Go Back in Time 76-million Years: ROM’s Newly Discovered Dinosaur Zuul Makes its World Debut December 15

TORONTO, November 28, 2018—Travel back in time on a journey into the Late Cretaceous world of Zuul – the world-renowned, newly named ankylosaur from the Royal Ontario Museum. The 76 million-year-old skeleton, one of the most complete armoured dinosaurs ever discovered, will take centre stage in the ROM-original exhibition ZUUL: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur, presenting sponsor Sinking Ship Entertainment. The exhibition opens to the public on December 15, 2018 just in time for the holidays.

“We are thrilled to be introducing Toronto and the world to an extraordinary new dinosaur,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “The acquisition of Zuul represents a significant new addition to our globally renowned collection of dinosaurs and fauna. With the generous support of presenting sponsor Sinking Ship Entertainment, and our team of renowned paleontologists and exhibition developers, we look forward to presenting a truly unique exhibition that will inspire and delight visitors of all ages.”  

About the Exhibition
Through cutting-edge animations, engaging video games and digital interactives, Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur explores how this mighty dinosaur, bristling with armour and a menacing tail club, lived. The hugely-anticipated exhibition transports visitors back in time using full-sized murals that recreate the Cretaceous world Zuul inhabited.

Dr. David Evans, the exhibition’s lead curator and the ROM’s James and Louise Temerty Endowed Chair of Vertebrate Palaeontology, says: “In this multi-faceted exhibition, visitors will see the breathtaking Zuul fossil up close, and through a treasure trove of incredible fossils found alongside the skeleton, learn more about Zuul’s diverse ancient world. Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur will spark curiosity about our distant past and the evolution of life over time.”  

The massive and remarkably-preserved fossils of Zuul will be on public display for the very first time anywhere in the world.

Touchscreens will let visitors rotate 3D views of Zuul’s original fossil pieces, while life-size touchable bronze models of Zuul’s skull, armour, skin, and tail club allow visitors to feel what it would have been like to touch the living dinosaur.

Presenting Sponsor Sinking ShipEntertainment is working with the ROM’s exhibition team to help bring the experience to life for visitors through a series of cutting-edge games and activations. With ground-breaking CGI technology, visitors will experience a face-off between the plant-eating Zuul and its main predator, Gorgosaurus, a close cousin of T.rex. Visitors will also experience what it would be like to be an ankylosaur with an arcade-style fighting game that sees Zuul using its tail club and armour to duel various opponents, as well as a Kinect-technology carnival-like game where participants can take a swing at Zuul’s wicked tail club.

“We are thrilled to be working alongside Canada’s leading Museum to present this never-before-seen exhibition,“ says J.J. Johnson, partner at Sinking Ship Entertainment. “At Sinking Ship, we pride ourselves on the work we do to entertain, educate and inspire young audiences. This partnership has been an incredible one – allowing us to expand on our ground breaking interactive experiences to engage visitors of all ages.”

About Zuul crurivastator
Named in 2017 by ROM postdoctoral fellow Dr. Victoria Arbour (now Curator of Palaeontology at the Royal BC Museum) and ROM Senior Curator Dr. David Evans, this new species of ankylosaur has a broad snout, long horns behind the eyes, and a gnarly face resembling the fictional monster from the 1984 film Ghostbusters. Its species name, crurivastator, means ‘destroyer of shins’ in reference to its menacing, weapon-like tail club. Discovered in northern Montana just 50 kilometres south of the Alberta border, in the rocks of the Judith River Formation, the ankylosaur fossil is one of the most complete and well-preserved specimens of its kind ever found anywhere in the world.  It has a complete skull and tail club as well as preserved skin and other soft tissues that will provide a rare and exciting opportunity for new, cutting-edge scientific research. Zuul was acquired by the ROM in 2016 through the generous support of the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust.

For more information on Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur, visit https://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/exhibitions/zuul

-30-

Presenting Sponsor

Media Contact
Anne Vranic, Senior Publicist
416.586.5514
avranic@rom.on.ca

Social Media
Join the Conversation: #DinoZuul
Like: ROM Facebook
Tweet: @ROMToronto; @DavidEvans_ROM
Instagram: romtoronto
Watch: ROM YouTube
Blog: ROMblog
 

About the ROM
Founded in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum showcases art, culture, and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new discoveries, the ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural, and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy.  

About Sinking Ship Entertainment
Sinking Ship Entertainment is a multiple Emmy® Award winning production, distribution and interactive company specializing in kids’ live action and CGI blended content. Since its launch in 2004, the company has rapidly earned a reputation for high quality, ground breaking original series and companion interactive experiences. Overall the company has won 13 Daytime Emmy® Awards and a variety of other international awards including Canadian Screen Awards, Youth Media Alliance Awards, Fan Chile Awards, Parents Choice Awards, the Shaw Rocket Prize, and the Prix Jeunesse International. The Toronto-based company will be providing CGI animation for Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur, as well as creating an interactive game for visitors. In early 2020 Sinking Ship Entertainment will be releasing the feature film DINO DANA: THE MOVIE, which was both filmed at the ROM and includes Zuul as part of the film’s epic dinosaur adventure storyline. The film will see an international museum theatre release launch in mid-2020 after its initial theatrical window.