FIELD MUSEUM DINOSAURS

The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois is a great place to discover dinosaurs while exploring the place. It is home to Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the original skeleton of the world's largest and most complete fossilized T-Rex, and Maximo the Titanosaur,  a cast of the biggest dinosaur skeleton ever discovered, which are both on display here. You can find Maximo in the grand hall that serves as the museum's entrance and Sue has her own gallery space on the second floor.

While Maximo is exhibited on the first floor, it is so large the best way to get a good luck at this dinosaur is from the balconies above the grand hall overlooking the Titanosaur. Take a selfie standing besides Maximo's head then go over to see Sue's nearby second floor exhibit. Plus there are more than a dozen other prehistoric creatures to examine situated in the museum's Genius Hall of Dinosaurs that is adjacent to Sue's gallery.

MAXIMO THE TITANOSAUR

Maximo's skeleton stretches 122 feet across the Stanley Field Hall on the museum's first floor. At the top of its head, the dinosaur reaches a height of 28 feet tall. This skeleton is a model crafted from fossil bones excavated in Argentina. Titanosaur's scientific name is Patagotitan mayorum and this species of dinosaur which weighed about 70 tons while alive was larger than a blue whale currently giving it the title of biggest animal to have lived on our planet. That is the size of 10 full-grown African elephants!

Maximo was put on display at the Field Museum in 2018 replacing Sue the T-Rex being displayed in the grand hall. Sue was then given her own display space on the second floor of the museum in 2019. So now the Field Museum has two of the world's most famous dinosaurs exhibited for people to see. What is nice about Maximo being a cast of the skeleton is that it allows people to get in close proximity to the dinosaur and touch the model. This really allows you to get a grasp of just how huge this dinosaur was when it was alive.

SUE THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Sue is the world's most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex fossilized skeleton. It was nicknamed after Susan Hendrickson who discovered the fossils on August 12, 1990 at the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Sue has been one of the most popular attractions at the Field Museum since she was put on display in the grand hall near the first floor entrance of the building in 2000.

Sue was taken off exhibit in 2018 so that she could be provided her own display area near the dinosaur gallery on the museum's second floor.  This 5,100 square foot exhibit space includes animated high-definition videos of what Sue would have looked like alive on nine-foot tall panels behind the T-Rex's skeleton. The videos show scenes of Sue drinking from a stream, hunting Edmontosaurus and battling a Triceratops.

A laser-light enhanced audio/video presentation takes place periodically throughout the day in the gallery. As details about portions of the dinosaur's skeleton are shared with the audience, specific fossil segments become illuminated. Facts are also projected upon the wall behind Sue's skeleton.

Because Sue's skull is often examined by scientists from around the world, the original is situated in a glass case a few yards away from her skeleton. The rest of the original skeleton though is showcased in the gallery with a cast model of the skull included with the rest of the dinosaur's body. All together the whole original skeleton can be seen within Sue's gallery.

It really is an exception experience visiting Sue at Chicago's Field Museum. It is a very impressive presentation which my daughter told me was her favorite thing we saw during our visit to the Field Museum.

GENIUS HALL OF DINOSAURS

From the carnivorous cousin of the T-Rex, the Daspletosaurus, to the plant-eating Stegosaurus with extruding shields protecting its spine from predators attacks, the Genius Hall of Dinosaurs has one of the United State's best collections of dinosaur fossils. Walk amongst soaring sauropods, duck-billed dinos and horned triceratops while making your way through this exhibit space. Watch out for the velociraptors!



For anyone who is fascinated by dinosaurs, a visit to the Field Museum is a must-do experience. The museum is located 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago Illinois 60605. It is located within the city's cultural district that includes Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Grant Park, and Soldier Field along the Lake Michigan shoreline. For more information about planning a visit, go to fieldmuseum.org.