Tag: Field Museum
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Paleontologists discover fossil birds with teeth had seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit
Phys.org has a piece about birds with teeth. As rare as hen’s teeth is only a phrase for modern times… back in the Mezozoic – sometimes referred to as the “Age of Reptiles”, many birds had teeth. Longipteryx chaoyangensis is the subject of a new paper in the journal Current Biology. L. chaoyangensis lived during…
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Family Discovers Rare T. Rex Fossil in North Dakota
The site where a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton was found in North Dakota.Credit…Denver Museum of Science and Nature The New York Times has a story about the discovery of a Tyrannosaurs rex skeleton. The fossil was found in the summer of 2022 by two boys hiking with their father and a cousin. They saw bones poking…
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What’s in a Name? The Battle of Baby T. Rex and Nanotyrannus
The New York Times has a story about the debate of juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex vs Nanotyrannus. The debate has continued for years but was recently revived by the potential sale of a “rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton” by the David Aaron gallery. The dispute has produced reams of scientific research and decades of debate, polarizing paleontologists along the way. Now, with dinosaur…
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Field Museum Fossil ID Day 2023 – September 9th, 2023
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is holding Fossil ID Day 2023 on Saturday, September 9th, 2023. Found a rock that looks like a dinosaur fossil? Snapped a photo of a bird you don’t recognize? Our scientists will examine your object and give you their best identification during our annual ID Day! Members…
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The Discovery and Controversy of Spinosaurus
The Field Museum has an interesting video on Youtube. The video is a presentation by Dr. Jingmai O’Connor, who is the Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles, on Spinosaurus. With its crocodile-like jaws set in a skull that is 20% longer than T. rex and its large dorsal sail, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus is one of the most iconic…
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Dino Fest at the Field Museum – Saturday, June 10, 2023 11am-3pm
The Field Museum is holding “Dino Fest” on Saturday, June 10, 2023 from 11am – 3pm. There are many activities planned! Dino Fest is the official start of summer at the Field Museum, not only to welcome our newest dinosaur friend hailing all the way from the Cretaceous but also to celebrate SUE the T. rex,…
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Field Museum: Spinosaurus is arriving on June 2!
Just in case you didn’t hear, the Field Museum is getting a new dinosaur on June 2nd…. It’s a spinosaurus! Witness the unveiling of Spinosaurus as it prowls overhead at the Field Museum. Stretching 46 feet long, this fearsome fossil is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, even longer than SUE the T. rex. Learn how this…
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Ants took over the world by following flowering plants out of prehistoric forests
The Field Museum has a press release about research performed at the museum. The research looked at the evolutionary relationship of ants and flowering plants. Ants took advantage of the diversification of flowering plants, which led to the thousands of species of modern ants which exist today. A paper detailing the research can be found…
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Dino-Sore: Smithsonian Paleontologist Diagnoses Ancient Ailments in the Museum’s Dinosaurs
Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting post about dinosaur injuries. Not injuries to humans, although getting dinosaur bones out of the ground can be physically challenging, but injuries to dinosaurs evident in their bones long after they have died. SUE, the T. rex at the Field Museum in Chicago, has numerous bone pathologies including broken ribs,…
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Smithsonian: Paleontologists Discover 52-Million-Year-Old Bat
Smithsonian Magazine has a story about a fossil bat from Wyoming. Bats are underrepresented in the fossil record due their small size and even smaller bones. Unfortunately, they also live in areas that don’t usually form fossils. The Green River Formation in Wyoming, which dates to the Eocene about 52 million years ago, has yield…
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The early bird gets the fruit: Fossil provides earliest evidence of fruit-eating by any animal
Phys.org has a story about birds and fruit. Jingmai O’Connor of the Field Museum is co-writer of a paper (in the journal eLife) about the early bird Jeholornis, which is believed to lived on a diet of fruit about 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Jeholornis fossils have been found in China. “This is…
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Field Museum: Meet a Scientist: Chicago Fossils August 5th, 2022
The Field Museum’s “Meet a Scientist” is looking at “Chicago Fossils” on August 5th, 2022. Learn what you can find on Chicago beaches and in nearby limestone exposures. That 430 million years ago Chicago was covered by a tropical sea with 300 foot tall reefs growing here. The evidence for this is the fossils we…
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Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep at the Field Museum – Until September 5th, 2022
Illustration courtesy of Bob Nicholls (2009) The Field Museum recently opened a new exhibit… “Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep”. It runs until September 5th, 2022. More information can be found at the Field Museum website. During the Jurassic period, dinosaurs roamed a landscape covered in lush rainforests—thanks to Hollywood, most of us have a…
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Earth’s Worst Mass Extinction Took Ten Times Longer on Land Than in the Water
SciTechDaily has a story about the Permian Mass Extinction. The worst mass extinction in Earth’s history, the Permian Mass Extinction happened about 252 million years ago. Researchers at the Field Museum in Chicago looked at the rate of extinction on land to see if it matched what is seen in the oceans. They found the…
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All Dinosaurs Considered: Looking Back at Prehistoric Illinois
NPR’s All Things Considered The 21st Show has a look back at prehistoric Illinois. They interview Paleontologists Joe Devera, Senior Paleontologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey and Jingmai O’Connor, Vertebrate Paleontologist and associate curator of Fossil Reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago about what might Illinois looked like during the time of the…
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TheOnion: Chicago Field Museum Director Uses Titanosaur Skull To Hold Parking Space In Snow
From The Onion, we have this… Chicago Field Museum Director Uses Titanosaur Skull To Hold Parking Space In Snow https://bit.ly/3cK9hJr
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Field Museum Reopening Saturday, January 23rd, 2021
Opening Saturday, January 23 for exploration See the world’s wonders at the Field Museum. The health of our guests and staff is always our top priority. We welcome you back to safely explore around the world in nearly half a million square feet of open gallery space, right here in Chicago. We will be reopening…
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Growth Rings From Fossil Bones Reveals T. rex Had Huge Growth Spurts, but Other Dinosaurs Grew “Slow and Steady”
SciTechDaily has a story about Tyrannosaurs rex and how it grew. A new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, discusses diverse growth strategies in dinosaurs and how that relates to body size. The paper’s authors include Tom Cullen of the North Carolina Museum of Natural History and Peter Makovicky of…
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Sue the T. Rex gets life-like model to match skeleton
The SunTimes has a piece about a new exhibit at the Field Museum. It’s called “SUE in the Flesh” and features a life size model of SUE with a baby Edmontosaurus in her mouth. For two decades, Sue has drawn dinosaur lovers to the Field Museum so they can catch a glimpse of the largest…
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Mazon Monday #15: Mazon Creek at the Field Museum
This is Mazon Monday post #15. The Field Museum has one of the most extensive collections of Mazon Creek specimens, both flora and fauna. The Field Museum has long been a big part of the study of this locality, with such historical giants as George Langford and Eugene Richardson working there. Currently, Jack Wittry works…
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Mazon Monday #12: Tully: Monster vs Method
This is Mazon Monday post #12. This video by the Field Museum details some of the modern research methods used to study the Tully Monster fossils, and actually many of the other fossils in the FM collection. This research led to the conclusions that you have heard a few years ago… the Tully Monster is…
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PBS Prehistoric Road Trip
June 17, 2020 is the premier of “Prehistoric Road Trip”, which is a new show on PBS. The host is the Field Museum’s Chief Curiosity Correspondent, Emily Grassley. She is also the host of the Youtube channel “The Brain Scoop”. You can find previews and clips on the official web page. Don’t miss it!…
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Take a Virtual Field Trip to the Field Museum with Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Take a virtual field trip to the Field Museum with Mayor Lori Lightfoot! Join Mayor Lightfoot as she explores Chicago’s renowned natural history museum. Explore Native American art and culture, learn about SUE the T. rex, and study the fascinating world of insects. Our next stop is the Field Museum. As you tour the newest…
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Five Little Known Facts About the Field Museum
Mark Alvey, Academic Communications Manager and resident history buff, shares his favorite facts about the Museum. They are obscure, quirky, and all Field Museum—watch now! Our vast collections began in 1893 with the World’s Columbian Exposition and continue to fuel the work of our scholars.
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Field Museum: Founders’ Council Virtual Event: Meet a Scientist Thursday, April 16, 3:30–4:30pm
The Field Museum is having a “Meet a Scientist” event on Thursday, April 16th, at 3:30-4:30 PM. Register and find the details here. Founders’ Council Virtual Event: Meet a ScientistThursday, April 16, 3:30–4:30pm Join us for our second virtual event in the Meet a Scientist series featuring Jim Louderman, Collections Assistant, Gantz Family Collections Center,…
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Final Museum Madness voting for your Field Museum Favorite! @FieldMuseum
The final for the Field Museum Madness bracket is set, It's SUE vs the Fighting African Elephants! Who will win? Vote here by Monday, April 13th at 11:00 PM CDT. Game on! The top two Field Favorites have come down to SUE and the Fighting African Elephants. Both iconic members of our collection would love…
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Field Museum Special Event: Meet a Scientist Thursday, April 9 | 3:30-4:30pm
Founders’ Council Special Event:Meet a Scientist Thursday, April 9 | 3:30-4:30pm We hope this invitation finds you, your family, and friends safe. As a Founders’ Council donor, we are offering you this special opportunity. Join us for our inaugural Meet a Scientist virtual event featuring McCarter Collections Manager of Fossil Vertebrates, Bill Simpson. Bill will share his extraordinary involvement with…
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Museum Madness at the Field @FieldMuseum
If you were missing March Madness, here's you chance to get in on Museum Madness! But hurry… your bracket has to be in tonight! Get up close and personal with some well-known, and other little-known, Field Favorites. Create your brackets for Museum Madness at the Field and then vote for your favorite! After each round…
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Chicago’s Field Museum Has a Dinosaur on the Loose — and She Has a Twitter Account (Video)
Travel and Leisure has a piece on SUE at the FIeld Museum. A bunch a good facts and information plus some of SUE’s recent tours of the museum as it is closed for the next few weeks. Chicago’s Field Museum sent out its very own dinosaur ambassador, SUE, to check on the museum as it…
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The Brain Scoop: Carl Cotton: Chicago’s Original Black Taxidermist
There’s a new episode of “The Brain Scoop” over on Youtube. This one is about a Field Museum taxidermist named Carl Cotton. Carl had a huge impact on taxidermy during his life. There is a new special exhibit which celebrates his contributions. Carl Cotton (1918 – 1971) was the Field Museum’s first African American…
