The new Sue exhibit is schedule to open on December 21st, 2018. It will include many new facts and clarifications. Those changes are nicely summarized in a new Field Museum blog post.
Though SUE the T. rex’s fossils are a snapshot of life 67 million years ago, the science around extinct animals is rarely set in stone.
SUE arrived here at the Field in 1998 and was unveiled in 2000, wowing the world as the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimen discovered. But this didn’t mean scientists’ work was done; in a lot of ways, it was just getting started. SUE presented a unique opportunity to study hundreds of different bones that all belong to the same animal—a thrill for paleontologists.
As Field scientists and visiting researchers ask new questions and examine different parts of SUE’s skeleton, we keep honing in on a more complete picture of T. rex—both in life and in fossil form. We’ve been able to study why T. rex’s arms are tiny; learn what caused the holes in SUE’s jaw; and get a more accurate idea of how long SUE lived (28–33 years).
Now, SUE’s updated skeleton and new gallery bring to life the latest on what we know about T. rex. Curator of Dinosaurs Pete Makovicky gave us a rundown of some of the changes that give SUE a new look.
