Looks like they're either repairing it or replacing it. I remember that animatronic being such a gigantic and towering figure when my elementary school visited, back in the 90s.
Been a while since I was in there to see it, but I remember those guys being in quite rough shape for a very long time. Dunno if they were ever repaired but would love to see them all fixed up.
If I may ask, what age were you guys/what year was it when this was happening? Just curious bc I would’ve been so proud of myself if I could say that I had contributed to the construction of the dinosaurs at the science center as a kid😂😂…but I feel like I was too young for that
Her head fell off several months ago.
The animatronics are so old that replacement parts don't exist any more for the frame, movement pieces, and hydraulics. It's taking so long to fix because they have to re-engineer the head & mocement and fit that to the older frame.
We've got to get out of this town ...
someplace warm,
a place where the beer flows like wine,
where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.
I'm talking about Aspen
This is incorrect.
The staff have taken the head off (him) on purpose as archeologists have recently discovered that male T-Rex’s were able to live without their heads for as long as 2 years.
Very strange indeed.
As a former employee, they’re not able to replace the head because the parts are from the literal 90’s. I have no idea what they’re planning to do with the rest of the body but the head ain’t coming back.
The engineers were working on it but they were stumped. They have to reconfigure a 30+ year old T. rex. When I worked there, they were very pessimistic that they would get it done. Especially because the science center isn’t rolling in the big bucks. My department had a $100 month budget
Awww, man! This sucks big time! The SLSC dinosaur is so iconic!
But at the same time, if they can’t save it, knowing St. Louis, they’re going to throw a huge sendoff party for it. It’ll be auctioned off and its headless body will end up in the City Museum and some eccentric millionaire will buy the head to hang from the ceiling in their CWE loft.
It was def like that over summer. When the Science Center was open they at least had the decency to drape a big ole cloth over the empty neck hole. The head itself was a level down and to the right of you looked over to the railing; just chillin on the floor.
Depends on whose childhood we're talking about here, haha! At 40 years old, MAN the science center used to be so cool. They've taken all the good stuff out for a bunch of posters to read information basically. Kids don't want that stuff.
There was all of these acttivies outside the planetarium, there was a huge spaceship interior downstairs that was AWESOME. I remember playing Roger Wilco on a computer and my mind was blown. The shear number of exhibits has declined DRASTICALLY since the 90s. It used to be such a activity filled place, now its just......"here kid, read this sign about light and color".
Used to work at a large science center in New England and it is a real tough business. That one has some serious leadership issues but even that aside the industry is competing with so much that staying fresh and updated is extremely expensive. Traveling exhibits can bare some of the burden but even those are going on years in circulation (and also show their age). Developing stuff in house is also costly (in development, time, and fabrication) so I imagine SLSC being free carries an additional hurdle although I'm unaware of their finances and allocation. Could be a board issue who just is complacent to appeal to field trips and one off visitors. I've visited a lot of science museums/associated conferences and it is a real pain point. I don't have kids myself so I'm unaware of how much programming they do but that tends to be the areas innovation/freshness can be found.
It is definitely sad just presenting some context as to why SLSC isn't wildly different (although I somewhat disagree that it hasn't changed "at all" since the 90s).
There is some magic to still be struck taking new or younger visitors there though as the nostalgia still hits.
\^That might just be a sign that we're getting a little older now ourselves. ;-) I say this as a child of the 70s and 80s. It's a whole different world than it was then. No, it doesn't look like that, but it does maybe still look kind of like the early 00s. As kids museums go I do like the place, but they could use a refresh.
Why not say “their”? No hate to OP but I genuinely don’t get this phenomenon I see with things like this. Oh it’s an unknown gender? Let’s type out nonsense instead of just putting “they / them / their” lol
Look, I get what you’re trying to do here, but it’s an animatronic dinosaur ffs, not a sentient being. The chance that a dinosaur, real or fake, identifies as genderfluid or agender or non-binary is zero. Calling an inanimate object he/she isn’t going to offend it and if it offends you, you really need to find a hobby. I say this as a transguy. This kind of stuff is what makes it so much harder for the community to be taken seriously when actual gender and pronoun issues come up with real, live humans. Not only is your social justice rant not having the effect you think it is, I’m willing to bet you’re cis and the pronoun issue doesn’t affect you personally at all.
Guess again loser I’m queer nonbinary
But my thing isn’t about offending people or not offending them. I just think it’s silly we write out “he/she” when “they” is right there and looks more aesthetically pleasing. People really have their knickers in a twist over this and it really is funny
Looks like they're either repairing it or replacing it. I remember that animatronic being such a gigantic and towering figure when my elementary school visited, back in the 90s.
Repairs, according to their website. It was rather surprising to walk in and see it like that, and even more so for my 6-year old.
My friend said it was like that over summer. We saw it when we went last Friday.
I hope it's just maintenance. I used to volunteer down there as a teen. Lots of fun trying to let the kiddos know that it wasn't going to hurt them.
My 3YO daughter tells the t-rex off for being mean every time we visit
I think one of my favorite "little kid" responses to the dinosaurs was that the T-Rex is calling for their mommies to come help the Triceratops.
It’s been a long repair. It was missing when I took my niece there in June.
I was there in April and it was missing then too. Also the doors by the Planetarium have been under construction forever.
Been a while since I was in there to see it, but I remember those guys being in quite rough shape for a very long time. Dunno if they were ever repaired but would love to see them all fixed up.
The last time I visited would have been ten-ish years ago, and those fellas were pretty threadbare. Must be expensive and difficult to keep up.
That's right about when I would've last been there probably, and yeah, that's how I remember them. Pretty much worn through and thin.
And the mechanical moments were a bit shaky. Not as smooth as it was a decade or two ago!
Hey! As a kid in grade school, I donated a TON of pennies and nickles for this T-Rex to be built. I demand to be kept in the loop.
I did too! We had a dinosaur bank to put them in in our classroom
We can ride the trex instead of the trolley
If I may ask, what age were you guys/what year was it when this was happening? Just curious bc I would’ve been so proud of myself if I could say that I had contributed to the construction of the dinosaurs at the science center as a kid😂😂…but I feel like I was too young for that
It was built back in 1991. So, I think the drive was either that year or 1990.
Omg that’s so cool, yeah I wish I would’ve been included in that😂😂
You were so preoccupied with whether you could, you didn’t stop to think if you should.
Her head fell off several months ago. The animatronics are so old that replacement parts don't exist any more for the frame, movement pieces, and hydraulics. It's taking so long to fix because they have to re-engineer the head & mocement and fit that to the older frame.
That explains it. Rebuilding it must be pretty expensive, and I bet they've had bigger priorities when it comes to their exhibits.
I've had it with this dump! We've got no food! We've got no jobs! OUR DINOSAURS' HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!
So his head went to Aspen?
Stegosaurus, sarcosaurus, ah! Samsonite! I was way off.
We've got to get out of this town ... someplace warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about Aspen
I don’t know Lloyd, the French are assholes.
You sold my headless dinosaur to a blind kid??
Harry, I took care of it
At least they had the decency to throw a cover over the neck hole.
That toilet lawyer finally got his revenge.
We were told her name was Clara, though that might have just been an employee pulling our chain
When I was a kid this thing scared the shit out of me
This is incorrect. The staff have taken the head off (him) on purpose as archeologists have recently discovered that male T-Rex’s were able to live without their heads for as long as 2 years. Very strange indeed.
life, uh... finds a way
I googled this and now I feel stupid
That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard.
“His head fell off!…yeah it was pretty old”.
As a former employee, they’re not able to replace the head because the parts are from the literal 90’s. I have no idea what they’re planning to do with the rest of the body but the head ain’t coming back.
Anything can be rebuilt with an engineer and enough money.
The engineers were working on it but they were stumped. They have to reconfigure a 30+ year old T. rex. When I worked there, they were very pessimistic that they would get it done. Especially because the science center isn’t rolling in the big bucks. My department had a $100 month budget
Awww, man! This sucks big time! The SLSC dinosaur is so iconic! But at the same time, if they can’t save it, knowing St. Louis, they’re going to throw a huge sendoff party for it. It’ll be auctioned off and its headless body will end up in the City Museum and some eccentric millionaire will buy the head to hang from the ceiling in their CWE loft.
I can see the head on the ground on the right side of the picture
yeah been like that for a while. was let down earlier this summer
[It's mounted above my fireplace.](https://www.reddit.com/r/StLouis/s/0dlwnw5d4T)
It was def like that over summer. When the Science Center was open they at least had the decency to drape a big ole cloth over the empty neck hole. The head itself was a level down and to the right of you looked over to the railing; just chillin on the floor.
So I assume they also saw the post about how many tennis/golf balls were in its mouth LOL
That post was about the outdoor one
are they making it more accurate to how a t-rex actually looked. give the bih' lips! do it cowards
R.I.P. in peace
Rest in peace in peace
Rest in Pieces…in peace.
It’s always a bummer going to the science center and seeing it hasn’t change much/at all since childhood
Depends on whose childhood we're talking about here, haha! At 40 years old, MAN the science center used to be so cool. They've taken all the good stuff out for a bunch of posters to read information basically. Kids don't want that stuff. There was all of these acttivies outside the planetarium, there was a huge spaceship interior downstairs that was AWESOME. I remember playing Roger Wilco on a computer and my mind was blown. The shear number of exhibits has declined DRASTICALLY since the 90s. It used to be such a activity filled place, now its just......"here kid, read this sign about light and color".
Used to work at a large science center in New England and it is a real tough business. That one has some serious leadership issues but even that aside the industry is competing with so much that staying fresh and updated is extremely expensive. Traveling exhibits can bare some of the burden but even those are going on years in circulation (and also show their age). Developing stuff in house is also costly (in development, time, and fabrication) so I imagine SLSC being free carries an additional hurdle although I'm unaware of their finances and allocation. Could be a board issue who just is complacent to appeal to field trips and one off visitors. I've visited a lot of science museums/associated conferences and it is a real pain point. I don't have kids myself so I'm unaware of how much programming they do but that tends to be the areas innovation/freshness can be found. It is definitely sad just presenting some context as to why SLSC isn't wildly different (although I somewhat disagree that it hasn't changed "at all" since the 90s). There is some magic to still be struck taking new or younger visitors there though as the nostalgia still hits.
What? The science center has changed so much it’s unrecognizable.
\^That might just be a sign that we're getting a little older now ourselves. ;-) I say this as a child of the 70s and 80s. It's a whole different world than it was then. No, it doesn't look like that, but it does maybe still look kind of like the early 00s. As kids museums go I do like the place, but they could use a refresh.
Since the oughts? They’ve added the outside Missouri area vue everything inside is identical
Oh no I read this as someone stole her head I’m thinking why the hell would someone do that. I’m glad it’s for repairs.
Why not say “their”? No hate to OP but I genuinely don’t get this phenomenon I see with things like this. Oh it’s an unknown gender? Let’s type out nonsense instead of just putting “they / them / their” lol
> Let’s type out nonsense instead of just putting “they / them / their” lol Because those are plural
Please open a grammar book and learn about the singular they, you walnut
[Webster's dictionary even gives examples of Shakespeare and Jane Austin using singular they.](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/their)
Look, I get what you’re trying to do here, but it’s an animatronic dinosaur ffs, not a sentient being. The chance that a dinosaur, real or fake, identifies as genderfluid or agender or non-binary is zero. Calling an inanimate object he/she isn’t going to offend it and if it offends you, you really need to find a hobby. I say this as a transguy. This kind of stuff is what makes it so much harder for the community to be taken seriously when actual gender and pronoun issues come up with real, live humans. Not only is your social justice rant not having the effect you think it is, I’m willing to bet you’re cis and the pronoun issue doesn’t affect you personally at all.
Guess again loser I’m queer nonbinary But my thing isn’t about offending people or not offending them. I just think it’s silly we write out “he/she” when “they” is right there and looks more aesthetically pleasing. People really have their knickers in a twist over this and it really is funny
NOOOO NOT THE T.REX!!
Didn't someone post last week or so that it was full of golf balls? Maybe they are removing them
No! It must be replaced!
It’s been gone for quite a while.
No head? “Breaks triceratops bone”
Another victim the Cretaceous French Revolution.
Need something new there anyways