World's Largest Triceratops Skeleton Attracts Visitors To Tampa Museum

TAMPA, FL — Dinosaur fans from around the country are flocking to the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa this summer to visit a 66 million-year-old triceratops named Big John.

At 10 feet tall and 26 feet long, Big John is the Guinness World Records' largest documented triceratops skeleton, and is literally a can't-miss exhibit at the museum.

Big John was discovered in 2014 in the Hell Creek geological formation in South Dakota by paleontologist Walter Stein and purchased at auction by the Pagidipati family of Tampa in 2021 for a record $7.7 million, the second-largest price paid for dinosaur fossils.

“Our interest in purchasing Big John and other specimens is first and foremost to make them available to the public and for research,” said Siddhartha Pagidipati. “Ever since I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by dinosaurs roaming the Earth. As longtime supporters of the Glazer Children’s Museum, it is our family’s great joy to announce this partnership to share Big John with the Tampa Bay community. Now everyone will have a chance to see him in person and experience what his world was like 66 million years ago.”

The Pagidipati family has loaned Big John, the first full-sized dinosaur skeleton ever on display in Tampa Bay, to the museum for three years.

The museum expanded its public area to include its third floor to house Big John and a new education center for dinosaur-themed camps and field trips. The immersive dinosaur exhibit is designed to take children and adults into the Late Cretaceous period.

The LaFace family of the Tampa-based construction firm RIPA & Associates made a major donation to support the museum's cost of designing and building the exhibit, which features tunnels with clear domes where curious kids (and flexible grownups) can pop up and see Big John’s skeleton from underneath.

“We are proud to support the work of the Glazer Children’s Museum and have a lasting impact on the next generation," said Chris LaFace, CEO of RIPA & Associates. “We believe that future RIPA employees and clients are playing at the Glazer Children’s Museum today.”

“What makes dinosaurs such an enduring and universal source of fascination is their ability to bridge the gap between generations,” said Sarah Cole, president and CEO of the Glazer Children’s Museum. “It’s hard to believe that these seemingly mythical creatures roamed our planet long ago, so getting up close to a fossil as remarkable as Big John inspires awe and sparks curiosity about the world around us.

"We are so thankful to the Pagidipati family for their generous loan, which will spark an interest in dinosaurs and science with young learners and the entire Tampa Bay community," Cole said. "And the Glazer Children’s Museum is honored to partner with RIPA and the LaFace family to spark curiosity and a passion for science with young learners and the entire Tampa Bay community."

About the size of a recreational vehicle, the fossil is 60 percent intact and is estimated to be 5 to 10 percent larger than any other known triceratops fossil that's been discovered. Big John’s massive skull, measuring 6.6 feet wide, is more than 75 percent complete.

The large shield-shaped “frill” on the back of the skull bears the mark of a traumatic injury, likely due to a fight with another triceratops. Signs of healing on the skull suggest that he did not immediately die from this injury but perhaps from infection months later.

The Big John exhibit is included with museum admission. Timed reservations will be used to ensure guests can visit Big John with minimal crowds.

Additionally, for the first time, the Glazer Children’s Museum will open its doors to guests of every age, with or without children, to ensure everyone has access to this colossal experience. Click here for tickets.