Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex set to leave Manchester Museum for the first time
Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex at the heart of Manchester Museum’s Fossils Gallery, is set to leave the Museum, part of the University of Manchester, for a spectacular residency in a swimming pool.
The famous dinosaur is heading on holiday to Victoria Baths, where it’ll be on display in the Gala Pool from 22 March to 19 April 2027, marking the first time it has been removed from display since arriving at Manchester Museum in 2004.
The process of moving him to Victoria Baths will be a gargantuan task that will take a team of specialists a full week. At 12 metres long and 3.7 metres tall, Stan is roughly the size of a double decker bus and its bones must be dismantled and reassembled in a strict order to ensure counterbalance and stop the skeleton from toppling over.
During the residency at Victoria Baths, Stan will be on display to the public but will also act as the centrepiece for a full programme of events, details of which will be announced soon.
Manchester Museum is working hard on plans for a Stan stand-in, to be announced later this year.
Georgina Young, Acting Director at Manchester Museum, said: “Manchester Museum cares for around 4.5m objects and taking them to unexpected places creates new opportunities for learning and connection. Our Asian elephant Maharajah spent time in Piccadilly Station and we’ve taken Egyptian shabtis into schools but Stan is our biggest, boldest move yet.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to experience this incredible Tyrannosaurus rex in an entirely different context. Not only is Victoria Baths breathtakingly beautiful but their team will bring renewed creativity to encounters with Stan.”
Anthony Baker, CEO of the Victoria Baths Trust, added: “Victoria Baths would like to state for the record that we did not invite a T. rex skeleton into our Grade II* listed swimming pool. Stan has made his own arrangements and we are simply going along with it. He is insisting that we open our doors for free so that as many people can visit him as possible and it is very difficult to say no to a giant dinosaur, especially when he asked so nicely.
“Stan is also planning a series of unique events and activities that will take place whilst he is staying with us. He won’t tell us exactly what just yet, but he keeps calling it ‘Stan’s Programme of Amazing Events’ and waving his tiny arms excitedly. Whatever happens, we are confident that it will be lots of fun and unlike anything that anyone has ever seen. We aren’t worried about it. A T. rex in an empty, historic pool what could go wrong?”
Stan arrived in Manchester in 2004 and is actually a full-size cast made from one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossils ever found. Its installation at the Museum saw the dinosaur displayed as if in a flat run, in pursuit of prey, the first time a T. rex skeleton had been displayed in this position.
Named after Stan Sacrison, the avocational palaeontologist that discovered it, Stan was excavated in South Dakota in 1992 and has since been cast many times. Estimated to be 67 million years old, the original specimen is on display at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. The bones also show the signs of ancient battles, including a neck fracture and a cavity in the skull that appears to be from a T. rex tooth.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact Connor Murphy, Head of Communications and Marketing on connor.murphy@manchester.ac.uk or 07771 844 093.
For Victoria Baths enquiries, please contact Chris Lee, Community and Creative Programme Manager on chris@victoriabaths.org.uk or 0161 224 2020