Darth Vader-like dino coming to Elgin library in May
A popular dinosaur exhibit will return to Elgin in a few months with old favorites and new displays, including an unusual specimen that's been likened to a vacuum cleaner and even Darth Vader.
Nigersaurus, a 110-million-year-old, 40-foot-long plant-eater with a straight, square jaw, will be on display at "Dinosaur Giants: An Exhibit from the Sereno Fossil Lab" coming to Gail Borden Public Library from mid-May to late September.
"It has one of the most bizarre skulls you'll ever see," said paleontologist Paul Sereno, who discovered it in the Sahara Desert in North Africa.
"It's a crazy animal. When I saw that all the teeth are side to side, not front to back, I thought, 'This can't belong to the dino. It must belong to some weird animal.' Finally it clicked and came together when all the bones were freed of the rock."
The exhibit also will include Jobaria, a 135-million-year-old, 33-foot-tall plant-eater, also discovered by Sereno, that was the centerpiece of the original Elgin exhibit in 2005, seen by an estimated 300,000 people.
"Dinosaurs are wonderful for children. They are just so amazed by dinosaurs," said Libby Hoeft, board president for the Gail Borden Public Library District Foundation. "The (Jobaria) dinosaur skeleton going all the way to the ceiling in the central area of the library, it gives schoolchildren an idea of how huge these were."
This will be just the second time the Nigersaurus will be on public display in the United States, after its debut in 2007 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., and an exhibit in Tokyo, said Sereno, who teaches at the University of Chicago.
The library's Facebook announcement of the exhibit already has generated excitement, with people as far away as Missouri pledging to come see it, library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said.
Sereno said he feels a special connection to the Elgin library, the first he worked with to showcase his scientific discoveries. He also collaborated with the library to bring the "SuperCroc" exhibit in 2013.
"They are ahead of their time," he said.
The library also will work on connecting the exhibit to Elgin as a whole, such as with "dino discounts" at participating restaurants and encouraging visitors to check out other local attractions such as the Elgin History Museum and the Elgin Public Museum, Raleigh said. "We want to make sure we give people full knowledge of all the jewels we have here."
The foundation is contributing some funds to the exhibit, for which the library - which has $10,000 available in its exhibit budget - will be fundraising, Raleigh said. Anyone interested in contributing can contact her at (847) 429-5981 or draleigh@gailborden.info.