When April met April

26 Jan 2023

Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, was introduced to a Tenontosaurus skeleton, also named April, at Manchester Museum

The authentic dinosaur skeleton dates to the Cretaceous period about 110 million years ago and was found in Montana, USA. It is affectionately named April after the wife of Barry James who originally prepared the fossil for display.

It was previously displayed in the Museum standing upright, however research carried out by our Earth Sciences has found that the skeleton should be posed on all fours.

Yesterday (Wednesday, 25 January) Professor April McMahon visited the Museum and was introduced to Earth Sciences students Meghan Jenkinson and Matthew Dempsey, as well as Conservator Emily Gershman, Primary Learning Co-ordinator Jennie Aspinall and Curator of Earth Sciences, David Gelsthorpe.

David Gelsthorpe, Curator of Earth Science Collections, said: “April is a Tenontosaurus purchased by Manchester Museum in 1999 and was previously displayed standing upright.

"Over the past few years, we have been working with a wonderful team of Earth Sciences students to carefully study April’s bones and find out more about her. Using their palaeontology skills and computer modelling, their research shows us that she would have moved on all fours. As well as changing the way the skeleton stands, over 10,000 hours of careful conservation work was required to restore its bones.

"We were delighted to introduce April to April and tell her all about the students' research and show her some of the amazing objects in the Dinosaur and Fossils gallery.”

Professor April McMahon added: “Anyone who comes and visits the Museum when it reopens in February will have a fabulous time. I’ve met the curators and the students who are working with the other April and they’ve been telling me about the way they are using technology to understand more about how dinosaurs behaved, how they would have walked, and what they would have eaten.

"The Museum is really one of the jewels in our University’s crown.”

The Tenontosaurus will be the focal point of a brand new display devoted entirely to dinosaurs. Visitors will have the opportunity to come face-to-face with prehistoric giants, get hands-on with the objects, look closely at fossils and learn the skills of palaeontology. The history of British dinosaurs will be included in the display, as well as the story of how dinosaurs became extinct and the impact an asteroid had on the Earth. The objects the museum cares for are key to understanding topics including climate change and evolution.

• The Museum reopens on 18 February 2023 and new galleries will include the South Asia Gallery, a British Museum partnership and the UK’s first permanent space to explore the lived experience of South Asian diaspora communities. There will also be a new Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery, the Belonging Gallery, and Golden Mummies of Egypt, its first blockbuster exhibition opening in the new Exhibition Hall.