All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
27 09, 2017

Countdown to the Frankfurt Book Fair

By | September 27th, 2017|General Teaching|Comments Off on Countdown to the Frankfurt Book Fair

Excitement Builds as Frankfurter Buchmesse Approaches

The countdown has started, there are now just two weeks to go before the start of the annual Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse), the world’s largest event for the book industry and publishing.  Running from Wednesday 11th October through to Sunday the 15th October, this year’s gathering of the great and the good in the publishing world promises to be bigger and better than ever.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017

Frankfurt Book Fair 2017

Frankfurter Buchmesse 2017.

Picture credit: Frankfurt Book Fair

Education and Teaching are Prominent at the Frankfurter Buchmesse

The publishing industry’s commitment to education and the next generation of learners is, once again, very prominent.  Servicing the needs of the educational sector is one of the key aims of the Frankfurter Buchmesse and this year, over 240 exhibitors representing all aspects of education from preschool and nursery through to adult further education are going to be at this international event.

The majority of the education service and publishing providers can be found in Halls, 4, 5 and 6.  There is an especially large number of exhibitors supporting the needs of the primary and elementary schools sector.  Teachers, teaching assistants and those staff members tasked with improving literacy amongst children from ages five and upwards, have a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the leading suppliers, experts and consultants providing services to the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 cohorts.

Engaging Young Minds and Encouraging Life-Long Learning

The Educational Hot Spot at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

A focus on education at the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Picture credit: Marc Jacquemin/Frankfurt Book Fair

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27 09, 2017

New T. rex Documentary Coming Soon to the BBC

By | September 27th, 2017|Dinosaur Fans, Famous Figures, Main Page, Press Releases, TV Reviews|2 Comments

T. rex” Documentary with Chris Packham

Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham will be presenting a special one-hour documentary on the “King of the Tyrant Lizards”.  Sources close to Everything Dinosaur expect this television programme to form part of the corporation’s Christmas 2017 schedule.

Chis Packham Brings Tyrannosaurus rex to Television

Chris Packham naturalist.

Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham.

Picture credit: BBC

New Insight into the Life and Behaviour of an Apex Late Cretaceous Predator

Life-long dinosaur fan Chris Packham once told Everything Dinosaur team members that one of the first things he made at school was a plasticine model of T. rex.  His model with its kangaroo stance and tail dragging on the floor was based on pictures of Tyrannosaurus rex he had encountered in books.  In the fifty years or so, since Chris made that model, our understanding of this iconic Late Cretaceous predator has been transformed.  This sixty-minute, one-off television programme, aims to bring viewers up to date and combines state-of-the-art computer animation and the very latest research into one of the largest land carnivores known to science.

Viewers Can Expect T. rex to be Depicted with a Shaggy Coat of Feathers

Tyrannosaurus rex.

We even supply a roll of cardboard with every model!  A replica of a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The model in the picture above is a CollectA feathered T. rex.

To view the CollectA range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Prehistoric Life Range.

Embarking on a Journey

In the programme, Chris embarks on a journey to expose the myths and misconceptions surrounding T. rex.  He aims to separate the science from the often inaccurate portrayal of this dinosaur as seen in many movies.  Viewers can expect further information about the running speed of this 7-tonne monster, it is unlikely there will be any scenes with a tyrannosaur chasing down a jeep à la Jurassic Park.  Taking inspiration from the “Tyrannosaur Chronicles – The Biology of the Tyrant Dinosaurs” by palaeontologist Dr David Hone (London University), the programme will explore the biology, diet, behaviour and anatomy of T. rex.

The Truth Behind an Iconic Theropod

Chris will meet numerous international experts and joins an excavation site in the Badlands of South Dakota to see how fossilised bones are excavated and prepared for study.  One of the aims of the production team will be to produce the most accurate CGI model of a T. rex created to date, that’s a long way from the plasticine figure from Chris Packham’s childhood.  Expect to see plenty of feathers in what is being hailed as a trailblazing documentary blending the latest research from palaeontologists, ideas from zoologists and ground-breaking computer technology.

To help put “flesh on the bones”, as it were, Chris will have access to Tristan (Tristan Otto), one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found.  Discovered in 2010 in the Hell Creek Formation (Montana), some 170 bones from a single individual have been collected.  Tristan is housed in the vertebrate fossil collection of the Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin).  It is the only actual fossil T. rex skeleton exhibit in Europe and a team of scientists are currently involved in an extensive research project to learn more about the life and times of this twelve-metre-long monster.

“Tristan Otto” on Display at the Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin, Germany)

"Tristan" Tyrannosaurus rex on display (Berlin).

“Tristan Otto” the T. rex specimen on display in Berlin.

Picture credit: Carola Radke (Museum für Naturkunde)

A T. rex Documentary

The documentary makers promise new information and insights into tyrannosaur brain function and more details on those deadly, bone crushing jaws.

Chris Packham commented:

“Big, fierce and extinct!  It’s the most famous, most glamorous poster pin-up in the zoological world; it’s the greatest animal that ever lived.  And yet perhaps the most misrepresented too.  It’s time to put that right.  T. rex has evolved more in my lifetime than the last 65 million years.  It’s gone from a grey tail-dragging dullard to an intelligent, social super-predator.  Using science, we will at last tell the truth about T. rex.  Don’t bother to put the kettle on!”

Dinosaur fans in the UK can expect this documentary to light up their Christmas viewing, it will probably be available in other countries too, as broadcasting rights get sorted.

T. rex” for BBC2 is a co-production between Talesmith and Cineflix.  The Executive Producer is Martin Williams and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Diene Petterle.

In the meantime, visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur’s Website.

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