Museum’s robotic T. rex undergoes surgery

? The Tyrannosaurus exhibit at Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum is proving to be so popular that the giant lizard is wearing out.

Nearly 400,000 people have gone through the museum, which will celebrate its fourth anniversary at its present location in March.

The life-sized robotic T. rex has had problems with its neck movements for the past couple of months.

The T. rex and hadrosaurs in the upland diorama portion of the museum are set up on motion detectors, and they have worked overtime since the museum reopened in 1999.

“They’ve been acting up for a while, and our staff or gallery attendants would notice they would make a funny noise,” said Greg Liggett, assistant director of the museum. “So the last couple of weeks we had to progressively slow them down, and we had to shut the (T. rex’s) jaw completely off.”

Museum officials called on Terry Brown, who specializes in trouble shooting natural science and historical exhibits, to find a way to get to the robotic motors.

“Any time you have moving parts, something is going to wear out,” said Brown, a technician with Museum Professionals, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn. “There are motors and pistons in the (T. rex’s) head, and some of the parts have worn out.”

In the meantime, visitors can watch the work.

“We can’t hide this,” Liggett said. “We might as well let people know what the inside of the dinosaurs look like. I think some people will be really interested in seeing it.”

The front desk at Sternberg has a sign posted that states, “Our dinosaurs aren’t feeling well, so our dioramas are partially closed. You’re welcome to watch paleoveterinary crews conduct surgery.”

The sign pictures a T. rex with one of his short forearms in a sling.

Liggett said he is unsure how long work on the dinosaurs will take but hopes they will be back in commission by the first of the year.

In the meantime, Liggett said, visitors can watch the progress of work on the dinosaurs in addition to seeing other exhibits.

Brown said the motor in the T. rex’s neck is belt-driven, and the belt essentially has worn out.