Why like museums? Because there are dinosaurs.

A few weeks ago I went to Chicago. While there, I visited the Field Museum with my friend Liz. Now, I haven’t been to the Field Museum since I was maybe… eight? It’s been a while.

All I remember from my first time: There are dinosaurs! Well dinosaur more like. Sue, to be specific:

Not much has changed since I was eight. Yes, I am now taller and my wardrobe no longer consists of brightly colored yetti sweaters and light up sneakers. However, whenever I am around dinosaurs I regress to my eight-year-old self.

The instant we got into the museum, I was giddy to the point that I was literally bouncing on my heels. I believe, upon arrival, Liz started to ask me,”So Janelle, what should we—” “Dinosaurs.” I interrupted. There was no question about it. I was there to see the dinosaurs, first and foremost.

I must admit, I was slightly saddened when I discovered that the museum did not have the bones of my favorite dinosaur: ankylosaurus (an-kie-low-saurs and don’t let any fool tell you differently), but they did have a wonderful pachycephalosaurus (one of my favorite things to say and spell). You can think of them as a dinosaur version of a goat or a ram—they liked butting heads. They also had numerous other wonderful dinosaurs.

Here are some fantastic dinosaurs; As I hope we all know, stegosaurus:

Parasaurolophus: lesser known name but pretty recognizable. And in case you were wondering, this lovely critter belonged to a group of ornithopod dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. I know, you were really eager to learn that one.

And this is that delightful pachycephalosaurus that I had mentioned earlier. These guys could have skulls up to ten inches thick! I know there are some people out there with pretty thick skulls in their own right, but if said person got into a head-butting contest with one of these guys, they would lose. No question about it.

I will apologize if that was a little too nerd-tastic for you all. I probably should have been a paleontology major instead of painting. Oh well.

How could you not love dinosaurs? If you were not inspired by The Land Before Time or Jurassic Park as a child, and subsequently go around the playground pretending to be a T-Rex, then you had better get on it. Better late than never, right?

(That’s me hugging that giant dinosaur leg.)