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They dug up a T-rex skull, now you can watch them restore it

Last year paleontologists from the Burke Museum discovered a Tyrannosaurus rex in eastern Montana. The fossil pieces include a complete skull -- one of only 15 ever discovered in the world.

Now you can watch as the skull is being unearthed at an exhibit at the Burke called T-rex Live.

Jean Primozich is one of the volunteers removing dirt and rock from the 3,000 pound skull.

"My favorite thing is," Primozich said, "as with this tooth on Saturday - absolutely uncovering it and then I was so concentrated on doing it, and then turning around and seeing there are twenty people there spurring me on to finish it up and they all gave me the thumbs up. And my heart was pounding because look at that thing. It’s gorgeous.”

This is the first time the Burke has opened up their work for public view.

“Seeing a dinosaur is one thing but watching it happen, watching how it happens and what goes on," Primozich said. “The fact that it’s not a static thing. We don’t just find a bone and plunk it into a museum. It really allows people to appreciate what goes into preparing and having these things to be able to be seen by the public.”

The exhibit is open through February 18

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at the Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus.

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