Released on March 15, 2013
Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty applauded the official return of Scotty to the T.rex Discovery Centre in Eastend. The dinosaur’s massive skeleton now dominates the centre’s gallery space, greeting and inviting visitors to learn about Saskatchewan’s paleontological heritage.
“After years of hard work by Royal Saskatchewan Museum staff and dedicated volunteers to recover the fossils and painstakingly separate them from the hard rock in which they were encased, we now have this magnificent asset for the province,” Doherty said. “This exhibit will be an exciting new tourism attraction for the area and the province, an educational resource for teachers, and a tool for on-going research.”
Scotty’s return will be celebrated at the centre with an unveiling gala, Saturday, March 16 starting at 6 p.m. Guests include Her Honour, Vaughn Solomon Schofield, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan; Minister Doherty; Provincial Secretary and MLA for Cypress Hills Wayne Elhard; MP for Cypress Hills – Grasslands David Anderson and Eastend Mayor Alan Howard. Also attending will be the members of the Allemand family, who lease the land where Scotty was discovered, Dr. Philip Currie, Canada’s leading expert on dinosaurs and Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) Curator of Palaeontology Tim Tokaryk who led the recovery efforts and preparation of the fossils.
“I think our guests will be amazed,” T.rex Discovery Centre Inc., Board Chair Jim Fletcher said. “Scotty looks incredible as he stands in the gallery surveying the river valley as he would have done 65 million years ago. People are excited and there is an optimism about what this exhibit means to the centre and the community. The gala is our way of thanking the many people who have helped over the years to make this all possible.”
The first pieces of Scotty were discovered in 1991 in the Frenchman River Valley near Eastend. It is the first T.rex skeleton found in Saskatchewan and one of the most complete in the world. Research Casting International from Trenton, Ontario created the unique one-footed standing mount by casting exact replicas of each of the original bones. The skeleton is approximately six metres tall and more than 12 metres long, with a massive skull approaching two metres in length.
The T.rex Discovery Centre, which opened in 2000, was created to showcase the area’s rich palaeontological history. Last month, the centre and the ministry announced that they had reached an agreement in principle under which the RSM will assume ongoing operation of the centre.
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For more information, contact:
Sean St. George
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-9087
Email: sean.stgeorge@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-526-8635