Your Chicago: Field Museum's Dinosaurs And Mummies
CHICAGO (CBS) – Charlie James is a 26-year-old dog walker, but when he walks around the Field Museum he feels like a kid.
The giant murals and dinosaur skeletons tell the story of prehistoric life, and for many, including Charlie, this room is very special.
"It goes back to my love of dinosaurs as a kid," he tells CBS 2's Kate Sullivan.
Each year, 1.4 million people make it to the Field Museum. The most popular room is called "Evolving Planet," or Hall of Dinosaurs.
The enormous and detailed murals were painted by Charles R. Knight, who was legally blind. And then there are the skeletons.
"Ninety percent of the specimens in this room are real fossil materials," Gretchen Baker says.
In another section, the Field Museum has unveiled a new temporary exhibit featuring mummies.
They have been waiting thousands of years for their close-ups. The 20 Peruvian and Egyptian mummies have remained untouched and under wraps since the World's Fair of 1893.
CT scans can now reveal a great deal about who these mummies were, their occupation and how they died.
"We had to find a balance between showing the public but not showing them for too long so that we (don't) in any way endanger the mummies," Robert Martin said.
The mummy exhibit lasts until April 22.
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Check out picks from previous weeks:
- West Suburban Students Become 'Cancer Smashers'
- Karyn's Cooked, All-Vegetable Comfort Food
- Seguin Gardens And Gifts
- Chicago Bronze Handbell Choir
- Defining Moments Scrapooking Store
- The Pedway
- Morton Arboretum
- Chicago Human Rhythm Project
- Route 66′s Starting Point
- Joy Yee Shabu Shabu
- Cooper's Hawk Winery And Restaurant
- Haymarket Brewery
- Jazzin' At The Shedd
- Feed My Starving Children
- Hero's Submarine Sandwich Shop
- Davenport's Piano Bar
- Mystic Blue
