Sue the T. rex is not just the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever found — Sue is the star attraction at Chicago’s Field Museum, and in the annals of natural history, a 67-million-year-old celebrity. When the Field set out to build a new home in the museum for its prize dinosaur, it needed to be special: exciting and educational enough to impress and enthrall everyone from toddlers to octogenarians, technologically advanced enough to support both field trips and black-tie events and robust enough to stand up to the millions of visitors who pass through the exhibit yearly.

Lighting, encompassing not only ambient light and lighting of the artifact itself but also the multimedia presentation surrounding Sue, was a key component in achieving those goals for the 5,000 square foot exhibit, opened in 2018. Morlights approached this complex challenge with our trademark dedication to the details in all phases of the project, starting with three months of prototyping that allowed the Field to understand exactly how Sue would be illuminated before being moved to the new hall.

As Sue’s story unfolds through the exhibit progression, lighting signals each new chapter and highlights corresponding aspects of the artifact. Ambient case and graphic lighting are precisely coordinated to create a seamless presentation, employing never-before-used Bluetooth technology to control the lighting strategies wirelessly. Advanced technology also allows for flexibility in use of the space: presets for events allow changes in lighting while ensuring the safety of both the artifact and the visitor. Theatrical fixtures were used to add drama and create a lifelike effect, exciting the audience’s imagination.

Despite the exhibit’s complexity, Morlights was able to finish the project three months ahead of schedule, clearing the way for visitors to be wowed once again by their favorite Field Museum highlight.

“The T. rex is everybody’s favorite dinosaur, and Sue is a star T. rex — so we knew the lighting for this new exhibit had to give visitors a theatrical sense of excitement.” — Thatcher Waller