LEHI-- A giant Camarasaurus and a monstrous Tyrannosaurus Rex have rumbled into Utah County.
The two dinosaurs are becoming part of the prehistoric features this week at the North American Museum of Ancient Life, a Thanksgiving Point project that is scheduled to open July 1.Workers are busy pasting jigsaw puzzle-like pieces of the life-size models on the exterior walls at the not-yet-complete Lehi facility.
"You'll be able to see the dinosaurs from about two miles away in either direction," said Tom Pugh, president of Quantum Construction, the company overseeing the project.
The Camarasaurus is some 80 feet long and can be seen by travelers on I-15 heading south. The T-Rex, affixed to the outside wall of an Iwerks Extreme Screen Theater, is more than 35 feet tall and visible from the north.
Both were sculpted by Cliff Green of Western Paleontological Laboratories. Work started last week and should be completed this week.
"These external replicas are just a tease of the hundreds of actual fossils the museum visitor will see inside the building, said Cliff Miles, chief executive officer of Western Paleontological Laboratories.
The museum will ultimately house the largest dinosaur exhibit in the world, Miles said, including the longest and one of the tallest dinosaurs ever discovered. Rare dinosaur exhibits also will be featured.
The $20-million museum building boasts six stories and provides 83,000 square feet of display space. A Boeing 747 aircraft could be parked inside.
By early July, twelve different dinosaurs and 30 ancient flying reptiles will be on display as part of the first phase.
A dig site, laboratory and a number of educational "learning stations" will begin operation. The 350-seat giant screen theater will open as well.
By the summer of 2001, more than 50 skeletal displays will be finished, and hundreds of fossils will be on exhibit.
Visitors will be invited to touch most of the items, to fossil hunt and to relive the dinosaur period. Children also will have the opportunity to stay overnight, camping beneath the dinosaur bones.
"We're going to turn everyone who visits the museum into amateur paleontologists," said Bill Bridges, museum president.
You can reach Sharon Haddock by e-mail at haddoc@desnews.com