A Rex named Sue: Tyrannosaurus exhibit roars into Memphis (and it's a BIG one)

Released as a single in August of 1969, "A Boy Named Sue" was Johnny Cash's biggest pop success, a No. 2 hit for three weeks that was blocked from the top spot on the Billboard chart only by that infamous "gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis" and her cohort, namely, the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women."

According to the Shel Silverstein lyrics of the Cash recording, "life ain't easy for a boy named Sue." Bullied and scorned and mocked for his gender-nontraditional name, the boy "grew up mean" and tough.

A T. Rex named Sue faces no such ridicule. Who would scorn a 40-foot long prehistoric monster and risk being crushed beneath its taloned tread or pulped within the toothy jaws of its 2-ton skull?

The most celebrated Tyrannosaurus rex of the century (who can say which dinosaur was most recognized during the actual Cretaceous era, some 100 million years ago?), Sue — or at least a reproduction thereof — is now in Memphis, marking the much-marveled-over creature's public debut in the Bluff City.

“We’re incredibly excited about this exhibit,” said Kevin Thompson, executive director of the Museum of Science and History-Pink Palace, where “Sue: The T. Rex Experience” will be on display through May 12, occupying the museum's second-floor mezzanine and adjacent Bodine Hall gallery.

Based on the public’s passion for dinosaurs, the exhibit is expected to do — forgive the language — monster numbers. “It’s definitely more expensive than our usual exhibit, but we think it’s a more worthwhile investment,” Thompson said.

The mezzanine is the only space at the museum large enough to house the exhibit's centerpiece attractions and raison d'etre: The colossal mounted skeleton of Sue, in all her prehistoric glory — 40-plus feet of extinct killing machine, posed in a paleontologically accurate crouching stride, her tail extending parallel to the ground and functioning as a sort of weight-balancing cantilever.

On the opposite side of the mezzanine is the skeleton's fleshed-out (or polyurethaned-out) mirror double: Sue, as she likely appeared when alive, or as she would appear if she were added to the cast of a "Jurassic Park" sequel, with her rough hide and predator's eyes. As a bonus, the unfortunate corpse of a soon-to-be-devoured Edmontosaurus is clutched between Sue's teeth.

The skeleton is, in fact, a steel armature-plus-resin-exterior reproduction of the actual Sue, which is on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the institution that owns Sue and that organized this traveling exhibition.

'Most complete Tyrannosaurus that's ever been found'

The reason Sue is so famous is that Sue is "the most complete Tyrannosaurus that's ever been found," said Conrad Cañedo, 32, traveling exhibits production supervisor for the Field Museum, who has been in Memphis two weeks, supervising installation of "The T. Rex Experience" along with two Chicago colleagues and a local team headed by Wendi Young of the Pink Palace.

Dead some 67 million years, Sue was discovered in 1990 in South Dakota by fossil collector Sue Hendrickson, for whom the dinosaur is named. (Because of this name, people often refer to Sue as "she," but "it" or "they" might be more appropriate. "Sue is actually a they/them," said Sheila Noone, MOSH communications manager. "We don't know the gender.")

Hendrickson's discovery proved to be historic. As diggers uncovered more and more bones, they realized Sue represented the largest and most complete specimen of a Tyrannosaurus rex ever found.

Acquired by the Chicago museum for about $8 million, the bony fossils were painstakingly cleaned, prepared and reconstructed, with Sue going on exhibit in 2000 as "the crown jewel of the Field Museum collection," Cañedo said.

Requiring five semi-trailer trucks, the traveling Sue exhibit has been on the road since 2020. In addition to the gargantuan Sue models, the exhibit includes a full-scale reproduction of the skeleton of the T. Rex's traditional adversary, a three-horned Triceratops. Sue's supporting cast also includes the skeleton of one of the small mammals that skittered beneath the lumbering feet of the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous — in this case, a possum-like critter that was a member of the extinct genus known as Didelphodon. Said Cañedo: "Our ancestor, right?"

If Sue represents prehistory, the exhibit itself makes use of cutting-edge technology. According to Field Museum audiovisual technician Bobby Belote, interactive stations within "The T. Rex Experience" will include a light show that highlights details of Sue's skeleton; places to listen to scientists' best guess as to the low rumble of Sue's growl; and even opportunities to experience the likely scents of prehistoric plants and — yes — Sue's breath.

Visitors love it, he said. Sue may not have been fragrant, but "she's really popular," said Belote, 45. "She always draws crowds." In fact, galvanized by Sue's presence, the Pink Palace will be open on Tuesdays starting this week, meaning that the museum is now open six days a week for the first time since the COVID shutdown of 2020. (The museum is closed on Mondays.)

According to Cañedo, "humans have a fascination with dinosaurs." That's true of humans of all ages, from the little kids who pride themselves on learning such big words as "Brachiosaurus" to the adults who get in line for each "Jurassic Park" sequel.

Said Cañedo: "There's something impressive about the idea of these massive creatures that no longer exist actually walking around on the Earth."

'Sue: The T. Rex Experience'

Full-size skeleton reproductions of a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Triceratops, plus fossils, interactive exhibits, and more.

Through May 12 at the Museum of Science and History-The Pink Palace, 3050 Central.

Tickets at moshmemphis.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 'Sue: The T. Rex Experience' comes to Memphis: Here's what to expect