T.Rex: The Killer Question

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It’s a date for dinosaurs at Peterborough Cathedral this summer!

A two-year wait due to Covid-19 may seem a long time to us, but it’s no time at all when you think that T.rex and his fellow dinosaurs lived nearly 70 million years ago!

With great excitement Peterborough Cathedral has announced that the Natural History Museum’s touring exhibition, T.rex: The Killer Question, will be shown in the 900-year-old building from 18th July to 3rd September 2022. Plans to present the exhibition in 2020 and 2021 had to be shelved due to the pandemic.

This world class exhibition has nine roaring and moving animatronic dinosaurs of various sizes, including a three-quarter size T.rex. A 12-metre-long static model of a T. rex and a life-size T. rex skeleton will also be on show, facing each other across the Cathedral transepts.

The exhibition poses the killer question: Was T. rex a ferocious hunter or a mere scavenger? To help visitors think about this, the exhibition presents scenes showing the behaviour of several different dinosaur species, from the small and agile Sauronitholestes, to the savage Dromaeosaurus and the plant-eating Tenontosaurus. It also shows examples of bones and fossils to see what they can tell us about T. rex. 

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston, Dean of Peterborough, said:

“We’re excited that after a long wait due to the pandemic we are now able to bring this wonderful exhibition to the Cathedral. We know that many people, children especially, are fascinated by these pre-historic creatures and this will be a fantastic opportunity to see them right here in Peterborough rather than travelling to London. Of course, reflecting on the extinction of dinosaurs long ago will also help us to explore very current environmental issues like the diversity of species and how many of them are vulnerable to extinction. These are big questions about God’s creation and the responsibility we have as human beings to care for it and protect it.”

Brad Irwin, Head of Global Engagement at the Natural History Museum said:

“We are thrilled to be bringing T. rex: The Killer Question to Peterborough at last. We hope that the exhibition will be able to educate and entertain an entirely new audience about dinosaurs, specifically the awe-inspiring T. rex. It is our hope that these exciting animals that once roamed the earth can inspire a love of the natural world and motivate people to become advocates for the planet.”

Tickets to see T.rex: The Killer Question are £6 per child (aged 3-16 years), £8 per adult and £25 for a family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children aged 3-16 years, or 1 adult and up to 4 children aged 3-16 years). A booking fee applies. The tickets are available via the Cathedral’s website www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/t.rex or (or https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cathedral-dinos) by calling Ticket Source on 0333 666 3366 during office hours an (additional £1.80 fee applies).

Anyone who would like to keep in touch with the Cathedral as plans for the exhibition move forward is invited to join ‘Team T.rex’, for dinosaur-related updates. To join free, simply email t.rex@peterborough-cathedral.org.uk.

The Cathedral is particularly grateful to the companies which are supporting the exhibition through practical help or financial contributions, including Anglia Compressors, Henson Crisp Independent Financial Advisers, Speed Agency and Aspray Peterborough. Any other companies which are interested in becoming sponsors are invited to email dawn.caplin@peterboroughcathedraltrust.org.uk or call 01733 355311.