The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London has dressed its animatronic T-Rex in an enormous Christmas jumper, on display at the institution through Christmas Eve.
The dinosaur, named Rex, is sporting a jumper that is 12 times heavier than a regular sweater. It has tiny sleeves, for obvious reasons, and is made from recycled yarn and plastic bottles.
The festive outfit was created by British Christmas Jumpers. Director Snahal Patel revealed that it was the Leicester-based company’s biggest job to date, taking 100 hours to complete (via BBC).
“We’ve never done anything like this. My dad’s never done anything like this and he’s been in this business for 35 to 40 years,” Patel said. “It’s probably the biggest thing we’ve made and going forward into the future there are other big projects planned.”
12 times heavier than a normal jumper
Human-sized versions of the jumper are available to buy from NHM’s online shop. The product description is as follows:
“The navy, red, green and white pattern features snowflakes, fir trees – and everyone’s favourite dinosaurs: Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T. rex and Diplodocus. Even the museum’s famous Hans Sloane nautilus shell appears along the hem and cuffs.”
“I think he looks absolutely fabulous,” said Carla Treasure, NHM product developer and buyer. “It’s been a really, really challenging year for heritage and visitor attractions and we really wanted to do something which would generate interest.”
“All the proceeds from the sale of these jumpers goes back to supporting the museum, not only for its pioneering research but also caring for its 80m specimens,” she added.
Meanwhile, Dippy the dinosaur is returning to the Natural History Museum in summer 2022 after a successful UK-wide tour that welcomed more than two million visitors.
