$2mn dinosaur on show at airport

Visitors to Abu Dhabi International Airport will be forgiven for thinking they’ve stepped back in time or onto the set of the latest Spielberg blockbuster or an episode of The Flintstones.

Einstein, a 23 metre, 4.5 tonne skeleton of an Apatosaurus, will spend the next two and a half months on display in the Arrivals Hall in Terminal 1.

Discovered in Dakota, USA, Einstein has been transported in ten cargo crates to Abu Dhabi courtesy of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) and Etihad Airways.

Accompanied and reconstructed by a team of paleontology experts, the entire process was achieved in less than a day.

Einstein’s skeleton is now in situ, and the exhibition will formally open to the public next week, with information available on the dinosaur’s past and vital statistics, as well as opportunities for visitors to have their photos taken with the relic.

The exhibition will be free of charge, and visitors will be able to see Einstein without checking in or making a journey through the airport.

Dan Cappell, vice president non-aeronautical revenue, Abu Dhabi Airports Company, said: “This is a unique moment for Abu Dhabi. Einstein is an incredible relic from prehistoric times and provides a great educational opportunity for children and their families, allowing people young and old to learn about a part of the world’s history that is normally only accessible in museums.

In October, Einstein’s skeleton will be auctioned off internationally at a reserve price of $2 million, with 20 percent above the reserve of the auction price going to the charity for endangered species of Arabian wildlife.

Einstein is an Apatosaurus (also known as a Brontosaurus), a long-necked vegetarian dinosaur who lived during the Jurassic Period, approximately 150 million years ago.

Although no dinosaur remains have been found in the UAE, the recent discovery of dinosaur footprints in Yemen have reinvigorated interest in the region’s prehistory, and Abu Dhabi has its own Department of Cultural Landscapes within the Authority for Culture and Heritage who are responsible for investigating remains across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

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