Research Updates
Read the latest updates from the NCMNS Paleontology team.
Nanotyrannus Confirmed!
What if everything we know about T. rex growth is wrong? A complete tyrannosaur skeleton has just ended one of paleontology’s longest-running debates – whether Nanotyrannus is a distinct species, or just a teenage version of Tyrannosaurus rex.
“This fossil doesn’t just settle the debate. It flips decades of T. rex research on its head,” says Lindsay Zanno, associate research professor at North Carolina State University, head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and co-author of the study published in Nature.
Context is Key
You have a lot of questions about how a tyrannosaur and a Triceratops came to be buried together one day in the Late Cretaceous. So do we. To study ancient animals, paleontologists need expertise in the biological sciences and the geological sciences. This is because fossils are shaped both by the animal in life, and by burial conditions in death.
Watch the preparation of the Dueling Dinosaurs fossil!
Use our cameras to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Dueling Dinosaurs fossil as it is being prepared for research. When the SECU DinoLab is closed, the live feed will be offline, and you can view a short timelapse video of our progress.
Events
Learn about upcoming programs and events.
Second Sundays, 10am–noon
Explore the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit with reduced noise effects and smaller crowds. A limited number of Sensory Friendly Bags are available for checkout at the front desk, and a limited number of noise-reducing headphones are available to borrow at the exhibit. Free registration is encouraged.
Summer 2025
Over the summer of 2025, NCMNS conducted live video calls (available now for streaming) with our paleontology team from dinosaur fossil quarries across the American West! Paleontologists searched for clues to ancient life from millions of years ago from Nebraska to Utah.
Supporters
The Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit is made possible by generous donations to the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences from the following organizations.
Jandy Ammons Foundation
Anonymous
Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation, Inc.
Robert & Carol Bilbro
Carlyle Adams Foundation
Josephus Daniels Charitable Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation
Delta Dental of North Carolina
Anne Faircloth & Fred Beaujeu-Dufour
HH Architecture
Hillsdale Fund, Inc.
Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
Betsy Anne Bradshaw Lumsden
Maynard Family Foundation
Julia McMillan & Jed Dietz
Mary McMillan
Robert M. McMillan Jr.
Jane & William K. Morgan
Andrea Nixon & Brent Friedenberg
Our State Magazine
PBS North Carolina
PNC Foundation
Frances & Steve Porter Family Fund of the Winston-Salem Foundation
The Re Corr Family Foundation
Mary Margaret & Kade Ross
Kay Shipman Schoellhorn
Stephanie & Dana Simpson
Temple Sloan Family Foundation
Ann & Wade Smith
Susan & Chris Valauri
Anita Watkins
Wells Fargo Foundation
WRAL
WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio