Apex Arrives at the American Museum of Natural History
Shortly after acquiring a 150-million-year-old fossil known as Apex last summer, Ken Griffin shared his intention to lend the massive Stegosaurus to a museum in the United States. We now know the location of the dinosaur’s new home: the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
Starting Sunday, December 8, the largest Stegosaurus skeleton ever discovered will begin a four-year residency at the acclaimed New York museum.
Apex, which measures 11.5 feet tall and 27 feet long and is nearly 80 percent complete, will greet the museum’s approximately five million visitors each year inside the entrance to the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation in the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium before joining the museum’s broader collection in the museum’s fossil halls.
With Ken’s support, the museum is unveiling a wide range of educational resources related to Apex designed for children, educators, and lifelong learners. For the more than 200,000 New York City public school students who visit the AMNH every year, Apex will provide opportunities to learn about the Dinosaur Age and life on Earth 150 million years ago.
Ken’s support will also underwrite research into Apex—one of the few discovered specimens believed to have lived to an advanced age—as part of a new initiative of the museum’s Division of Paleontology.
“We are thrilled to have Apex on view at the Museum and grateful to Ken Griffin for his commitment to sharing this magnificent specimen with the public.”
“Mr. Griffin brings a strong sense of civic responsibility, a deep love of and support for science, and an understanding of the power of museums, including ours, to inspire wonder and spur innovation,” said Sean M. Decatur, President of the American Museum of Natural History.
Over many years, Ken has been a major benefactor of enriching museum experiences. In addition to significant support for the AMNH, he has advanced science education for people of all ages at institutions, including the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the Cox Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Field Museum in Chicago.
At the Field Museum, Ken contributed $16.5 million to create the Griffin Dinosaur Experience, an interactive exhibition featuring “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex, “Maximo” the Titanosaur, and “Sobek” the Spinosaurus. He has also underwritten Antarctic Dinosaurs, a traveling educational exhibition bringing never-before-seen Antarctic fossils into public view.
For more information about the Apex loan to the American Museum of Natural History and related research and educational programming, read coverage in:
Learn more in our story Apex: The Dinosaur Teaching Millions About Our Past.
