Large Dinosaur Skeleton Display

Above about ten metres a dinosaur skeleton stops being an exhibit and becomes a structure. The engineering changes category: wind load replaces handling as the governing case, the foundation becomes part of the design, and the piece has to survive being climbed on by people who assume it is solid.

Wind Load Comes First

An open lattice of bones catches wind like a frame rather than like a wall, which helps, but the lever arm does not. A 20-metre mount on four legs sees a bending moment at the base that dwarfs anything the piece weighs, and that moment is what the foundation is designed against, not the mass.

We ask for the site’s design wind speed before quoting. A coastal site and an inland park can differ by a factor that changes both the steel section and the concrete. Quoting a large skeleton without that number produces a price that is either unsafe or needlessly heavy.

Steel Inside, Resin Outside

The frame is weathering steel, sized for the moment rather than for the look. The bones are resin shells fixed to it. That combination is what makes a large piece affordable: the structure is ordinary steelwork, and only the visible surface is cast.

Every shell is mechanically fixed, not bonded, because an outdoor piece moves thermally every day of its life and adhesive eventually lets go. Fixings are stainless, and the interface between shell and steel is detailed so water runs off rather than sitting in the joint.

Foundation and Anchoring

We supply the anchor layout, the base plate design and the reactions at each support. The foundation itself is designed and built locally, which is normally cheaper than shipping a design that has to be re-approved anyway.

The critical detail is drainage. A base that holds water corrodes the section at exactly the point where the load is highest, and that is the failure that takes these pieces down.

Finish for Permanence

Three coats: an inorganic zinc primer, an epoxy intermediate, and a fluorocarbon topcoat. The topcoat is what decides whether the piece still looks like bone after five summers of UV, and it is also the layer that can be refreshed on site without dismantling anything.

Lighting and Presence

At this scale the piece is a night landmark as much as a day exhibit. Up-lighting from the base throws the ribcage into silhouette, which is the effect most sites want; lighting the bones from outside the frame flattens it and reads as a fairground decoration.

Specifications

Questions Before Ordering

How tall can it go? Up to about 30 metres, but above roughly 18 metres the steel and foundation cost rises faster than the visual gain. Ask us to model two heights before committing.

Can it be climbed? Assume it will be. We detail the lower bones as a climbing surface and specify no-entry at the frame, which is cheaper than repairing shells every season.

Does it need maintenance? An annual inspection of fixings and a topcoat refresh on a cycle that depends on UV exposure. That is the whole schedule.

Can it be moved later? Not economically at this size. Treat the site as permanent.

Materials. Weathering steel frame with resin bone shells, inorganic zinc primer, epoxy intermediate and fluorocarbon topcoat.

Related. the skeleton and fossil range, theme park installations, animatronic dinosaurs.