Exploring the big three

In the last of a three-part series, we take a look at what Chicago’s three main museums (The Art Institute, Science and Industry and Field) have to offer the 20-to-30-something crowd

This Month: The Field Museum

By Paul M. Banks

Dinosaurs, and their story of domination to disappearance, have captivated children for generations. As an adult, you can appreciate the world’s largest animals on a greater level. And the Field Museum is the perfect venue.

When I watch my seven-year-old nephew, Erik, study dinosaurs alongside his six-year-old brother, Ben, I get a little envious. In my day, we didn’t “have” velociraptors. It wasn’t until later that new fossils were discovered and the animals starred in a Hollywood blockbuster. A couple years later, raptors inspired the naming of a Canadian NBA franchise.

At the Field, I can upgrade my dinosaur knowledge to match that of my nephews.

“Dinosaurs are our bread and butter, and there have been lots of amazing new discoveries in the last 10 years,” says exhibition project manager Hilary Hansen.

 

Jurassic Part I
Dinosaurs: Ancient fossils, new discoveries
Dramatic breakthroughs in paleontology, including newly discovered fossils and advanced computer technology, reveal the evolutionary link between ancient dinosaurs and modern-day birds. I was mesmerized by an animatronic T-Rex skeleton walking incessantly. The exhibition features interactive high-tech computer animation that sheds new light on how dinosaurs looked, how they (like most people I know) moved in herds and how intense climate changes may have been the cause for their extinction.

I had an opportunity to touch a Triceratops horn. Triceratops, my favorite as a kid, lived around 75 million years ago. That was right about the time (scientologists believe) that Xenu, alien ruler of the “Galactic Confederacy,” brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Anyway, back to scientific reality. We’re not certain what exactly obliterated Triceratops and the rest of his friends. These theories are offered: an asteroid impact, rising seas, wildfires and extreme climate change.

“This is a very exciting time,” says Hansen. “With MRI, CT, GPS, and other technology, this is a major turning point. During the next 10 years, there will be more steps forward.”

The exhibition, in conjunction with New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, runs until Sept. 3.

 

Jurassic Part II —
A Tyrannosaur named Sue and The Evolving Planet
In 2000, the Field Museum unveiled its icon named Sue, the most complete, largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever discovered. Sue is 42 feet long and 67 million years old. The fossil was named after Sue Hendrickson, the paleontologist who discovered her, but Sue’s actual gender is unknown.

“The Evolving Planet” is not an exhibit for presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo. All three stated in a recent GOP debate that they don’t believe in evolution; they likely wouldn’t accept all the scientific, fossil and DNA evidence in this display. (They likely shouldn’t see the Darwin exhibit starting June 15, either.) Upon entering The Evolving Planet, visitors are reminded that a scientific theory is one that can be tested by gathering evidence that either disproves or supports it. Facts support or refute theory. Some theories (such as relativity and gravity) are so well supported that we think of them as fact. And for most scientists, evolution is in that category. The term “scientific theory” is very different than how the word “theory” is commonly used in English vernacular. This exhibit, a thought-provoking trip through five billion years of history, is so thorough that one could spend an entire day traversing it.

Enter the Age of Dinosaurs in the Mesozoic era. I remember how herbivores like the Stegosaurus and Diplodocus were always the good guys in dinosaur movies and cartoons. Their fossils, as well as those of the “bad guys,” carnivores like Allosaurus, are all here. At the end, you’ll discover how a single species — humans — is now responsible for the current mass extinction of thousands of species around the world. As urban areas expand, natural habitats disappear. Air pollution from industry and transportation causes climate change that affects ecosystems. The clearing of forests for agriculture also leads to climate change. Trees use carbon dioxide, so fewer trees means more carbon dioxide — which causes global warming — in the atmosphere.

 

It’s getting hot in here
“Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet,” an outdoor exhibit of over 100 fiberglass globes decorated by professional Chicago artists with solutions for global warming, will be on exhibit immediately north of the museum from June 1 until September.

According to a statement from spokesperson Wendy Abrams: “We decided on Cool Globes for a few reasons. There seemed to be a huge disconnect between what scientists were saying about global warming and what the public understood. Then, movies like “An Inconvenient Truth” brought the issue and the facts front and center. But the public discussion of global warming focused so much on doom-and-gloom scenarios that people felt disheartened and helpless to act. We want people to know global warming is a real threat, but there are solutions. We are not helpless. We all have the power to make changes in our lives, and these changes can make a difference. Each globe represents one of many solutions to global warming … most are solutions that are right in front of us, things people can easily do in their day-to-day lives, like washing their clothes in cold water, turning down the thermostat, using compact fluorescent bulbs or taking public transportation.

For more, check out www.coolglobes.org (goes live June 1). There, you can make online pledges to become part of the solution to global warming.

 

Lion Eyes and other museum highlights
For me, no visit is complete without the infamous Tsavo lions of Kenya. These felines, depicted in the 1996 film “The Ghost and the Darkness,” a rare account of big cats eating man, literally stopped the British Empire in its tracks. Later, I also gazed into the dark eyes of “Man eater of Mfuwe,” the largest man-eating lion on record. My own cat, Bastet, tries to bite me almost every day, and this exhibit makes me wonder if her aggressive action is really playful after all.

Another Gen Y crowd pleaser is “Inside Ancient Egypt,” which offers a glimpse into what life was like for ancient Egyptians. Twenty-three human mummies are on display, as well as many mummified animals. The exhibit features a tomb that visitors can enter, complete with 5,000-year-old hieroglyphs. Whether you wander the top floor’s impressive Romanesque archways, the cool corridors of the lower level or the well-illuminated main floor, you’ll find many interactive displays for both children and adults. Or, should I say, the dominant species of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era.

Regular hours at The Field Museum (1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.) are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. It’s open every day except Christmas.
For more information, call (312) 922-9410 or log on to www.fieldmuseum.org

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