McDonald’s will bring the story of Sue—the largest and most complete T. rex ever discovered—to families and children across the country via two identical state-of-the-art traveling exhibits, which begin touring this summer. Called “A T. rex Named SUE,” the exhibit will launch at Boston’s Museum of Science on June 21, 2000, followed by a second unveiling at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI on July 15. It will spend approximately three months in each city on the tour, which is scheduled to visit 18 markets through 2004.
The centerpiece of McDonald’s “A T. rex Named SUE” exhibit is a 42-foot articulated cast skeleton of Sue. The exhibition will tell the amazing story of this fossil through video footage, freestanding interactive exhibits, colorful graphics and touchable casts of bones. Interactive anatomical models will allow visitors to control the movements of the dinosaur’s jaw, tail, neck and forelimbs. Visitors will be able to put together a large-format 3D puzzle of Sue’s skeleton, see the Cretaceous world through Sue’s eyes, experience an eye-level view of Sue’s massive skull and touch models of Sue’s 12-inch long teeth.
McDonald’s partnership with The Field Museum on the Sue project dates back to the now-famous acquisition of the fossil at auction in October of 1997. It continues with the collaboration of local McDonald’s restaurants and the host museums that will welcome “A T. rex Named SUE” during the next several years.
Other McDonald’s programs in support of Sue have included the distribution of more than 60,000 “Colossal Fossil” education kits to schools nationwide in 1998. In addition, thousands of elementary school children across the U.S. are learning about Sue through the current Ronald McDonald school show that debuted in Fall 1999 titled “Ronald McDonald and the Amazing Thinking Machine.”
McDonald’s is the world’s largest global foodservice retailer, with over 27,000 restaurants serving more than 43 million people each day in 119 countries. Approximately 85 percent of McDonald’s U.S. restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees.
“A T. rex Named SUE” McDonald’s U.S. Tour Schedule*
Boston, MA: Museum of Science June 21, 2000 – October 7, 2000
Honolulu, HI: Bishop Museum July 15, 2000 – October 15, 2000
St. Paul, MN: Science Museum of Minnesota November 4, 2000 – January 21, 2001
Los Angeles, CA: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County November 22, 2000 – April 22, 2001
Hays, KS: Sternberg Museum February 24, 2001 – April 29, 2001
Columbus, OH: Columbus Center of Science & Industry May 26, 2001 – September 9, 2001
Indianapolis, IN: The Children’s Museum May 26, 2001 – September 3, 2001
Kansas City, MO: Kansas City Museum October 13, 2001 – January 1, 2002
Portland, OR: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry October 5, 2001 – January 1, 2002
Louisville, KY: Louisville Science Center January 26, 2002 – May 12, 2002
Fresno, CA: Fresno Metropolitan Museum January 26, 2002 – May 5, 2002
Toledo, OH: Toledo Center of Science & Industry May 24, 2002 – September 2, 2002
Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Museum May 25, 2002 – September 15, 2002
Charlotte, NC: Discovery Place October 5, 2002 – February 16, 2003
Seattle, WA: Pacific Science Center February 15, 2003 – April 27, 2003
Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Public Museum March 22, 2003 – June 1, 2003
Muncie, IN: Minnetrista Cultural Center June 28, 2003 – September 14, 2003
Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Children’s Museum October 18, 2003 – January 2, 2004
*As of May 12, 2000
