New exhibition at the Bullock Museum invites visitors to join the family — the T. rex family

OCTOBER 14, 2025 (AUSTIN, TX) — T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a new special exhibition on loan from American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), will open at the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Saturday, October 18. The exhibition brings to life the entire tyrannosaur family with life-sized models, fossil casts, and engaging interactives.

“Bullock visitors have been asking us for a dinosaur exhibition for years, and we’re so fortunate to be able to bring this outstanding interactive experience here to Austin from one of the premier U.S. institutions,” said Margaret Koch, Director at the Bullock Museum.

The first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902 by the American Museum of Natural History’s legendary paleontologist and fossil hunter Barnum Brown. AMNH's paleontology collection is one of the largest and most diverse in the world, with specimens that have led to amazing discoveries, including the identification of the first dinosaur eggs and early evidence of dinosaur feathers. A number of recent discoveries about the tyrannosaur group are highlighted in this exhibition.

In Texas, dinosaur bones have been unearthed from South Texas to the Panhandle, but most of the tyrannosaur bones found in Texas have been discovered in Big Bend National Park. In Big Bend, tectonic forces have exposed rocks from the Late Cretaceous Period, the end of the Dinosaur Age. In 1970, paleontologists found the maxilla — or upper jawbone — of a tyrannosaur, a southern cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex. In 2002 and 2009, they recovered parts of a tyrannosaur leg and foot.

Visitors to T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will encounter a massive life-sized model of a T. rex with patches of feathers — the definitive representation of this prehistoric predator. The exhibition will also include reconstructions of several T. rex hatchlings and a four-year-old juvenile T. rex. Interactives include a “roar mixer” where visitors can imagine what T. rex may have sounded like by blending sounds from other animals; a shadow theater featuring a floor projection of an adult T. rex skeleton coming to life; and a life-sized animation of T. rex in a Cretaceous environment that responds to visitors’ movements. At a tabletop “Investigation Station,” visitors can explore a variety of fossil casts ranging from coprolites (fossilized feces) to a gigantic femur, with virtual tools including a CT scanner, measuring tape, and a microscope to learn more about what such specimens can reveal to scientists about the biology and behavior of T. rex.

”Dinosaur fossils, like other echoes of ancient life, are discoveries of the science of paleontology. But dinosaurs have a special status that transcends their importance to science — they fascinate and inspire the masses like few other animals — living or extinct — can,” said Michael Novacek, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Paleontology. “Chief among them is T. rex, perhaps the most famous and celebrated dinosaur that ever lived.”

Programs and events celebrating T. rex and tyrannosaur history will be offered throughout the run of the exhibit, including talks with experts, family activities, and Bullock Member events. On November 2, the Museum will celebrate the exhibition at H-E-B Free First Sunday, with free exhibit admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and dinosaur-themed activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will be on view at the Bullock Museum from October 18, 2025 to March 8, 2026. The exhibit is presented in English with Spanish translations available using the Bloomberg Connects guide. For more information, visit TheStoryofTexas.com/trex

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Image caption: At a tabletop “Investigation Station,” visitors can explore a variety of fossil casts ranging from coprolite (fossilized feces) to a gigantic femur, using virtual tools including a CT scanner, measuring tape, and a microscope to learn more about what such specimens can reveal to scientists about the biology and behavior of T. rex. © AMNH/D. Finnin

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org).

The exhibition was curated by Mark Norell, formerly the Macaulay Curator in the Museum’s Division of Paleontology and the division’s chair. Gregory Erickson, professor of anatomy and vertebrate paleontology at Florida State University, is a consultant for the exhibition.

The exhibition is designed and produced by the American Museum of Natural History’s award-winning Exhibition Department under the direction of Lauri Halderman, senior vice president for exhibition.

H-E-B Free First Sundays presented by H-E-B.

The Bullock Museum, a division of the Texas State Preservation Board, is funded by Museum members, donors, and patrons, the Texas State History Museum Foundation, and the State of Texas.

 

ABOUT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (AMNH)

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869 with a dual mission of scientific research and science education, is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses more than 40 permanent exhibition halls, galleries for temporary exhibitions, the Rose Center for Earth and Space including the Hayden Planetarium, and the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The Museum’s scientists draw on a world-class permanent collection of more than 30 million specimens and objects, some of which are billions of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum offers two of the only free-standing, degree-granting programs of their kind at any museum in the U.S.: the Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Earth Science residency program. Visit amnh.org for more information.

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​​The Bullock Texas State History Museum, a division of the State Preservation Board and an accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums, creates experiences that educate, engage, and encourage a deeper understanding of Texas. With dynamic, award-winning exhibitions that illuminate Texas history, people, and culture, educational programming for all ages, and an IMAX® theater with a screen the size of Texas, the Museum collaborates with more than 700 museums, libraries, archives, organizations, and individuals across the world to bring the Story of Texas to life. For more information, visit www.TheStoryofTexas.com