Trip to the Field Museum

[hadrosauridae]

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by hadrosauridae

[caterpillar]

Hey, you have the same smile !!

 

 

Thanks for sharing

[hadrosauridae]

2 hours ago, caterpillar said:

Hey, you have the same smile !!

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Thanks for not comparing my smile to the Parasaurolophus! 

[hadrosauridae]

Also, as a side note... On the drive home, I saw a sign as we passed over a small waterway... "Mazon river" and my heart sunk a bit when I realized where I was and how close I was to the hunting spot.

[caterpillar]

21 hours ago, hadrosauridae said:

Thanks for not comparing my smile to the Parasaurolophus! 

[JBkansas]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:45 AM, hadrosauridae said:

Also, as a side note... On the drive home, I saw a sign as we passed over a small waterway... "Mazon river" and my heart sunk a bit when I realized where I was and how close I was to the hunting spot.

On the plus side, it sounds like you didn't finish the Field so now you'll have an excuse to go back and see the rest of the fossils. 

[Joseph Fossil]

@hadrosauridae I'm glad you had a great time at the Field Museum, which in my honest opinion is one of the Best Museums in all of Chicago!!!

[Bobby Rico]

Nice museum report and nice hat to, thank you.
 

One of my fondest memories is of MrsR and I sitting in the cafe with a coffee and a breakfast just meters away from Sue. unforgettable breakfast.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Bobby Rico

[Joseph Fossil]

@hadrosauridae The Evolving Planet exhibit is one of my favorite exhibits at the Field Museum and I've been going there since at least 2007!

But I must say that today the exhibit could utilize some concerning amounts of repair! When I first started visiting the exhibit as a young kid, they used to have this big movable globe hanging from the ceiling with the words Evolving Planet written proudly on it as you walked into the exhibit, flanked by two magnificent display cases containing (admittedly creepy) taxidermed animals and beautiful fossils.

 

After 2015 though, the hanging Globe was gone. When myself and my Parents asked about what happened to the globe, we were told the motor broke and the it had to be disposed of. The front entrance (beside a cool life sized reconstruction of the Cretaceous Azhdarchid pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus (What is now Western North America) (Late Cretaceous 68-66 Million Years ago)) became much more conservative and discreet.  

(note: I'm covering the faces of bystanders in the photos)

 

Credit for The Reconstruction Sculptures of Quetzalcoatlus goes to Blue Rhino Studios.

https://www.rhinocentral.com/projects/10/chicago-field-museum-stanley-field-hall-flying-pterosaurs

 

Image Credit: Me

 

 

Entrance Before Late 2019

 

Image Credit: Me

 

 

Image Credit: https://www.expedia.com/Field-Museum-Of-Natural-History-South-Loop.d6065115.Vacation-Attraction

 

 

Entrance After Late 2019

 

Image Credit: Me

 

(The front display cases though are still intact, simply been moved to the downstairs museum entrance).

 

The inside though is still pretty awesome and scientifically accurate in terms of information and dioramas!!! One thing though that has been bothering me a lot though recently is the amount of mechanical repair needed for the Cambrian era section of the exhibit. When It first opened up in 2005-2006 up until late 2019, The Cambrian period section had a beautiful soundtrack by Chris Bradley and Cleaver Studios.

http://www.cleaverstudios.com/About.html

 

When I visited the exhibit again in 2021 and again in 2022, not only was the soundtrack gone (replaced with mostly silence except the usual chatter of visitors) but several lights showing fossils in the display cases appear to be broken and need repair!

 

 

Image Credit: Me

 

But besides these little repairs, overall the exhibit is doing extremely well despite being open for so long and It's still my favorite one at the Museum! They have gone back and attached more accurate paleo art reconstructions for some of their fossils in the Devonian section and I like done a lot of cool upgrades too like with part of the front entrance. 

 

Inner front entrance before 2021:

 

Image Credit: https://www.expedia.com/Field-Museum-Of-Natural-History-South-Loop.d6065115.Vacation-Attraction

 

Inner front entrence after 2021:

 

Image Credit Me

 

Let's face it also, they gave Sue the Tyrannosaurus rex a veritable palace (a Palace fit for a Queen)!!!

 

Image Credit: Me

 

By Bringing this all up, I don't want any of you to shame the Field Museum or its staff. I'm just hoping that by brining this all up, we could encourage them to repair the things needed to be repaired with the exhibit and continue to keep it up to date so it can continue to hold its title as the One of the Greatest Museum exhibits explaining accurately Prehistoric Life in the World!!!

[Bobby Rico]

1 hour ago, Joseph Fossil said:

By Bringing this all up, I don't want any of you to shame the Field Museum or its staff

I have only been once 2016 so I can’t say much. I think you will get better response to your post if you had created your own thread. Members would I feel probably  be happier comment on your post separately as the op seamed to have a wonderful time.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Bobby Rico

[jdp]

Just wanted to bump this to let people know we've got a new dinosaur skeleton on exhibit....Spinosaurus! As it's Spinosaurus, it's obviously mix of casts, 3D prints, and reconstruction, but it makes use of the most up-to-date knowledge of this animal based on new finds out of Morocco including some brand new elements that have not yet been published.  I was at the reveal last Friday, and it is a hell of an impressive (and weird) animal. If you're in the area, it's worth making the trip into the city to see it. This is currently the only place in the western hemisphere to see a complete mounted skeleton of this animal, and I think the first permanent exhibition of this dinosaur in the world, so it's pretty exciting!

Edited June 5, 2023 by jdp

[hadrosauridae]

So many great reasons to visit the Field Museum!  Thanks for the update!