Every day, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s scientists are shaping our views of Earth and its inhabitants. Just as science is constantly changing, so is the dynamic work being done in PaleoLab.

Meet SAMSON, A New Specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex!
The preparators in PaleoLab were honored to work on a spectacular skull of Tyrannosaurus rex, the tyrant king of the dinosaurs. It was nicknamed “Samson” in recognition of the beast’s reputation as the strongest dinosaur of the late Cretaceous.

Although there are nearly 30 known Tyrannosaurus rex specimens, their skulls are either incomplete or distorted. This 65-million-year-old skull appears to be the finest ever collected! Click to follow along on the two years of work involved in Reconstructing Samson!

Watch a Fossil Emerge from Its Matrix
PaleoLab is an authentic preparation lab where fossils are cleaned and prepared by museum scientists, called preparators. Visit the Preparator’s Journals to find out what the preparators have been working on!

From Quarry To Carnegie
Paleontologists rely on the steady hand and keen eye of preparators to ready their magnificent fossils for study and display in the museum. Check out What is Preparation? to learn more about this delicate profession!