Smell Sue's breath, experience T. Rex environment in Field Museum exhibit upgrades

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Staring up at Sue inside the Field Museum, it's easy to imagine what the iconic T. Rex would have looked like. But now, we can understand this dinosaur's world even better thanks to multi-sensory stations added to Sue's exhibit.

"Oh my god, that smells so bad," winced 9-year-old Quinn Martin after wafting Sue's breath; her younger sister Sloane added a lengthy, "Ew."

The Field Museum team dubbed this the "scent of death," and for good reason.

"If you're eating meat and you have teeth with little jagged edges or teeth with spaces in between them, and you're eating meat, that meat gets caught in your teeth and starts to rot (because) you're a T. Rex, you can't floss," explained exhibition developer Meredith Whitfield.

Sue declined ABC 7's request for comment, but the Field is sharing its pungent theory with museum visitors who can sniff T. Rex breath themselves.

"We have brought Sue even more to life," added Whitfield.

Alive enough that I almost gagged from a quick sniff.

There are less gut-wrenching opportunities to interact with the Cretaceous era: T. Rex and triceratops skin molds, a pelt replicating that of a mammal-like didelphodon, and the smells of plants similar to those from Sue's environment.

You can even hear Sue's "rumble" (not to be confused for a growl).

"That's pretty scary," said 13-year-old Jacob Gupta after listening in.

Luckily museum panels are as close to Sue's rumble as we'll ever get!