March 2, 2006

It's "Bone Voyage" for a famous fossil
Samson to go off exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History March 11

Pittsburgh … Samson, the most complete T. rex skull ever discovered, is getting a "Bone Voyage" party on Saturday, March 11 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. All activities are free with museum admission.

Samson came to the museum in May 2004 to be scientifically prepared (removing the bone from its rock matrix). With the work competed, the famous fossil is being returned to Graham Lacey, an international businessman from the United Kingdom, but not before the museum throws a going away party fit for a king.

The highlight of the day will be two public talks by museum dinosaur paleontologist Matt Lamanna. Dr. Lamanna, recently featured on "The Rise of the Feathered Dragons" that aired last month on the Science Channel, will be speaking outside of PaleoLab at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. He will be discussing the work that has already be done on Samson and what the skull will tell us about how the "Tyrant Lizard King" lived. A question and answer period will follow.

In addition to the talks, the first thousand people will receive complimentary leis. The first 400 kids will receive souvenir T. rex glasses and a special activities sheet. There will also be several kid and family activities throughout the museum throughout the day.

Fossil preparators in the museum's PaleoLab removed from the skull approximately 300 pounds of rock was removed allowing Dr. Lamanna to begin studying it fully. The museum also made casting molds that will be used to make replicas used for study. Samson also took a trip to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. At Marshall, the skull was given a CT Scan. These scans provide Dr. Lamanna and other researchers detailed cross-section images of the fossil.

Nicknamed "Samson" in recognition of the beast's reputation as the strongest dinosaur of the late Cretaceous, the skull is part of a T. rex uncovered in 1992 in South Dakota and acquired by Lacey. He selected Carnegie Museum of Natural History based on its international reputation as "Home of the Dinosaurs," its facilities that gave the public the rare opportunity to see the preparation process firsthand and the presence of the first T. rex located about 50 yards away in Dinosaur Hall. It is unknown what Lacey's future plan is for Samson.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History can be enjoyed Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, $6 for children ages 3-18 and full-time students with ID, and free to children under age 3 and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh members. Parking is available in the museum's six-level garage at Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street. For more information, call (412) 622-3131 or visit the museum's Web site at www.CarnegieMNH.org.

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