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Just got back from a weekend trip to Chicago to visit the Field museum and a few other places. I'm really kind of at a loss for words on what to say about it. "Wow" is all I can think of right now. I spent 4 hours there and never went anyplace other than the dinosaur hall. Over 200 pictures and video clips to download, I plan to make a short review video but thats going to take a while. It just really is breathtaking. From seeing Maximo the Titanosaur in the main hall, and the ability to walk under it. So many beautiful specimens from the Texas Permian beds I recently had the chance to work in. Displays from the Fossil Lake of Wyoming, including so many holotypes! And of course, seeing SUE the T.rex. I've seen the movie "Dinosaur 13" dozens of times, and met the Larsons who found and excavated her. I've even seen the traveling Sue here in Oklahoma, but its still amazing to stand there and see it in person.

I originally came up with this idea after thinking of making a video about Stan the T rex but then decided to try to build a full fledged model of a T rex. Since I have no modeling experience at all,I decided to build it in a pretty popular game,notice one block equals to 12.666cm. After finishing it it looked familiar but not the typical t rex type,if anyone would have any suggestions feel free to tell me.Also tell me if it looks like another theropod cause this is reminding me of something else

Should Peter Larson be pardoned by the president?

For those of you in the Chicagoland area or planning on visiting in February, I saw this on Facebook.

I always have fossils on my mind and today is no exception. I am currently at a conference in the former McDonald’s University in Oak Brook, Illinois and they have tons of limestone slabs are one of there lakes, but I did not see any fossils. Now on the inside they still have many display cases that contain various McDonald’s memorabilia (I.e. old uniforms, happy meal toys, etc.) and I happened to see the below items, I never had seen them in past years. It is nothing special, but it still is fossil related. I came back again today for the conference and I found this Orthoconic nautiloid. (See last pic)

I just visited Field Museum in Chicago for the Member’s Nights, and I made sure to take pictures to share! During Member’s Night you’re allowed into the bowels of the museum where non-displayed items are held, along with several fun and interesting mini-exhibit/activities/booths. On the third floor, many of the paleontology department were displaying their personal favorite fossils! These next few will be from there.

For a school project, I am working on theropod evolution. One of the taxa I'm using is Tyrannosaurus rex (specifically the specimen FMNH PR2081 "Sue"). Would any of you know of a paper that gives measurements (including total length) of that specimen's forelimb? Thanks for the help Christian

So I went to the Black Hills Insitute and I made a lot of photos, so I thought I'd share. The Black Hills Institute museum in Hill City is pretty small, it's just one hall. But this one hall is absolutely packed with stuff. This is also the home of the T. rex Stan. Many of the skeletons are casts, but there are plenty of real fossils here as well. The skeleton of Stan. This is the real skeleton and the real skull is placed beside it in the corner. But I didn't even notice that at the time. Skull of Torosaurus. Notice the holes in the frill. Triceratops doesn't have these holes in it's frill. Tylosaurus proriger. Another real specimen. Two Allosaurus skeletons. An Ornithomimid as well as Stan, the Senckenberg Edmontosaurus mummy and Tarbosaurus skull in the background. Skeleton of Albertosaurus, skull of Albertosaurus on the left and skull of Gorgosaurus on the right. A second T. rex skeleton. And a lineup of T. rex skulls in the background. Thescelosaurus and Pachycephalosaurus. Juvenile Edmontosaurus skeleton below the second T. rex skeleton. Cast of the Triceratops Raymond. Crestless Pteranodon on the left as well as a Nyctosaurus? arm/wing at the bottom. Dromaeosaurus in the middle between the legs of the Triceratops and a primitive Sirenian with legs on the right. Bambiraptor and Archaeopteryx skeletons. Foot and skull of Deinonychus and Herrerasaurus, Dromaeosaurus and Eoraptor skulls at the bottom. T. rex arm (cast of Sue) and brian endocast left. Nanotyrannus skull on the right. Mongolian Dinosaurs. Saichania and Saurolophus skulls at the top. Velociraptor skull and oviraptorid partial skeletons below that. Prenocephale, Oviraptor, Archaeornithimimus and Alioramus at the bottom. Tethyshadros top left, and Psittacosaurus nest, and skeletons on the bottom left. Brontosaurus leg in the middle and baby Apatosaurus on the right. Velociraptor and Protoceratops fighting on the far right. Edaphosaurus skeleton. And this is just a small selection of the photos I took. There's just so much stuff here and I only spent a few hours here. The gift shop is also worth a vist btw. I bought a rather nice replica of a tooth from Stan and a Thescelosaurus phalange.