NCI helps bring a ground-breaking exhibition from China to the UK

Exhibition at Wollaton Hall

03/07/2017

The Nottingham Confucius Institute is proud to support the ground-breaking world-exclusive ‘Dinosaurs of China’ exhibition, organised by The University of Nottingham and Nottingham City Council. The exhibition was officially opened in Nottingham on 30th June and will run till 29th October. Spanning two sites – Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and the Lakeside on the Universty Park Campus, it is expected to attract circa 150,000 UK and overseas visitors.

Along with a donation from the Heritage Lottery Fund and funds raised through Nottingham Lakeside Arts’ crowd-funding campaign, The Nottingham Confucius Institute’s contribution and support has enabled Lakeside Arts to commission a unique animatronic-puppet-feathered-dinosaur (a baby Alxasaurus), who will have a permanent home at the Lakeside. The puppet will be used to teach children about dinosaurs both during and after the exhibition. The Institute has also helped fund a permanent ‘Dino-Dig’ in Highfields Park. The perpetual dig will allow children to experience the thrill of excavation and discovery normally reserved only for palaeontologists. Children will also be able to create their own dinosaurs on iPads and project them onto the walls at Lakeside as part of the exhibition. 

The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing and the Long Hao Institute of Geology and Paleontology in Inner Mongolia have worked tirelessly with the Council and the University to deliver this project.  The Nottingham Confucius Institute’s involvement in the project further enhances the cross cultural collaboration, fuelled by the University’s strong connections in China, which have proven vital to bringing the prestigious world-class exhibition to Nottingham.

~ENDS~

        当地时间6月30日，由中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所与诺丁汉市牵头主办、诺丁汉大学和诺丁汉孔子学院协办的“中国恐龙：从撼地巨人到飞羽精灵”科普展在诺丁汉市沃伦顿城堡和湖畔艺术中心同时开幕。该项展出是本年度中英文化交流的重要组成部分，项目从签约到筹备历时将近一年。据悉，该项目是数量可观的中国巨型恐龙化石第一次漂洋过海在欧洲的大规模展出，包括了有史以来在英国展出的体型最大的保存完好的恐龙化石，也被英国媒体认为是“一生难睹一次的”稀有展览。       

        开幕式上，诺丁汉大学常务副校长凯伦·考克斯（Karen Cox）教授对回顾了从签约到筹备的整个过程，赞赏这是一次加深中英文化交流的良好契机。中科院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所的副所长王丽霞教授、副主任邓涛教授先后作了主题报告，对展出恐龙化石所具有的科学意义进行了阐述，也对诺丁汉市、诺丁汉大学和诺丁汉孔子学院的支持表示感谢。最后，英国知名博物学家、媒体制作人基斯·帕罕（Chris Packham）以幽默风趣的谈吐介绍了自己对恐龙演化为鸟类的认识以及作为博物学家经历的一些趣闻。同时，诺丁汉大学孔子学院执行院长陈健、理事基森·费雷（Jason Feehily）、经理张华等相关人员也参加了开幕式。

       长久以来，恐龙如何演化为鸟类一直是中外古生物界的重要课题，上个世纪局限于研究资料的缺乏，很多具体的演化过程一直悬而未决，而近年来在中国发现的一系列保存完好的化石为研究者提供了宝贵的资料，尤其是带羽恐龙的发现，可以说为恐龙演化为鸟类填补了重要的一环。而且，该项展出所涉及的恐龙数量、种类都十分丰富，包括了体型巨大的相当于双层巴士高度的的马门溪龙，以及世界上最大的类鸟类带羽恐龙巨盗龙，并且很多化石都是首次亮相国外。

        展出将持续到10月29日，如今，“去诺丁汉看恐龙展吧！”已经成为时下英国民众热衷的话题之一。诺丁汉市估计此次展出将会吸引近30万世界各地的游人参观，此举不仅加深了人们对恐龙演化史的认识，也将极大地促进人们对诺丁汉市、诺丁汉大学和诺丁汉孔子学院的了解，对加强中英文化交流、古生物科普有积极意义。