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Indianapolis Children's Museum expanding dinosaur exhibit with $27.5M 'Mission Jurassic' project

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Posted at 3:12 PM, Mar 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-25 15:12:43-04

INDIANAPOLIS — The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is expanding its dinosaur exhibit with a $27.5 million project called "Mission Jurassic."

"The project will bring together scientists from around the world because of the rare confluence of Jurassic Period fossil bones, trackways and fossilized plants," museum leaders said Monday.

As part of the project, scientists will dig and study fossils from northern Wyoming which will then be displayed in Indianapolis.

"Mission Jurassic" will be led by Professor Phil Manning and Dr. Victoria Egerton of the University of Manchester in England. The Natural History Museum in London, the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom are also partnering with the Indianapolis Children's Museum on the project.

Project leaders are calling the fossil-rich plot of land where nearly 600 specimens, weighing more than six tons have already been collected over the past two years "Jurassic Mile."

"The Jurassic site will provide clues that promise to tell a more complete story about the Jurassic Period than has ever been told," the museum said.

Additional information about the project will be released later this summer.