The Science Museum of Minnesota's beloved triceratops is back on its feet and receiving visitors again, three months after the beloved specimen was dismantled and moved to make way for a new sports-related exhibit opening in January.
It took 20 staff members more than 3,000 hours to take down the triceratops' 85 bones and move them across the St. Paul museum's third level to a new location near the cafe, then put them all back together.
"It was not a huge move distance-wise, but it was quite a production," said museum spokeswoman Sarah Imholte. "It took a lot of elbow grease."
Relocating what's believed to be only one of four real triceratops skeletons on display in the world was not cheap. The production cost about $50,000, but most of that was covered by donations, Imholte said.
"It's a favorite, and people have fond memories of it," she said. "Lots of people contributed because they love it."
Visitors were able to see the triceratops again this month. To mark the move's completion, the museum on Sunday hosted a "welcome home" party.
The dinosaur and fossils gallery, along with other interactive exhibits such as the tornado and wind tubes, were moved to make room for "Sportsology," a 6,000-square-foot exhibit about the physiology and physics of sports. It opens Jan. 6.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
