A big homecoming for Sue, the T. rex

Normally, the Field Museum of Chicago brings its “A T. rex Named Sue,” traveling exhibit – with a 42-foot plaster replica of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found — only to large-city venues.

But Faith, S.D., can claim something no other city can. It’s Sue’s hometown.

Just 13 miles north of town, Sue was unearthed by a team from Hill City, S.D.,-based Black Hills Institute of Geological Research back in 1990. The Field Museum later acquired the fossil for $8.4 million and put her on display in Chicago.

The Field Museum’s traveling Sue exhibit opens in Faith on Saturday, May 10, and runs through Sept. 1, said Ron Frame, head of the Faith Chamber of Commerce.

“It certainly is a homecoming,” he said.

The Sue exhibit will be housed in the Faith Community Center on U.S. Highway 212 in Faith. “There’s a big mega-sign,” Frame said. “Don’t worry; you can’t miss it.”

It ought to be well-attended. Frame’s office has been getting calls from all over the country. “In fact, we got a call from paleontology group in Germany,” he said.

This is much more than a one-dinosaur show. The exhibit includes 10 interactive, educational pods to give visitors a sense of what life was like 67 million years ago, when creatures such as Sue roamed the Earth.

In addition, “Bucky” the teen-age T. rex will be there as well. The Black Hills Institute loaned Faith a full-scale replica of the sub-adult T. rex excavated near Faith. The institute’s Pete Larson and Neal Larson will participate in some of the educational and scientific seminars that are scheduled in Faith this summer.

Adult tickets are $9. Seniors, children, students and student groups get various discounts. Military folks get in free. For now, the exhibit will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Hours will likely be extended in the summer.

For more information, contact the Faith Chamber at 605-967-2001.