The Most Fearsome Dinosaurs Roar into the ROM this March

Stalking in the imagination of every child is the great Tyrannosaurus rex, the tyrant lizard king of dinosaurs. On March 11, 2023, this culturally omnipresent dino will come to life at ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in T. rex: The Ultimate Predator presented by Desjardins. In a special members only preview, visitors will feast on this spectacular new exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History that features more than 40 models and casts, many full-sized and towering over guests.

Everyone knows Tyrannosaurus rex. Or, do they?

“With its dynamic blend of fossil skeletons, life-like models, and digital experiences, T. rex rekindles a childlike awe for a ferocious hunter that has long loomed large in the public consciousness,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO.

For guests of all ages, T. rex is an adventure of imagination and exploration. Captivating young minds, filled with ideas of what it would be like to have lived with the dinosaurs, and guiding through the epic journeys of evolution and scientific discovery, this exhibition will thrill and engage all who dare enter.

Just how did T. rex get so big, so bad and so famous? This exhibition will answer those questions and other fascinating queries about the tyrannosaur family through impressive displays including large-scale video projections, an exhilarating virtual reality experience, and plenty of hands-on activities for kids to engage with.

Despite what people may think, the full tyrannosaur story includes dozens of different species spanning over 100 million years of evolution, with the best-known—T. rex— only appearing just before it and the other dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the Earth by a devastating asteroid impact. With this exhibition, visitors will also learn about many types of tyrannosaurs of the superfamily Tyrannosauroidea that lived between 167 and 66 million years ago and roamed across five continents.

“Some of the best tyrannosaur skeletons ever found come from the rich badlands of western Canada, which was home to a diverse group of tyrannosaurs, including the famous T. rex, between 80 and 66 million years ago,” says Dr. David Evans, ROM Temerty Chair in Vertebrate Paleontology. “It’s still one of the best places to go tyrannosaur hunting today, and we are excited to show off some jaw-dropping tyrannosaur fossils from western Canada in this exhibition.”

In the ROM Spotlight section of the exhibition, visitors will dig into the process of paleontological fieldwork while viewing the toothy jawbone from a giant Daspletosaurus, a close cousin of T. rex, unearthed just last summer by Dr. Evans and crew from a site near the hamlet of Manyberries, Alberta. This space will also reveal how ROM fossil preparators do the meticulous work of digging up and revealing the hidden fossil treasures as they prepare the bones for study or display.

While exploring the exhibition, visitors will confront a life-sized animation of T. rex and encounter full-scale models of a T. rex during different growth phases, from a fluffy helpless T. rex hatchling to a four-year-old juvenile and finally as a massive, chomping adult T. rex.

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is on display at ROM from Spring 2023 to September 4, 2023, in ROM’s Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 1.

Tickets go on sale January 17, 2023.

This exhibition is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org).