Dinosaur still greeting visitors

THE University of Leicester are celebrating the ten year anniversary of their replica of one of history’s most fearsome predators - the T. rex.

Jane the T. rex was one of the most fearsome creatures of the prehistoric period and has recently celebrated her 10th birthday at the university.

The 21-foot long sculpture sits as the centerpiece of the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment department’s Flying Dinosaur exhibition and has been a familiar site to visitors to the school.

Originally itended as an educational facility for members of the public and school visits, as well as for staff, students and academic research, the school estimates that Jane has received up to 1000 school visits since she was unveiled in 2008.

Mark Purnell, Professor of Palaeobiology, said: “Jane has been a great addition to the department helping us to illustrate evolutionary concepts to students, schoolchildren and our visitors.

“The direct kinship of birds with theropod dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, combined with exceptional preservation of soft body parts including feathers, provides solid fossil evidence of how, when and why the characteristic features of animals around us today first evolved millions of years ago.”

The cast at the University of Leicester is made out of fibreglass and resin and was created in Toronto by the team that made the dinosaur skeletons that featured in the film Jurassic Park.