wide palette of colors, stripes, spots, and feathers to imagine what T. rex may have looked like in this engaging color interactive.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A girl holds a plastic tail in her hand and positions it near the tailless body of a T. rex as if putting together a puzzle.
A hands-on interactive challenges visitors to attach the correct size tail to a T. rex body to create a balanced posture.
D. Finnin/© AMNH
A life-sized fleshed out model of a yellow-brown adult Tyrannosaurus rex with grey feathers on its head is shown from the side with its mouth open
The exhibition features a massive life-sized model of T. rex with patches of feathers—the most scientifically accurate representation of T. rex to date.
D. Finnin/© AMNH

Key Questions

  • What is T. rex? 
  • How did T. rex live?
  • How many kinds of animals are in the T. rex evolutionary tree?
  • How did T. rex get so big when its ancestors were so small? 
  • How do we study tyrannosaurs?

Reviews

"Startlingly vivid models and whoa!-inducing technology."
–The New York Times

"T. rex reigns not only as the king of dinosaurs but the star of the science world's hottest show."
–What Should We Do

"Loaded with fresh facts and things to see."
–Newsday

 

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T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org).