The most iconic dinosaur that ever lived is on its way to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich. The exhibit, “A T. rex Named Sue,” scheduled to open Saturday, May 17, features a cast of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) ever discovered.

At 42-feet long, 3,500 pounds, and 12 feet tall at the hips, this fully articulated cast skeleton is the keystone piece of this traveling exhibition which also includes replicated dinosaur fossils, video footage, free-standing interactive exhibits and colorful graphics.

Montshire visitors will be able to get hands-on with replicas of Sue’s arm bone, tail, rib and teeth, engage in interactive activities, learn how the T. rex saw, ate and sniffed out prey, and view footage showing the changing perceptions of T. rex over the past 100 years.

Sue is the largest and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever unearthed and is one of the most significant fossil finds to date. Fossil hunter Sue Hendrickson found the specimen in 1990 in the Hell Creek Formation near Faith, South Dakota. In 1997, the Field Museum purchased the 67-million-year-old fossil at auction for $8.4-million, setting the world record for the highest price ever paid for a fossil.

Only four T. rex specimens containing more than 60 percent of their original skeleton have been found. Sue is at least 90 percent complete — only a foot, one arm, and a few ribs and vertebrae are missing. Because of its near completeness, the specimen has presented the scientific community with a variety of new evidence, and with it Field Museum scientists made important new discoveries about the biology and evolution of Tyrannosaurus rex.

Sue will be assembled in Montshire’s Main gallery and offers visitors the chance to discover what these professionals have learned.

The exhibit “A T. rex Named Sue” runs from May 17 through September 7, at the Montshire Museum of Science. It will be the first time the exhibition has been to northern New England.

Admission to “A T. rex Named Sue” is free with museum admission; $16 for adults, $14 for children ages two to 17, and free for Montshire members and children under two years of age.

The Montshire Museum will be closed from May 12 to 14 during the installation of “A T. rex Named Sue.”

This exhibit was created by the Field Museum in Chicago, and is made possible through the generosity of McDonald’s Corporation. Local sponsorship is provided by Geokon, as well as Lake Sunapee Bank, and King Arthur Flour. Media sponsorship is provided by WCAX and NHPR. — from the Montshire Museum of Science.

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