Go Back in Time with the SUE: The T. rex Experience at MoSH

The latest exhibit at Memphis Museum of Science & History brings guests up close and personal with a T. rex. Maybe too close for comfort for your nose. More on that later.

The SUE: The T. rex Experience, is modeled after the most famous resident at Chicago’s Field Museum. This exhibit will feature a full-scale cast of SUE and her nemesis, the Triceratops. It opens on February 9, 2024.

Courtesy of MoSH

If you’re unfamiliar with this famous dinosaur, SUE is the most complete, best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered. The traveling exhibit allows people to experience the wonder from afar.

“SUE is a world-renowned marvel of paleontology whose size and grandeur will impress dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages,” Raka Nandi, Director of Exhibits and Collections at MoSH, said in a release. “Even though SUE is a well-known fossil, the exhibit from the Field Museum contains interesting insights on various dinosaur-related topics.”

While it isn’t the original fossilized remains of SUE, it is the next best thing and more with a full sensory experience.

Courtesy of MoSH

The lifesize replica (40 feet from snout to tail and 13 feet tall!) will allow guests to feel the texture of dinosaur skin, hear the subsonic rumbles of a T. rex, and even take a whiff of its putrid breath. The exhibit also features the fossils of animals, plants, and dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period.

MoSH also shared that a giant floor-to-ceiling screen will show realistic animations of SUE interacting with other prehistoric animals in addition to interactive stations that give visitors a chance to smell prehistoric plants.

SUE: The T. rex Experience was organized by the Field Museum and is part of the Griffin Dinosaur Experience, made possible by generous support from Kenneth C. Griffin.

For more information, visit MoSH’s website. MoSH is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Courtesy of MoSH

About the Author

Hello! I'm Jalyn Souchek, the Director of Content for I Love Memphis Blog! I love calling the 901 home. When I'm not running the blog you can find me cheering on the Grizzlies, at a concert, exploring a new restaurant or kicking back at one of our breweries. I hope you'll love experiencing Memphis with me.

Build your perfect Memphis meal:

I love to eat so if I were to have only one meal left.. I’m going all out. I’d start with an app of Gumbo Fries from Blue City Cafe or Bayou Fries from Chef Tam, wings from Good Fortune or Central’s (honey gold and Jamaican Jerk), potato salad from Fat Larry’s, side of bbq spaghetti from Bar-B-Q Shop, and fried okra from Soul Fish. All paired with a Beale Street Brewing Space Age Sippin’.

Your most memorable Memphis moment:

College GameDay on Beale Street. That was an electric and perfect morning. I was still working in news then and was able to take it in up close and on the stage at some points. The fun and joy of everyone down there that morning is unbeatable.