The National Association for the Performing Arts (NAPA) housed a replica of the most complete version of the Tyranasaurus-Rex from May 11 to June 15. Standing at 42 feet (12.8 metres) long and 12 feet (3.66 metres) high at the hip, the colossal fossil was named after its discoverer, Sue Hendrickson, a commercial fossil hunter who discovered the bones in 1990 on a Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Moulded by Cayenne International Events (CIE), using plastic and fibre glass casting, this spectacle was the centrepiece of a grand exhibit that used interactive models to educate visitors as to the creature's vision, movement and sense of smell. Lyndon Baptiste, business development director and one of the founders of CIE, said it was very expensive to get the replica here and organisers have operated on a loss in total.
"Our consolation is that the children enjoyed it, and it was a treat for the public." The weekdays saw school children crowding the show, but the weekend, Baptiste said, attracted the general public. At the time of writing, the attendance was about 15,000, and was expected to hike to 25,000 by the exhibit's conclusion.
Among the host of sponsors included the Ministry of Education, which didn't help financially, but got the message across to schools. Despite this, Baptiste was clear that for such future events, he would like more monetary support. "We would like to build on arts and culture," said Baptiste, "but we need government and business support to host more first-world events."