Nottingham Lakeside Arts has launched a campaign to raise money to hatch its very own baby dinosaur.
Lakeside is looking to create a dinosaurs legacy for the people of Nottingham, building on a world-exclusive dinosaur exhibition which will be taking place at the Arts Centre this summer.
The unique exhibition, entitled Dinosaurs of China, will tell the story of how dinosaurs evolved into birds, and features specimens never before seen outside of Asia. The opportunity for Nottingham to host the exhibition came about as a result of links established by academics at the University with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.
Tallest dinosaur ever seen in the UK
The main exhibition will be at Wollaton Hall, and will feature 26 of the best-preserved dinosaur fossils in the world. These include Mamenchisaurus, the tallest dinosaur skeleton ever seen in the UK and Gigantoraptor, the largest bird-like dinosaur ever found.
Complementing the Wollaton Hall exhibition will be a free satellite exhibition at Nottingham Lakeside Arts, which will feature two Chinese dinosaurs – the Alxasaurus and the Dilophosaurus, the latter of which was depicted in the Jurassic Park movie.
Animatronic baby dinosaur
Lakeside Arts is running a crowdfunding campaign to leave a dinosaur legacy for Nottingham. They are looking to raise £4000 to create an animatronic baby dinosaur puppet and also to install a ‘dino-dig’ in Highfields Park so that children and families can learn about the feathered dinosaurs of China, long after the exhibition has gone.
The campaign offers many unique experiences such as offering young dinosaur fans the chance to be a palaeontologist for a whole day, handle rare exhibits including a Mammoth tusk, and even have a special dinosaur themed birthday party with Lakeside’s very own palaeontologist - Diana-Saurus. Other rewards include the opportunity to bid for VIP tickets for the official launch, buy limited edition posters of the Alxasaurus and Dilophosaurus or to become a palaeontologist for the day
Creating a lasting legacy
Rachel Feneley, Outreach Officer for Nottingham Lakeside Arts, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to build on the unique Dinosaurs of China exhibition to create a lasting legacy for children and families in Nottingham.
"Our main priority is to raise enough money so that we can create a baby animatronic dinosaur, but if we make more than our £4000 target we would also like to create a Dino-dig beside the playground at Lakeside, so that children can get a feel for what it’s like to be a palaeontologist discovering bones and fossils for the first time. I hope that people support our campaign and enjoy our rewards.”
For further information about the crowdfunding campaign and to see the rewards available visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/dinosaurs-of-china
Dinosaurs of China is coming to the UK from 1st July to 29th October 2017. To find out more about the Dinosaurs of China exhibition or book tickets, visit www.dinosaursofchina.co.uk
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK for research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
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