((PKG)) T- Rex Exhibit
((Banner: The Mighty Sue))
((Reporter/Camera: Kane Farabaugh))
((Map: Chicago, Illinois))
((BANNER: World’s largest T- Rex skeleton transformed in new exhibit))
((NATS))
((Hilary Hansen, Project Manager, Field Museum))
Well, this is a culmination of about two years of work here at the field museum. When Sue was on display at the field museum, in our Stanley Field hall, main hall, for about 20 years, there were a lot of things that Sue wasn’t doing in that space that, I think, we’re able to accomplish here in this brand new exhibition. For one, Sue was on display with really not much context around the fossil, but now, Sue is in our dinosaur hall, which is where we intended Sue to be from the very beginning. So, when visitors come to see this gallery and see Sue in this exhibition, they’re going to get a lot more information about what life might have been like for Sue during the Cretaceous era, which is about 67 million years ago. So, what we’re really trying to do is round out for our visitors what life for Sue might have been like, and what we’re trying to do is bring together everything about Sue that was all over the field museum into one space, so that our visitors can see this as a ‘one stop shop’ for all things Sue.
((Jaap Hoogstraten, Exhibitions Director, Field Museum))
It pushes what we know about T-Rex forward. It’s a different profile, a much more impressive profile in many ways. Pretty scary large animal, as opposed to a lighter, swifter animal.
((NATS))
((Jaap Hoogstraten, Exhibitions Director, Field Museum))
Since 2000, we've made discoveries about the pose. We've added the gastralia, which are the belly ribs which changes the outline of Sue quite a bit. Sue is much bulkier.
((Hilary Hansen, Project Manager, Field Museum))
I didn't really realize that Sue weighed nine tons in real life. Really, adding this gastralia, these belly ribs, really changes the profile for Sue, and you can get a sense of just how formidable and imposing it must have been to, you know, to share an environment with this animal.
((NATS))
((Jaap Hoogstraten, Exhibitions Director, Field Museum))
These are specimens, even though they’re on display, they’re actively used for research. So, we’ve learned a lot, and so, we’ve applied that to the new exhibition, especially to the fossil itself, bite force. We’ve speculated about how she may have passed away. One possibility is that there was an infection to the jaw and that she possibly starved to death. It’s still speculative, but there’s evidence of injury to the jaw, which we point out in the show itself.
((Hilary Hansen, Project Manager, Field Museum))
The field museum typically gets about 1.3 to 1.5 million visitors a year, and a lot of that depends on what’s on display but we certainly expect, now that Sue has finally made their debut, that we’re going to see those numbers go up. People have been clamoring for Sue for the last year when they’ve been off display, so we’re really pleased that we’re finally getting folks in here to see what they’ve been missing.
((Jaap Hoogstraten, Exhibitions Director, Field Museum))
It’s an incredible privilege to work with what might be the best fossil, you know, in a collection in the world, and to put it on display once about 20 years ago, and now to actually make a whole exhibit about Sue, yeah, is a real privilege. This will be a huge year on my resume.
((NATS))