Dr. Rex was working in his paleo lab late at night when he heard the sound of thunder.

“That’s strange,” he thought. “It's late and the exhibit should be turned off by now.” 

With a scratch of his head, Dr. Rex made his way towards Dinosphere to further investigate the noise. As he stepped through the lab doors, he felt a cool breeze.  

A small drop of water fell on his hands. As he looked up, Dr. Rex was met with the sight of enormous, dark storm clouds. 

“I must be dreaming,” he thought.

“Yes, I must have worked too late and fell asleep at my desk."

Why else would there be rain clouds in Dinosphere?

How can this be?

However, the more he looked around, the less it seemed like he was in Dinosphere at all.  He decided he must have gone through a portal!

In the corner of his eye, he noticed something strange. A creature had emerged. He had seen before, but only in illustrations.  

Somehow, he had stepped through a portal and ended up outside, but where was he? The question he should have asked, though, was when was he…  

It took Dr. Rex a moment before he recognized the creature.

“Why, it can't be!” The doctor reasoned. “Is that- is that a Dimetrodon? Or do my eyes deceive me?”  

He continued to stare at the Dimetrodon, taking special note of the large and bright sail on its back, indicating that it must be a male. Behind it was yet another Dimetrodon!

He watched as the two Dimetrodons made their way to a nearby pond. 

As the two Dimetrodons settled in for lunch between the reeds, Dr. Rex made it his mission to explore the landscape past the water. 

He was shocked to find a large nest, containing various eggs, some hatched, and some not. “What a find! I must take one back to study!” Dr. Rex exclaimed.

He leaned down and reached for one of the unhatched eggs, before deciding it was best to let them remain. Instead, he grabbed one of the empty shells, still an amazing artifact.

Dr. Rex decided to bring it back to the lab. He would make sure the shell was safe before returning to this exciting world.

He carefully stepped back through the mysterious portal. In his lab, Dr. Rex placed the shell on a table. Once he made sure the new specimen was safe, he made his way back through the portal to the past.

This time, he was greeted with a different landscape. It was still from the world of the dinosaurs, but it had changed. 

Where before there had been pools of water, now there were dry patches of dirt and rock. Where there had been reeds, now stood tall trees.  

In the distance he could see a tall figure, but it closer in hopes of discovering its identity.

The beast had turned to its side, revealing its great, big teeth and piercing eyes. This was none other than a T-Rex. 

Dr. Rex didn’t give it a moment's thought before he began to run in the opposite direction, not daring to look back. 

“Phew, that was a close one.” Dr. Rex sighed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. 

As he turned around, Dr. Rex was met with another problem. He saw a new creature emerge from a patch of nearby trees and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Once he collected himself, he noted that this creature had three horns and a wide crown around its head. “A Triceratops!” He exclaimed. “Oh, and what a beauty!” Dr. Rex marveled at the triceratops before turning around to explore what was next.

Something caught his eye. It was a plant, called a Cycad. Dr. Rex carefully used his hands to dig around the plant and gently removed it from the ground.

Dr. Rex made quick bounds through the portal to the pale silver lab doors. Inside his lab, he placed the plant next to the eggshell and turned to continue his exploration.