LIVERPOOL.- An 80 million-year-old dinosaur egg goes on display, heralding the arrival of Dinomania! – the first appearance in Europe of a 14-ft long T Rex coming to roam around World Museum.

Visitors can meet Rex the juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex for four days of free prehistoric hysterics 2 – 5 December 2010.

The animated dinosaur has been a sensation in the United States and Australia where it has given thousands of people the opportunity to see a walking, moving T Rex.

To get visitors in the mood, a dinosaur egg goes on display for the first time in decades at World Museum. It is one of 25 eggs laid by an Oviraptor – a small dinosaur that lived in Mongolia.

The nest was discovered by renowned palaeontologist Roy Chapman Andrews in 1923. Andrews was a flamboyant explorer said to have inspired the Indiana Jones film character played by Harrison Ford.

Dinomania! features the T Rex making regular appearances throughout the day between 1000 and 1700 hours on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 2,3,4 and 5 December 2010.

In addition, Dino-nite at the Museum features face-to-face meetings with T Rex between 1730 and 2130 hours on Friday and Saturday 3 and 4 December 2010. The event includes a dino-dinner, disco and craft making.

The egg comes from the late Cretaceous Djadochta Formation, a geological area rich in fossils. It was presented to the Liverpool Free Public Museum (now World Museum) in 1929.