BENTONVILLE -- "Rexy" gave a final farewell to the public library Thursday.
Josh Annett and Daniel Guyton with the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock dismantled the 18-foot-long, 7-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex model that has been in the library's main hall for six years.
The half-size replica of the dinosaur from the movie "Night At The Museum" will join Arkansas Discovery Network as part of a traveling dinosaur exhibit.
The exhibit is in the development stages. Rexy will be the centerpiece, said Annett, director of exhibits for the Little Rock museum and the discovery network.
The exhibit also will feature a Triceratops skeleton donated from the University of Arkansas, he said. The exhibit doesn't have a name yet, but is scheduled to open Nov. 1 at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock.
It will travel around the state and change locations about every six months, Annett said.
The library hosted five annual Rexy events from 2008 to 2012 that 2,625 people attended, according to a library news release.
"The children of the community have become great friends with Rexy," said Sue Ann Pekel, children's librarian. "Often when they come into the library that is their first stop and their last stop as they check books out."
At least 300 children came by to say goodbye to Rexy over the last three days, Pekel said. The Bentonville Library Foundation donated 300 mini Tyrannosaurus Rex models given to children as a farewell memento.
"We'll still feature dinosaurs at the library because they're a hot topic with kids," Pekel said.
Rexy was on tour from New York to Los Angeles promoting the DVD release of the 20th Century Fox movie before coming to the library in 2007, according to the release.
20th Century Fox gave Rexy to the Amazeum, which partnered with the library to give it a temporary home since the museum didn't have a location to put it, said Eric Smith, director of exhibits and programs for Amazeum.
Amazeum is a member of the Arkansas Discovery Network. There are no plans to make Rexy a permanent exhibit of the Amazeum when it opens in 2015, Smith said.
NW News on 04/18/2014