- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday August 29 2000 01.34 BST
This cetiosaurus, found in England's smallest county in 1968, loped across the east Midlands 175 million years ago and is the most complete example yet found of the breed. He or she should, at least for a moment or two, inspire awe in the most museum-phobic child.
Most of the neck, some of the spine and a bit of the tail were found in Rutland; the rest of the tail is polystyrene.
Those who prefer their dinosaurs on a more human scale will warm to the flat-out Barrow Kipper, a 200 million-year-old pliosaur found in a Leicestershire village.
The museum, founded in 1849 and based on the collections of the expanding industrial city's literary and philosophical society, is one of seven owned by the city of Leicester.
It is strong on dinosaurs and mummies (including a male coffin which turned out to have a woman's body inside) and has one of the country's top five museum natural science collections.
The cellar storerooms (closed to the public) have stacks of lovingly mounted butterflies in mahogany cases, a deadly (and now dead) black widow spider found in Hinckley, another spider who came to Leicester from Colombia in a bunch of bananas, a huge collection of birds (stuffed) and an ostrich, anteater, zebra, tiger, emu (all stuffed), plus the heads of a giraffe and a rhino. Not forgetting a new acquisition brought in by a farmer: a lamb with two heads
Back upstairs, children are encouraged to dress up, make their own pictures, explore the museum on their own terms. There is more buzz than silence. They like Fangs, a visiting exhibition starring a rattlesnake and other poisonous creatures.
The picture galleries boast a fine collection of drawings, prints and woodcuts by German expressionists and the city's art collection (like that at Tate Modern) is arranged thematically rather than chrono logically: colour, light, movement, signs and symbols. There's a decent Lowry, a Pissaro and a couple of newly acquired Stanley Spencers to add to one already on the walls.
The whole place is a welcoming melange; it's a bit warm on a sticky day because the air conditioning needs a £1m refit.
"The museums will be open for less time each day, although groups can still come in the mornings," said Sarah Levitt, head of museums and heritage. "There are fewer resources for collections care, documentation, exhibitions and marketing.
Grant from Leicester city council 2000-01 £1.91m
Number of staff 74 (25 of them less than full time)
Prized exhibits Rutland dinosaur; German expressionist art collection; Roman wall paintings
Visitor numbers 301,994
Admission charge None
Opening hours April-Sept: 10.30am to 5pm (Mon-Sat); 1pm to 5pm (Sun). Oct-Mar: close at 4pm
