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A sneak peek at “Big John,” the triceratops at the Glazer Children’s Museum

Joey deVilla and Anitra Pavka stand beside a “triceratops” (actually two museum employees in a pretty realistic costume) in the lobby of the Glazer Children”s Museum.

Anitra is on the board of the Glazer Children’s Museum, the home of the world’s largest triceratops skeleton — lovingly known as “Big John” — for the next three years. Big John’s exhibit opens to the public this Friday, May 26th, and we got a sneak peek at the VIP party last week.

Joey deVilla and Anitra Pavka on the balcony of the Glazer Children’s Museum.
Side view of “Big John,” a triceratops, on display at the Glazer Children’s Museum.

I wrote about Big John back in January, in a post titled The world’s largest triceratops is moving to Tampa Bay! Since then, the museum has been hard at work getting this 66 million year-old beast and his room ready for the public in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

Front view of “Big John,” a triceratops, on display at the Glazer Children’s Museum.

The museum’s CEO, Sarah Cole, gave us a quick welcome speech and thanked everyone involved in bringing Big John here, with a big special “thank you” to the Pagidipati family, who purchased Big John in late 2021 and have arranged for him to be publicly displayed instead of being tucked away in a private collection.

Glazer Children’s Museum CEO Sarah Cole speaks beside “Big John” in front of an audience.

Since the occasion called for it, I brought my triceratops sunglasses…

Joey deVilla wearing triceratops sunglasses.

…which came in handy with the viewing domes underneath Big John:

Joey deVilla, smiling and wearing triceratops sunglasses, “pops up” in a clear plastic dome located underneath “Big John.”
Joey deVilla, smiling and wearing triceratops sunglasses, “pops up” in a clear plastic dome located underneath “Big John.”

If you’re downtown and driving down Ashley Drive or in Curtis Hixon Park, you’ll be able to see an inflatable triceratops atop the museum:

The front of the Glazer Children’s Museum, looking upward. A large inflatable triceratops is visible on the roof.

If you’d like to see Big John, he’ll be available for viewing at the Glazer Children’s Museum for the next couple of years, starting this Friday!

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