Casper sculptor Chris Navarro has been working on a new sculpture for Casper College and the Tate Museum over the course of the last 2 years.

Titled the “Essence of Rex,” it is a Tyrannosaurus Rex measuring more than 13 1/2 foot-tall, 7 feet wide and 28-foot-long. It is a statue that has been cast in bronze at a foundry in Cody, Wyoming and is now on it's way to Casper. Installation will follow the arrival of the 5,000-pound bronze dinosaur statue and it will be placed at ground level facing Casper Mountain in front of the Tate Museum on the Casper College campus.

The piece is named “Essence of Rex” because one side will be skeletal while the other is covered with reptile-like skin. As many as 1,500 LED lights are expected to illuminate the piece from within.

The project was proposed and funded by Marialyce Tobin of Casper. This will be the 26th outdoor sculpture for the artist, and his ninth in his hometown of Casper.

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