This weekend, film fans in the UAE will be heading to the cinema to watch the latest Jurassic World film, but those who want to get a closer look at a real dinosaur can do so in one of Dubai's biggest tourist attractions.
On March 10, 2014, Dubai Mall might have felt more like Jurassic Park after a massive dinosaur skeleton was unveiled to the public at the mall’s Grand Atrium, and it quickly became a popular attraction, garnering attention from residents and tourists alike.
The 24.4 metres long and 7.6 metre-tall fossil from the late Jurassic Period was 90 per cent original. Skeleton displays of the dinosaur species, known to scientists as Diplodocus longus, usually only feature 30 per cent of original bones.
The dinosaur remains were unveiled by Mohamed Alabbar, founding member and chairman of the mall’s owner, Emaar.
The remains of the creature, distinguished by its long tail, slender neck and very small head, were unearthed in 2008 at the Dana Quarry in central Wyoming, US. The specimen is of an adult female and was discovered in a resting position.
Before arriving to Dubai, it was previously exhibited at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and acquired for Dubai Mall through Khalid Seddiq, founder of the Etihad Modern Art Gallery in Abu Dhabi.
After the unveiling, a competition was announced to give the Dubai Mall dinosaur a name, with the winner getting a chance to travel to Jurassic Park at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. In June that year, Johara Al Bayedh, a bank manager from Saudi Arabia, was announced the winner for her suggestion, DubaiDino. “I’m a big fan of dinosaurs and I had submitted three names,” Al Bayedh told The National after her win.
“I was so excited about this that I entered instantly, and knew I had to be one of the first ones. It’s just amazing to have a giant dinosaur fossil in Dubai. It is not just educational, but will make people imagine how planet Earth used to function, and how the world was back then.”
In August 2019, Emirates Auction announced that it would hold an auction to find DubaiDino a new home, seeking lovers of rare collectibles as potential new owners. The online auction began with a starting value of Dh14.6 million.
Despite the auction, DubaiDino is still a resident of Dubai Mall. The fossil has since been moved from the Grand Atrium to a new location. It can now be found near the mall's ice rink.
