A field trip to the State Natural History Museum on Wednesday took an unexpected turn when twenty-six sixth-graders from St. Paul’s Middle School, two chaperones, and one substitute teacher somehow managed to temporarily misplace a full-sized Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton — the centerpiece of the museum’s main hall and, according to staff, “not something that has ever gone missing before.”

The skeleton, affectionately named “Gerald” by museum employees, was eventually located in the museum’s gift shop, partially assembled between a rack of dinosaur plush toys and a rotating postcard display. No one has fully explained how it got there. Several students have theories.

“We were just looking at it,” said sixth-grader Priya Mehta, “and then Tyler started climbing on the rope barrier, and then there was a loud noise, and then Mrs. Calloway started yelling, and when we all turned around Gerald was just… gone.”

Tyler Brennan, the student in question, declined to comment, citing advice from his mother.

The field trip had been organized by sixth-grade science teacher Ms. Rachel Dominguez as a supplement to the class’s unit on prehistoric life. The group departed St. Paul’s at 7:45 a.m. aboard a school bus that broke down once on the highway and was described by chaperone Linda Park as “definitely making a new sound by the end.”

Upon arriving at the museum, the class was divided into two groups: one led by Ms. Dominguez and one led by substitute teacher Mr. Carl Biggs, who had been informed that morning that the trip was to an aquarium and spent the first forty-five minutes visibly confused by the lack of fish.

“I kept waiting for the penguins,” Mr. Biggs said afterward.

Despite the skeleton incident, museum staff noted that the students were largely well-behaved, with only a handful of minor infractions recorded. These included one student licking a 65-million-year-old fossil “to see if it tasted like anything” (it did not), two students getting briefly trapped in the rotating door at the entrance, and one student purchasing $34 worth of items from the gift shop using money intended for the bus fare home.

That student, seventh-grader Owen Castellano, arrived home three hours late via city bus clutching a tote bag, a foam dinosaur visor, and a book titled So You Want to Be a Paleontologist.

“It was worth it,” Castellano said.

Gerald the T. rex was fully reassembled by museum staff by 4:15 p.m. and suffered no structural damage, though one of his smaller toe bones is currently unaccounted for. Museum curator Dr. Frances Webb called the day “educational, in its own way.”

Ms. Dominguez confirmed that St. Paul’s has been asked to call ahead before scheduling future visits.

The class received full credit for the trip.