Join the Saint Louis Science Center on Aug. 12 for Sue’s Unearth Day, a celebration of the famous T. Rex fossil. Learn and have fun with the fossil fanatics!
Day-Long Activities Offer Insight, Fun with World’s Most Complete T. Rex Fossil on Display This Summer
In South Dakota, a rib bone fossil from what would be unveiled as SUE, the T. rex — the most complete, best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered — was found 34 years ago. The Saint Louis Science Center will commemorate this incredible discovery with festivities inside its special exhibition, SUE: The T. rex Experience, and throughout the facility on Monday, Aug. 12.
“SUE’s Unearth Day offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate how much has been learned about T. rex, and the late Cretaceous period as a whole, from the discovery of this fossil on Aug. 12, 1994,” notes Kaylia Eskew, Science Center special exhibitions manager. “The events during the Science Center’s Unearth Day will recognize what’s been discovered through observation and research into SUE and appreciate what’s so appealing about dinosaurs for kids and adults alike.”
Unearth Day honors that hot, dusty August day when amateur fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson discovered what would become SUE in the Hell Creek region of South Dakota. At the Science Center event, team members will present:
Free dino-themed presentations for all ages at the Energy Stage.
A private, members-only discussion featuring Dr. Ashley Morhardt, an Assistant Professor of Anatomy with the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, who is a paleoneurologist that has investigated the evolutionary patterns of dinosaur brains to better understand how, when and why vertebrate brains evolved.
Interactive fossil restoration demonstrations in the Dana Brown Fossil Prep Lab.
The chance to build your own dino from recycled materials and the opportunity to watch 3D printing demos of SUE’s actual bones in the Makerspace gallery.
Dinosaur-themed games in the GameXploration gallery and simulator rides in the Experience Flight area.
Opportunities to discover how closely a rex is related to the chickens living in the GROW gallery.
A free building-wide game, with the ultimate prize of winning a free Science Center year-long membership.
Dinosaur-themed food and gift items for purchase in the Science Center’s food areas and gift shop.
Since the exhibition’s opening in June, thousands of guests have visited the Science Center to use their senses to discover SUE’s world and gotten up close with an exact replica of the SUE skeleton, which measures 40 feet from snout to tail and 13 feet tall at the hip. The exhibition also features a multimedia light show to highlight key aspects of SUE’s skeleton and a reproduction of the Hell Creek excavation site from which SUE was uncovered. Also in the display are a replica of a Triceratops skeleton, a real fossil of a juvenile Triceratops’ skull, and additional flora and fauna from the Late Cretaceous period during which SUE lived.
While admission to the Science Center for the Unearth Day festivities is free, tickets are required for SUE: The T. rex Experience. Tickets for this special, one-day event are $8 for the public and $6 for current or new Science Center members. For those who cannot visit on Unearth Day, tickets are $12 for adults (ages 13-59); $8 for children (ages 5-12), those ages 60 or older and military personnel; and $6 for current or new Science Center members; until the exhibition leaves St. Louis on Sept. 15. Children 4 and under are free but must obtain a ticket to enter the exhibition. To learn more about SUE: The T. rex Experience, visit slsc.org/SUE.
Admission to the Saint Louis Science Center is free and open to the public Thursdays through Mondays. For more information about the Science Center, visit slsc.org or call 314-289-4400.
Contact:
Doug Bolnick, Public Relations Manager.
Email or call 314.289.4461
About the Saint Louis Science Center
The mission of the Saint Louis Science Center is to inspire everyone to be curious and engaged in science. Named a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2016, the award-winning Science Center engages people through on-site experiences, including hundreds of hands-on exhibits, the OMNIMAX® Theater, which is one of just nine IMAX® Dome with Laser theaters in the world, and the largest artificial sky in the Western Hemisphere at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. Additionally, the organization provides high-level informal educational programming to schools and other organizations in the St. Louis community and is home to the nationally recognized Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program, which has created a legacy of success by working with underserved teens throughout their high school years to prepare them for in-demand STEM careers of the future. For more information on the Saint Louis Science Center, visit slsc.org or call (314) 289-4400.
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