'Biggest, baddest thing that ever lived': Scotty the T-rex roars into Regina museum

Saskatchewan's most ancient celebrity has officially arrived in Regina.

Scotty, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered, is now on display at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) after decades of work.

• 70 million years in the making: Sask.'s Scotty the T-rex to be unveiled at Regina museum

• Sask. T-rex Scotty is officially biggest ever discovered

Peter Menzies, director of RSM, had a convincing answer when asked why people should come visit Scotty.

"Because it's the biggest, baddest thing that ever lived."

The king carnivore was discovered in the badlands just outside of Eastend, Sask. in 1991. Researchers believe the T-rex stood 13 metres long and weighed an estimated 8,800 kilograms.

Wes Long worked on the original discovery site and helped dig up some of Scotty's bones. He's also a curatorial assistant at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

"It's just fantastic," he said at the unveiling.

"Just the hard work by many people to get the thing all dug out of the hill, plastered up, and then hauled into the lab ... When you finally see it standing on two legs, it's just like, wow."

Long said Scotty is also the longest living T-rex on record at 30-years-old.

Seven-year-old Hailey Maternal Mullin was impressed by the prehistoric predator.

"I think Scotty looks cool because I like dinosaurs and I like to learn about them," she said eagerly.

She was just one of many kids who came to the event, along with their parents.

Menzies said he hopes that's a lasting trend.

"This is a generational moment for the museum. It's changed the esthetic, it's changed the feel, it's changed the architecture, it's modernized it incredibly," said Menzies.

"I also think this it's a big moment for the city. How often do you get hometown boys finding the greatest, biggest, baddest thing the world has ever seen?"

Scotty was about 65 per cent intact, according to Ryan McKellar, the museum's curator of invertebrate paleontology

He said the exhibit could spark a bigger interest in paleontology.

"We have had an exhibit in Eastend for the last five or six years — the T-Rex Discovery Centre — now we get to display it in Regina and tell a slightly different story."

He said the exhibit will look at things like the natural habitat of a T-rex and their feeding habits.

The previous record holder for largest T-rex, Sue, was about 8,400 kilograms and 12.3 metres long.