QLD Is Getting A Full Scale Replica 3D Printed Dinosaur

In Roma, a rural town in Queensland’s south west with a population of around 7,000, the 170 million year old Rhoetosaurus was discovered in 1924. Now Roma is planning to attract visitors with a full-scale 3D printed replica of the herbivore, because, well, you can never have too many “big” attractions in Australia.

Image: Jurassic Park, Universal Pictures

With the bones kept in Brisbane’s Queensland Museum, the local Maranoa Council have turned to exploring 3D printing to create a unique tourist attraction for the area.

Mayor Robert Loughnan has hopes the $200,000 project will “influence a few people to go on the western route have a look at the Eromanga dinosaur display and the south-west science loop”.

Dr Scott Hocknull, Queensland Museum geosciences senior curator is working with the council on creating the Rhoetosaurus replica.

“Right at the moment you can rout out of a large block of foam, a bone or an entire dinosaur and that’s what we’re working on at the moment,” he said.

“It’s a long time to get to a big dinosaur, so fingers crossed we can actually create something this large.”

He says the benefits of 3D printing for this kind of project are obvious.

“Just imagine being able to walk up close to one of these things … because it’s a replica, because it’s something you could potentially touch, kids can get a really direct engaging, exciting experience, by seeing these things close up.”

This project is unrelated to Clive Palmer’s dinosaur park. What ever happened to that?