T. rex replica goes to head of class at Conant

A fiberglass replica of the head of a nearly 70-million-year-old fossil is fueling the curiosity among James B. Conant High School students.

Tyrannosaurus rex Norm’s noggin arrived at the school this week on loan from the Field Museum’s Harris Learning Collection. During his two-week stay, he will serve as a very special guinea pig for earth science classes and a conversation piece for the entire student body.

The replica is 5-feet-tall, 3-feet-wide and 5-feet-long and represents the Wankel T. rex, whose original skeleton is at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

Rancher Kathy Wankel discovered Norm while hiking in Montana on Labor Day weekend 1988. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. is six years into a 50-year contract to keep the Wankel T. rex at its museum.

Dave Torpe, chair of Conant’s science department and physics teacher, said Norm will be part of the earth science curriculum for at least a week and may be moved to the cafeteria so more students can see it.

“The benefit is that kids are able to touch and interact with it, so they can feel the texture. They can feel how sharp the teeth were,” he said.

Torpe learned last year from an activity sponsor that the museum was renting the skull.

“We are the first to get it in a few years.”

Torpe approached biology and earth science teacher Kate Nottoli with the idea, and she and her team became involved.

“It’s a museum-grade replica,” Torpe said. “The benefit is that kids are able to touch and interact with it, so they can feel the texture.”

The effort culminated with Norm being rolled out, strapped up and hauled to Conant in a box truck.

The timing of Norm’s arrival was ideal, as Nottoli’s students were studying historical geology.

“The one thing that gets the kids excited is when you talk about the dinosaurs,” she said.

Even in replica form, Norm captivated the students, including junior Kole Gregory, who said he is fascinated by dinosaurs.

“It’s the fact that something like them could have existed before us, and the fact that they did exist,” he said.

Sophomore John Bienko said he has held an interest in dinosaurs and their history for years, and enjoyed dinosaur-themed games.

“It's not just one era,” he said. “I've watched all the Jurassic Park movies, no matter how nonrealistic they are.”

Norm’s first day was Monday, and Nottoli’s earth science class was measuring dimensions of the skull.

Other students were seated at tables performing tasks associated with fossil identification.

“I think it’s a good way to visualize what you’re learning,” sophomore Makayla Williams said.

Torpe said Norm is providing the students with valuable hands-on experience.

“It's one thing to talk about a fossil, and it's another to feel the texture of a fossil,” Torpe said.