December 30 , 2016:

by EJ Ward

New fossil discoveries in China over recent years have changed understanding of dinosaurs’ appearance, behaviour and evolution. In a hand-picked exhibition of some of the most spectacular new fossils from China aworld exclusive exhibition, bringing them to Europe for the first time.

Featuring fossils and specimens never before seen outside of Asia, Dinosaurs of China will bring to life the story of how dinosaurs evolved into the birds that live alongside us today. Jurassic Park would have been very different if the dinosaurs had been covered in feathers.

The Derby Telegraph has reported that a dinosaur the height of three double-decker buses will help transform an East Midlands attraction into a Jurassic Park next summer.

A double-decker bus, courtesy of Nottingham City Transport, will be on site to help visitors understand the scale of this incredible creature. Nottingham Lakeside Arts will have its very own Dianasaurus safari guide character, to show guests around the venue's family engagement activities.

Dr Adam Smith said: "The Mamenchisaurus will be the tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the UK, ever. In its rearing up pose, it is as high as three double-decker buses stacked on top of each other. Mamenchisaurus might have reared up like this to protect itself from large predators such as Sinraptor, the skeleton of which will be posed hunting Mamenchisaurus inside Wollaton Hall."

There will be exhibits never before seen outside of Asia in a once-in-a-lifetime show, on loan from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing and the Long Hao Institute of Geology and Paleontology Inner Mongolia.

Rachel Feneley, Nottingham Lakeside Arts learning officer, said: "Who could not be excited by dinosaurs? We look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to try their hands at becoming a palaeontologist, and to consider how science and art have helped us to shape how we think about dinosaurs today."

Representatives from Wollaton Hall and the University of Nottingham visited Beijing in March 2016 to make early plans for "Dinosaurs of China – Ground Shakers to Feathered Flyers".

Dr Adam Smith (Wollaton Hall) and Dr Wang Qi (University of Nottingham) said:

"Our primary destination was the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), a hub for dinosaur research in China and home to the Paleozoological Museum of China (PMC). Here, we inspected the bird-like dinosaur fossils - exquisitely preserved with feathers - that will be journeying to Nottingham in 2017.

We also visited the IVPP’s off-site storage facility and workshop to the north of Beijing, where we encountered the spectacular mounted dinosaur skeletons that will be part of the exhibition…and the huge wooden crates they’ll be travelling in!

To gather stories for the exhibition we met the palaeontologists who described and named many of the dinosaurs in the exhibition.

Professor Xu Xing is a world-renowned dinosaur expert who has studied many feathered dinosaurs. He told us how he discovered the mighty Gigantoraptor".