A major renovation is on the way for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History’s Great Hall.
The project is the first comprehensive renovation in more than 90 years, and it will mean some long-term closures while the work gets done.
Before construction begins, the museum is offering dinosaur-related programs for families and visitors every Saturday in December.
The showpiece skeletons including the Brontosaurus and Stegosaurus will be shipped to Research Casing International for restorations in Canada.
After the restorations, the pieces will be remounted into poses that reflect current scientific knowledge
Theodore Roscoe has a big infatuation with dinosaurs.
“I like T-Rex,” said Roscoe. “He goes roar, roar, crunch, crunch.”
Local
The museum is sentimental for the Roscoe family, according to Lyndsay Roscoe. They snuck in a visit before dinosaur fossils come down and construction on a new building begins.
“It’s home, these were not only my first dinosaurs but my mother’s, too,” said Lyndsay Roscoe. “We wanted to make sure it was Theodore’s first dinosaur.”
For 10 years, planning, fundraising and donations led to the $200 million project, according to the museum’s Director of Public Programs Chris Norris.
“The decorations, exhibits and everything else mostly date from 1960s and 1970s,” said Norris. “We’re improving our facilities for education for school children in New Haven and Connecticut.”
Will Eno and his daughter made a trip up from New York to check out the historical museum.
“There’s some amazing stuff here and some huge turtles,” said Eno. “It’s kind of aesthetic experience to look at the fossils on display.”
The dinosaur gallery and the evolution of mammals are two of the biggest attractions at the museum and are set to close on December 31. After the two exhibits close, the rest of the museum’s public galleries will remain open through June 2020.
Construction on the building is slated to begin in the Fall of 2020. The museum is scheduled to reopen in 2023.
