Tyrannosaurus rex

“Bucky” the Tyrannosaurus rex is a rare find. This remarkable dinosaur was the first subadult T. rex ever placed on permanent exhibit in a museum. It was found by 20-year-old Bucky Derflinger in 1998 near the small town of Faith, South Dakota, where The Children’s Museum sponsored family dinosaur digs for many years. A rancher and rodeo cowboy, Derflinger is the youngest person to discover a T. rex.

 

When asked how he feels when he sees the dinosaur he discovered on exhibit, Derflinger said, “You know, that is really special to me. It was my dream since I was a little kid to find a T. rex. The first time I saw a T. rex on display, I was 8 years old, and it was life changing. I wanted to inspire that feeling for many kids to come. I didn’t know anything about The Children’s Museum until a buddy told me about a museum that was interested in buying it. They gave me and my wife a tour of the museum in 2001, and it was absolutely a perfect fit.”