Dinosaurs of China was a dinosaur exhibition hosted in Wollaton Hall, near Nottingham. The exhibition included thirty varieties of Chinese dinosaurs and ran from Saturday 1 July to Sunday 29 October 2017. [1] The exhibition, a world-exclusive event, claimed to include specimens from all other China, as well as the world-famous fake dinosaur Archaeoraptor.
The admission booth of Dinosaurs of China contained a Psittacosaurus sculpted by Robert Nicholls. [2] Entering the main hall ("Earth Shakers"), [3] a replica Protoceratops was displayed to the left, and slightly further along on the same wall, a juvenile Pinacosaurus . To the right was a replica skeleton of Mamenchisaurus , positioned centrally in the main hall, and claimed in-exhibit to be the tallest ever exhibited dinosaur replica in Britain. Slightly beyond that was a replica Sinraptor , posed in a defensive position. The last fossil on the first floor (in the main hall, at least) was a Lufengosaurus . The exhibition then continued through the building's avian taxidermy hall, noting various similarities between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. This section contained a tiny fossil of the troodontid Mei long , and a larger fossil of Oviraptor . [2]
The main hall of the second floor ("Feathered Flyers") [3] was dominated by a replica skeleton of the oviraptorosaur Gigantoraptor . Other fossils of the smaller coelurosaurs Linheraptor , Sinosauropteryx , Dilong , Epidexipteryx , Caudipteryx , Yanornis and Microraptor were also displayed. Moving through the hallway to the next room, another view of the Mamenchisaurus could be seen, and the fossils of Protopteryx , Confuciusornis , Yi qi and Wukongopterus were displayed. There was another taxidermy hall, this time focusing on the conservation of modern endangered mammals. The exhibition then looped back downstairs, made a final pass of the Lufengosaurus, before returning to the admission booth. [2]
The exhibition had a small section in Nottingham Lakeside Arts about how dinosaurs were drawn through the ages, showing how the illustrations changed with discoveries. It included some answers to the children's trail and a skeleton of the dinosaur Sinosaurus . Several references, including a sign next to the skeleton, were made to the Jurassic Park film series. [2]