ThereB次元官网网址檚 a lady in town many people will want to meet; standing at 20 feet tall, Victoria has a toothy grin to remember for ages B次元官网网址� 65 million years to be exact.
Victoria is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, or the fossilized remains of one anyway, and sheB次元官网网址檚 one of the main features at Dino Lab Inc., located at 1B-491 Dupplin Rd.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 the third-largest thatB次元官网网址檚 ever been discovered,B次元官网网址� said Carly Burbank, creative director at Dino Lab. B次元官网网址淎 lot of people donB次元官网网址檛 even think sheB次元官网网址檚 real, but she is.B次元官网网址�
Many of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 bones have been subtly embedded with magnets, so visitors can pluck out a rib and take a close-up look.
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B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 very few things that people shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be allowed to touch, because itB次元官网网址檚 rock,B次元官网网址� Burbank said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 part of our natural history, itB次元官网网址檚 everybodyB次元官网网址檚 and it shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be eroding or having buildings developed on top of it or sitting in archives where no one ever gets a chance to see it in their lifetime.B次元官网网址�
Burbank and her husband, Terry Ciotka have been working with fossils for decades, originally as fossil wholesalers and gradually shifting to fossil restoration experts. Pieces extracted and preserved by their teams have been featured in museums across the world, including in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 famed Royal Tyrrell Museum.
The Dino Lab has been in operation for three years as a private restorative lab, working on extracting and preserving prehistoric fossils of dinosaurs, mammoths, ammonites and more, but as of July 9 opened its doors to the public. Now, Dino Lab runs as a three-part business: a working prep lab, an educational destination and a gift shop filled with unique specimens and minerals.
Burbank said the idea to open up a museum and hands-on education centre came after their childrenB次元官网网址檚 school teachers became interested in their work.
B次元官网网址淎s soon as they found out what we did they asked if we could present to the class,B次元官网网址� Burbank said. B次元官网网址淚t just kept going from there.B次元官网网址�
Burbank and Ciotka set up pop-up shops early on, which included the opportunity to allow people to extract real fossils from rock using hand-held drills, similar to dentistry tools.
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B次元官网网址淧eople would come in and say B次元官网网址榦h my kid loves dinosaursB次元官网网址� and then theyB次元官网网址檇 shove the kids to the side and theyB次元官网网址檙e working on it instead,B次元官网网址� she said with a laugh.
Now, anyone who books one of Dino LabB次元官网网址檚 90-minute tours willget a guided tour of the museum and 30-minutes of hands-on work helping to extract real dinosaur fossils in a specialized lab.
The fossils are usually fragments from more common dinosaurs, Burbank explained, but theyB次元官网网址檙e real parts of history.
The Dino Lab also does kids birthday parties, and helps arrange trips for private fossil digs around the world.
For anyone staying local it may be good to know that Victoria the T-Rex will soon be heading out for a museum tour of her own. Something new is planned to take her place at Dino Lab, and while Burbank couldnB次元官网网址檛 share exact details, she promised it was going to be big.
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