The Park City Institute

Presents

Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous

Meet Spinosaurus, the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered—larger than T. rex—and hear the incredible story of how this prehistoric giant was almost lost to science, before being uncovered again with the help of paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim.

Originally discovered in Morocco more than half a century ago by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer, Spinosaurus’ fossil remains were lost in the Allied bombing of Germany during World War II. But recent fossil discoveries in the desert, along with Stromer’s own data and drawings, helped Ibrahim and contemporary scientists reconstruct a full skeletal model of Spinosaurus, which has been featured on the National Geographic Channel and presented in the National Geographic Museum.

With amazing video recreating the lost world of the Cretaceous-era Sahara, Ibrahim will tell the story of Spinosaurus’ discovery, loss, and rediscovery, and explain what—other than its size—makes this ancient monster unique.

Theater

The Eccles Center is the largest theater in Park City, Utah with 1,269 seats. It is home to Park City Institute's Main Stage Season from October through April each year, presenting a broad range of world-class performing arts from international dance companies to Broadway icons to beloved author/humorists to virtuosos in a host of musical styles from Chamber Music to rock'n'roll.

Health and Safety

The Park City Institute and the Park City School District have taken measures to assure the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and performers. These include updated HVAC, touchless restrooms, electronic ticketing, electronic programs, all volunteers and staff to be fully vaccinated, enhanced cleaning, and empty seats. We ask that all patrons wear a mask until seated and whenever moving about the building.

Nizar Ibrahim

German/Moroccan paleontologist, anatomist, and National Geographic Explorer Nizar Ibrahim scours the vast deserts of North Africa for clues to life in the Cretaceous period, when the area was a large river system teeming with a profusion of diverse life. One of the youngest explorers ever to lead expeditions to the Sahara, he has unearthed spectacular dinosaur bones, rare fossil footprints, giant prehistoric fish, crocodile-like hunters, and a new species of a giant flying reptile with a 20-foot wingspan that lived 95 million years ago.

For many years Ibrahim has been obsessed with one of the great mysteries in paleontology—the giant predatory dinosaur Spinosaurus. In a tale for the ages, Ibrahim managed to find “a needle in a desert,” as he puts it, uncovering one of the most bizarre animals ever to evolve. Ibrahim’s remarkable story and the findings of an international team of scientists were published in the journal Science and as a cover story for National Geographic magazine. What has been unveiled appears to be the first truly semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.

In 2014 Ibrahim was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and in 2015 he was named a TED fellow, the first paleontologist in the history of TED. Also in 2015, he was named one of Chicago’s 40 under 40 by Crain’s Chicago Business. Ibrahim is an Assistant Professor of Biology and currently teaches anatomy and evolutionary biology at the University of Detroit Mercy. His work has been featured in several major documentary films (National Geographic, NOVA, BBC, ZDF) and high-impact publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Nature, Discover Magazine, and The New York Times.

The 2021-22 Main Stage Series is made possible with the generous support from the following individuals and organizations:

John & Jean Yoblonski, Shawn Fojtik, Rachel and Robert Alday, Holly Etlin & Andrew Krieger, the KTC Fund, Robin Hauser, Terry Homer & Ann Marie Horner, Cole Sport, PBS Utah, The Park City Community Foundation, and the Utah Division of Arts & Museums