VIDEO: Regina’s Scotty the T. rex celebrates 30th un-earthing day

There was a very special celebration for a very special resident at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) on Friday, when Scotty the T. Rex marked his 30th un-earthing day.

Scotty is the largest T. Rex to be unearthed anywhere in the world and was uncovered by a local high school teacher in the Eastend area of Saskatchewan in 1991.

“Many people are very interested in dinosaurs. It is our biggest draw — having Scotty here,” said Brie Hnetka, executive director for the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

“Focusing on the dinosaurs and paleontology in general is a big draw because it does spark a lot of wonder and that magic that children really like,” said Hnetka.

After being discovered in 1991, it took three years before paleontologists began excavating Scotty.

“A group of RSM paleontologists and a teacher from the area of Eastend went prospecting, and they stumbled across the vertebrae and the tail of Scotty,” said Hnetka.

“They went out for multiple summers, and they kept finding more and more bones over the years. So, it actually took almost 10 years to get the full skeleton out.”

The Scotty on display at the museum in Regina is a replica of the dinosaur.

“Scotty is a replica. You can imagine one femur bone being like 800 pounds. It is not really practical or reasonable to put the skeleton on display,” said Hnetka.

She also said 75 per cent of Scotty’s remains were found, making it one of the most complete T. Rex skeletons in the world.

“There are bones on display in the gallery — the actual fossils. The rest of the fossils are stored here at the RSM for safekeeping,” said Hnetka.

Scotty isn’t the only dinosaur fossil found in the province and bones from many dinosaurs, including Triceratops and Thescelosaurus assiniboiensis, have been uncovered here.

“Saskatchewan does have a very rich fossil history. We have lots of fossils from the dinosaur age, but also from after the extinction event as well,” said Hnetka.

“It’s very interesting. Lots of people really find it interesting and come here to learn all about it.”

Part of the unearthing day celebration included a musical performance from kindergarten teacher Sharon Gudereit — better known by her stage name Mz. Muzik — and her students.

“We teach with themes a lot in kindergarten. And one of my favourite themes was dinosaurs and fossils,” said Gudereit.

Gudereit said she would bring her classes on field trips to the museum to see Megamunch, the museum’s now retired half-sized robotic T. Rex, and she would use the Megamunch song to teach the kids about dinosaurs and make them feel more comfortable.

“When Scotty came here, I looked and looked for a song about Scotty, and I couldn’t find one. So, I decided that maybe I should be the one to write it,” said Gudereit.

The replica of Scotty has been on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum since 2019.

— with files and video from 980 CJME’s Roman Hayter

Read more

• Scotty’s 66-million-year journey to the Royal Sask. Museum
• Time-travelling dinosaur saying farewell to RSM
• Scotty the T. rex fuelling passion of dino fan awaiting reveal