Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi asks public to name its T. rex and blue whale: 'Science begins with a name'

Dubai: Two of the biggest residents of Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi still don't have names, and the museum is asking the public to choose them.

The Saadiyat Cultural District museum has launched a competition called Name Two Giants. Your Chance To Make History., inviting residents and visitors to suggest names for a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton and a 25-metre blue whale.

The two winning names will be displayed permanently alongside the specimens.

The first is a male T. rex that stands alongside Stan, the museum's better-known Tyrannosaurus. According to the museum, it ranks among the five most complete T. rex skeletons ever found.

The second is a female blue whale, the largest animal species known to have lived. It washed ashore on Canada's east coast in 2021 and now hangs in the museum's galleries. Unlike the blue whales in museums in London and New York, which are suspended high above visitors, the Abu Dhabi whale is displayed about three metres off the ground, National Geographic reported when the museum opened.

Professor Peter C. Kjærgaard, Director of Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, said naming is central to scientific work.

"Science begins with a name. It is how a discovery becomes something we can study, share and protect. We are proud to give our community the chance to do that for two of the most important specimens in our collection, because this museum was created so that people can take part in science," he said.

"The names chosen will be used by our researchers, by teachers and by every visitor who stands beneath these two giants for generations to come, and they will have been given by the people this museum was built for."

Entries open today, October 5, and close on October 25. Names can be submitted on the museum's website, nhmad.ae, and there is no limit on how many suggestions each person can make.

Once entries close, a jury of experts from the museum and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi will review the submissions. The winning names will be announced later this year, and each winner will receive a commemorative prize from the museum.

When: October 5 to October 25, 2026
Where: Online at nhmad.ae
Price: Free to enter

Naming specimens is an important step in scientific discovery, and several fossils found in Abu Dhabi already carry names linked to the emirate. Many are on display in the museum's galleries.

Abudhabia baynunensis is an extinct gerbil that lived around seven to eight million years ago. It is named after Abu Dhabi and the Baynunah Formation, the rock layer where it was found. Hipparion abudhabiense was a three-toed horse that once roamed the region's ancient grasslands. Stegotetrabelodon emiratus, a four-tusked elephant, has a name that honours the Emirates.

Some specimen names honour the people who found them instead. Stan, the museum's other T. rex, is named after Stan Sacrison, the amateur palaeontologist who discovered the first of its bones in South Dakota in 1987. The skeleton is around 67 million years old.

Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi opened on November 22, 2025, and covers 35,000 square metres, making it the largest museum of its kind in the region. Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, it traces 13.8 billion years of natural history, from the Big Bang to the present day, with a focus on the Arabian Peninsula.

Other highlights include the Murchison Meteorite, which fell in Australia in 1969 and contains material older than the solar system.