Genealogy

Trace fossils such as footprints can tell scientists a lot about how an animal lived, evolved, and walked through the world. Hear from Melissa Connely, who made an exciting discovery that you may have seen reflected in pop culture.

How can museums make dense topics such as the sciences more easily understood by and exciting for the public? Some experts say the key is to provide hands-on opportunities and to show ancient, long-extinct dinosaurs as animals that were very much alive.

It takes a lot of hard work to dig up a fossil. OK, so then what happens? After being expertly unearthed, many fossils go to a fossil prep lab. Akiko Shinya, the Field Museum’s fossil preparator, walks us through the painstaking process.

The long-necked, plant-eating creatures known as sauropods are among the most iconic dinosaurs. They were massive, with some weighing as much as 70 tons. So how did these creatures get to be so big? An expert weighs in.

Nearly 323 million years ago, much of North America was covered by an inland sea. Today in parts of Montana, the fossil record reveals some of the surprising and bizarre creatures that called that sea home.

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In this documentary series, WTTW explores the personal, firsthand perspectives of people whose lives have been upended by crises like coronavirus and gun violence in Chicago.