A massive new dinosaur just moved into Navy Pier—and there’s a party for it this weekend

The Chicago Children’s Museum is welcoming a new resident this weekend—and unlike most Chicago transplants, this one arrived 90 million years late. Meet Spinosaurus, a horned specimen discovered in Niger’s Sahara Desert by longtime collaborator and paleontologist Paul Sereno.

The museum will unveil the species’ first public exhibition on Sunday, March 1, complete with a skull cast and a touchable reconstruction of its head crest. The Spinosaurus will be located just outside the “Dinosaur Expedition” exhibit, a gallery Serano originally helped the museum develop between 1999 and 2001.

To mark the occasion, the museum is hosting a special event at 2pm on March 1, where the Spinosaurus’s crest will be officially unveiled. Families can hear from Sereno himself, who will share stories from the field alongside images, video and hands-on artifacts. There’s also a “create your own crest” activity, giving children the chance to design their own look—because nothing says ancient apex predator like a little arts and crafts.

“Kids as young as two or three fall in love with dinosaurs because they invite imagination,” Sereno says. “What were they like when they were alive, and what was their world like?” Spinosaurus, he adds, has the added benefit of pop culture fame, thanks to its starring role in Jurassic Park.

Sereno's fossils are no stranger to the Chicago Children's Museum. The institution's long-running “Dinosaur Expedition” exhibit features Suchomimus, another dinosaur Sereno and his team discovered. The space lets kids try their hand at excavation, offering a glimpse into what it’s like to be part of a dig—minus the heat, sandstorms and existential dread of misplacing a fossil.

“'Unicorn' Spinosaurus Discovered!,” an exhibition by the University of Chicago Fossil Lab, will be on view at the Chicago Children’s Museum from March 1 through September 14, 2026. Tickets are $25 for adults and children (non-residents) and $21 for Illinois residents; children under 1 are free. Learn more about the exhibition here.