A T. rex Named Sue

A T. rex Named Sue
October 6–January 6
Final Days!
Riedman Gallery

This exhibition was created by The Field Museum, Chicago, and made possible through the generosity of McDonald's Corporation.

Experience the largest, most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever unearthed in our new traveling exhibit.

So big, in fact, that six ceiling tiles need to be removed in order to fit the massive cast skeletal structure!

Imagine this…

...You’re ambling through a forest among giant sycamore trees. You reach down and feel the soft rigidness of a lush fern and experience the delightful fragrance of a magnolia flower. Warm air and humidity envelops you like a full-body blanket. A bird with a three-foot wingspan whooshes past your head—blowing your hair back.

You’re in the Cretaceous period about 67 million years ago, and you hear thunder.

No, not thunder. You look up, and there she is. Sue. Towering over you is an enormous Tyrannosaurus rex, and she’s hungry.

Fortunately, you’re “transported” back to the safe confines of the Rochester Museum & Science Center Riedman Gallery. While Sue’s appetite is long gone, her skeleton is still towering over you...

...A T. rex Named Sue brings the story of the largest, most complete and best-preserved T. rex to life in a multisensory experience that combines visual, tactile, audible and aromatic activities. Marvel at Sue’s size and ferocity while learning about her scientific importance.

The centerpiece of this experience is Sue’s fully articulated cast skeleton. The most famous T. rex of all, she stands at 42 feet (12.8 m) long and 12 feet (3.66 m) tall at the hips. Come face-to-face with Sue’s skull, a whopping 5 feet (1.5 m) in length, which rotates and growls.

Throughout the exhibition, you’ll explore the way she lived, died, and interacted with her environment. Discover how Sue has been the key to help unlock many secrets of her species, and learn about the creative methods of fossil preparation and study. You’ll become Sue’s best friend as you explore her experiences while uncovering the truth behind dino-myths and speculation.

Immerse yourself in Sue’s world! Whole families can get hands-on and:

- Touch casts of Sue’s bones.
- Manipulate exhibit features to understand how Sue moved, saw, smelled and ate. For example, visitors engage in moving a model of Sue’s jaws to demonstrate how her gigantic jaw muscles slammed shut on prey.
- Take a peek into the Cretaceous world through the eyes of a T. rex and a Triceratops.
- Use parts from a “bone bank” in a large-format 3-D puzzle of Sue’s skeleton to demonstrate her completeness.
- Strap their arms into an apparatus to feel how scientists think Sue could and couldn’t move her forelimbs.
- Watch a video about how Sue has changed over time.

Uniquely, get hands-on with fossils and other specimens from the RMSC’s collection, led by staff and volunteer educators in the exhibit every day from 11am-5pm.

Have fun following Sue’s sensational journey, and then come back and do it all over again!


Exhibit is free with regular Museum Admission:
- Adults $13
- Seniors/College Students $12
- Ages 3-18 years $11
- Children under 3 FREE
- RMSC members FREE (Best Value)
Click here to learn about other membership benefits

Museum & Planetarium Combined Admission:
Save $3 when you purchase tickets for the Museum and a Strasenburgh Planetarium Film or Star Show.
- Adults $17 (SAVE $3)
- Seniors/College Students $15 (SAVE $3)
- Ages 3-18 years $14 (SAVE $3)

Hours:
Sunday..................................................11am–5pm
Monday–Saturday.................................9am–5pm
Thanksgiving Day: Nov. 22...................CLOSED
Christmas Day: Dec. 25........................CLOSED
NOTE: All museum exhibits, including A T. rex Named Sue, will be unavailable on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16, 17 and 18 because galleries will be filled with displays of hand-crafted items during the RMSC Women’s Council Holiday Bazaar Arts & Crafts Sale.

Explore the age of the dinosaurs during Dino Days. Click here for more information.


Image Credits:
- Open mouth: A view from inside Sue’s mouth. Sue’s mouth held 58 razor- sharp teeth, some of which measured a foot in length.
© The Field Museum/John Weinstein, Neg. #geo86286_48c
- Skull: Sue’s skull is perhaps the most important part of her skeleton. Her skull has allowed scientists to gain great insight to how Sue sensed her environment.
© The Field Museum/John Weinstein, Neg. #geo86160
Full skeleton: Side view of Sue before unveiling May 17, 2000 at The Field Museum, Chicago.
© The Field Museum/John Weinstein, Neg. #GN 89676-42c