Manchester Museum is hoping to install a full Tenontosaurus skeleton, dating back around 110 million years.
The incredible skeleton dates back to the Cretaceous period and has affectionately been named April, after the wife of Barry James, who originally prepared the fossil for display.
April was previously displayed in the landmark museum standing upright – much like a T-Rex.
But research from Earth Sciences students at the University of Manchester has found that she would actually have walked around on all fours.
It means that a huge restoration and installation project is needed to get April the right way up, where she’ll be the focal point of a new dinosaur display at the refurbished museum when it reopens in February 2023.
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Manchester Museum is asking for public support to raise the £10,000 needed to get April installed in the Dinosaurs and Fossils gallery.
Restoring AprilThe TenontosaurusStan the T-RexWork has begun to restore April at Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
She’ll join Stan, the museum’s legendary T-Rex mascot, who towers way above the heads of visitors.
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The Tenontosaurus (pronounced Ten-ON-tuh-sore-us) would reach up to seven metres in length and was a herbivorous dinosaur.
As well as seeing April’s impressive frame, visitors will also be able to come face-to-face with prehistoric giants, get hands-on with objects, and learn more about palaeontology.
The display will also look at the history of British dinosaurs that would have once roamed our homeland, and the story of how they became extinct.
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The restoration is part of Manchester Museum’s capital development project hello future.
David Gelsthorpe, Curator of Earth Science Collections, says: “April is a Tenontosaurus purchased by Manchester Museum in 1999 and was previously displayed standing upright.
“Over the past few years, we have been working with a team of Earth Sciences students from the University of Manchester to carefully study April’s bones and find out more about her.
“Using their palaeontology skills and computer modelling, their research shows us that she would have moved on all fours.
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“As well as changing the way the skeleton stands, over 10,000 hours of careful conservation work is required to restore its bones.
“We’re asking for any donations, big or small, to support the project and help bring April back to the museum floor.”
To play your part and contribute to April’s restoration, please visit Support Manchester Museum. Every donation will go towards helping to put April back on display.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
What's On
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Daisy Jackson -
21st September 2022 
