Chicago City Wire

The Field Museum has announced a new temporary exhibition, "After the Age of Dinosaurs," which aims to shed light on the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and before the Ice Age. Exhibition developer Marie Georg said, “A lot of people have a mental image of dinosaurs and the Ice Age, but not the time period represented in After the Age of Dinosaurs, which comes in between. Through an immersive experience, we can fill that gap. We tried to build in moments of interactivity and exploration.” The exhibition includes sensory experiences such as hearing sounds from extinction events, touching fossils, and comparing visitors’ sizes to extinct animals.

Visitors will encounter displays about early tropical forests dominated by flowering plants and unusual creatures like Titanoboa—the largest snake known—and six-foot-tall penguins. Ken Angielczyk, co-curator and MacArthur Curator of Paleomammalogy at the museum, noted, “This exhibition is a deep dive into an area of research that doesn’t get as much attention as other ancient creatures like dinosaurs. There are animals that are quite unfamiliar to the general public but are scientifically very important.”

Developed by the Field Museum’s team, the exhibition starts with animated videos depicting the asteroid impact believed to have caused mass extinction 66 million years ago. It then follows evolutionary developments including lush rainforests and mammal diversification. Visitors can view dozens of real fossils from animals and plants, including specimens from Wyoming’s Green River Formation—a collection for which the Field Museum holds one of the world’s largest assortments.

Chicago artist Jay Ryan contributed artwork throughout the exhibit. Known for his work with musicians such as The Flaming Lips and Andrew Bird, Ryan collaborated with museum scientists to create pop art-style imagery that complements scientific displays.

The exhibition also draws connections between past mass extinctions and current environmental changes. Co-curator Fabiany Herrera stated, “We want to show the importance of this random event that happened 66 million years ago and how it changed our planet forever. Everything that we see today started from that moment. It shows how a random extinction can change the history of our planet, and right now, we are suffering extinction at different levels across the world.” The exhibit emphasizes both historical impacts and ongoing challenges related to biodiversity loss.

"After the Age of Dinosaurs" is a ticketed event at the Field Museum.

For further information or access to photos, contact press@fieldmuseum.org.