T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a new special exhibition on loan from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), will open at the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Saturday, October 18. The exhibition brings to life the entire tyrannosaur family with life-sized models, fossil casts, and engaging interactives.
Bullock visitors have been asking us for a dinosaur exhibition for years, and we're so fortunate to be able to bring this outstanding interactive experience here to Austin from one of the premier U.S. institutions,
said Margaret Koch, Director at the Bullock Museum.
The first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902 by the American Museum of Natural History's legendary paleontologist and fossil hunter Barnum Brown. AMNH's paleontology collection is one of the largest and most diverse in the world, with specimens that have led to amazing discoveries, including the identification of the first dinosaur eggs and early evidence of dinosaur feathers. A number of recent discoveries about the tyrannosaur group are highlighted in this exhibition.
In Texas, dinosaur bones have been unearthed from South Texas to the Panhandle, but most of the tyrannosaur bones found in Texas have been discovered in Big Bend National Park. In Big Bend, tectonic forces have exposed rocks from the Late Cretaceous Period, the end of the Dinosaur Age. In 1970, paleontologists found the maxilla — or upper jawbone — of a tyrannosaur, a southern cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex. In 2002 and 2009, they recovered parts of a tyrannosaur leg and foot.
Visitors to T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will encounter a massive life-sized model of a T. rex with patches of feathers — the definitive representation of this prehistoric predator. The exhibition will also include reconstructions of several T. rex hatchlings and a four-year-old juvenile T. rex. Interactives include a "roar mixer" where visitors can imagine what T. rex may have sounded like by blending sounds from other animals; a shadow theater featuring a floor projection of an adult T. rex skeleton coming to life; and a life-sized animation of T. rex in a Cretaceous environment that responds to visitors' movements. At a tabletop "Investigation Station," visitors can explore a variety of fossil casts ranging from coprolites (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.
Dinosaur fossils, like other echoes of ancient life, are discoveries of the science of paleontology. But dinosaurs have a special status that transcends their importance to science—they fascinate and inspire the masses like few other animals, living or extinct, can,
said Michael Novacek, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Paleontology. Chief among them is T. rex, perhaps the most famous and celebrated dinosaur that ever lived.
Programs and events celebrating T. rex and tyrannosaur history will be offered throughout the run of the exhibit, including talks with experts, family activities, and Bullock Member events. On November 2, the Museum will celebrate the exhibition at H-E-B Free First Sunday, with free exhibit admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and dinosaur-themed activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will be on view at the Bullock Museum from October 18, 2025 to March 8, 2026. The exhibit is presented in English with Spanish translations available using the Bloomberg Connects guide.
See additional information below or visit:
Bullock Texas State History Museum
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