Only a few weeks remain to see Six Extinctions at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato. Proving to be a hit with dinosaur fans young and old, the epic exhibition must close on Sunday 21 July 2024.
With deadly prehistoric predators, replica fossils, and a life-sized cast of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered, Six Extinctions is one of the biggest exhibitions ever undertaken by Waikato Museum.
“It’s been thrilling to see our visitor numbers return to pre-Covid heights. We’ve had amazing feedback from both Kirikiriroa Hamilton locals and visitors from further afield,” said Liz Cotton, Director Museum and Arts.
“With the school holidays coming up, we’re expecting that many people will be back for another look before it’s too late.”
Quotes from visitors include:
“We’ve been twice! Once with school and once because it was amazing and super cool.” - Vanessa
“The most amazing, confronting, thought provoking exhibition I’ve seen in a long time.” - Kay
“Worth seeing, especially as it covers the Paleozoic as well as the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.” - Llyvonne
“Absolutely loved it. Just amazing to see the size of Scotty.” - John
Six Extinctions takes a journey through 485 million years, with visitors meeting the top predators from each geological period and learning what caused their demise. As well as the five previous mass extinction events, the eye-opening exhibition also explores the sixth and current extinction crisis – climate change – which is the first caused by a single species, humans.
Museum staff report that the standout display for many visitors is the replica of a huge Tyrannosaurus rex known as ‘Scotty’. The skeleton measures 13 metres long by 4 metres high and recreates the most complete fossil of its kind, discovered by palaeontologists in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1991. The life-sized cast represents the Cretaceous period which ended 66 million years ago due to the impact of a 10-kilometre wide asteroid.
Six Extinctions is produced by Australia’s Gondwana Studios. It is open at Waikato Museum every day until 21 July 2024. Tickets can be pre-booked online or purchased at Waikato Museum in person on the day of your visit.
Waikato Museum is open 10am to 5pm daily, including public holidays (except 25 December). Entry fees apply for Six Extinctions.
Please note
For te reo Maaori, Waikato Museum uses double vowels (uu) in place of vowels with a macron (ū) to represent a long vowel sound. This spelling approach is the preference of tangata whenua in Hamilton Kirikiriroa and Waikato iwi for te reo Maaori words.