ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996             TAG: 9610010099
SECTION: NEWSFUN                  PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO 

SO?!!

Dinosaurs - big ones - are coming to Virginia.

A major dinosaur exhibit, including real fossils, models and five scientifically accurate full-size dinosaur skeletons will be on display at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, beginning today and running through Nov. 30.

A hands-on dinosaur dig scene and an Anklosaurus bone-bed replica with skin you can touch are among the offerings at the museum. A T. rex skeleton measuring 171/2 feet high by 32 feet long will fill most of the museum's auditorium.

The exhibit will be open Monday -Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays 1-5 p.m. The exhibit will be closed on Nov. 5 for Election Day and on Nov. 28 for Thanksgiving.

LENGTH: Short :   26 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Chasmosaurus will be among the  dinosaur skeletons on 
          display at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. color.