A Tyrannosaurus rex is joining the dinosaur fossil collection on the National Mall in Washington DC after a 3,000-mile journey from Montana.

For the first time, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History will have a nearly complete T rex skeleton. FedEx is delivering the dinosaur bones in 16 crates.

Visitors can get their first look as curators examine each bone over the next six months, but it will take five years for the museum to overhaul its dinosaur hall with the T rex mounted as the centrepiece of a 35 million US dollar gallery devoted to the history of life on Earth. The T rex was found in 1988 on federal land and was previously displayed at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.

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