World First: Naturalis opens exhibit with six triceratops
Today, the Naturalis Museum in Leiden is opening the world’s first exhibit showing a triceratops herd. The heart of the interactive family-friendly exhibit is the museum’s unique collection of five triceratops skeletons.
Triceratops, plant-eating dinosaurs that could grow to be over 8 meters, were the favorite prey of Tyrannosaurus Rex. So finding in-tact skeletons is rare. But in 2013, a Naturalis Biodiversity team discovered no less than five specimens of Triceratops horridus in Wyoming in the United States.
The museum “now owns the biggest collection of triceratops individuals on the planet, and the only one proven to have lived and died together,” Naturalis said. After “eleven years of digging, bone prepping, scientific research, and gallery design,” Naturalis is finally ready to show off this prize to the world in the exhibit Triceratops: the herd.
The five skeletons are the heart of the exhibit, with an animatronic baby triceratops sleeping next to its mother. Visitors can view the herd through “tricera-scopes” and watch the animals stomp through the museum. There are also interactive exhibits on the dinosaurs' diets and how they fought T-Rexes together. During the exhibit, the rest of the museum will also be triceratops-themed.
Triceratops: the herd will be in Naturalis until 31 August 2025, after which the exhibition will go on a world tour. After that, the five triceratops skeletons will get a permanent spot in the museum.
