MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Public Museum is about to enter a pivotal stage in its transition to a new home, with crews preparing to relocate millions of artifacts – including its only mounted dinosaur.

What we know:

Starting Monday, Feb. 9, the museum begins shutting down its Torosaurus display as leaders prepare the collection for the future Nature and Culture Museum of Wisconsin, expected to open in the second quarter of next year.

For curator of paleontology Jon Hendricks, it marks a first in his career and the see-you-later moment for a 65-million-year-old fossil that has greeted generations of visitors.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

“It’s being packed up by a partner company called Research Casting International, they’re located close to Toronto,” Hendricks said. “They’re coming down, they’re going to help us disassemble the torosaurus skeleton and what they’re going to do is take it back to Toronto and clean every bone and make repairs when necessary.” 

The dinosaur is only a fraction of the scale. The geology department alone houses roughly 500,000 specimens, all bound for the museum’s new location just down the street.

“We’ve got to take care to make sure everything is carefully packed up and tracked to make sure every single specimen that we have makes its way to the new museum safely,” Hendricks said.

The careful work is emotional for many in a community that has grown up with the institution’s familiar halls and exhibits.

What they’re saying:

“i hope that whatever is new keeps that sense of the old history and the way we used to look at things and keeping track of things,” said Tish Hicks, museum visitor.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

“The building itself isn’t particularly warm, it’s the people who built the exhibits and that’s where the humanity is,” said Angela Zar, museum visitor.

The Torosaurus is one of several exhibits scheduled to close in the coming weeks as the countdown to the move continues. For more information on exhibit closures, visit the Milwaukee Public Museum’s website.

What’s next:

The museum’s final day at its current site is Jan. 3 of next year.

Every week on Reporter’s Notebook, WTMJ’s Adam Roberts talks with members of the WTMJ newsroom, as well as reporters from newsrooms from around the state, to get the full picture when it comes to the stories they choose to tell.

On this week’s episode, WTMJ’s Neil Doyle talks with Adam about the lapse of a Milwaukee County healthcare contract that led to subsequent political issues for County Executive David Crowley last week.

Also, Milwaukee Bucks beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Jim Owczarski joins to break down his exclusive interview with Giannis Antetokounmpo published under 24 hours before the NBA trade deadline. Adam provides another update on the situation involving public affairs network WisconsinEye. And in our first Black History Month Highlight, we tell the story of investigative journalist Ida B. Wells.

LISTEN TO MORE OF REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK:

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Admirals outshot the Icehogs 28-19 but couldn’t generate enough momentum to complete a comeback, falling 3-1 to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday night, Feb. 7 at Panther Arena.

Ads fall to IceHogs

What we know:

The last time the Admirals and the IceHogs faced off, the game totaled 126 penalty minutes, and that trend continued with 110 penalty minutes in the first period alone, including a pair of fights just 22 seconds after puck drop.

Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app

Zach L’Heureux opened the scoring for Milwaukee after he collected a loose puck in the Ads zone and capitalized on the mistake by converting on a breakaway breaking and beating Rockford Goalie Drew Commesso five-hole.

Rockford responded late in the period, scoring back-to-back goals just 26 seconds apart to give them a 2-1 lead going into the second. Gavin Hayes picked up the first one at with 1:59 to go in the first and the was quickly followed by Kevin Lombari’s tally at 18:27.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Halfway through the second period Nick Lardis snapped a quick shot passed Ads netminder Matt Murray to push Rockford’s lead to 3-1.

The Ads pulled Murray with just over four minutes remaining in the third, in favor of an extra attacker, but could not find their groove to erase the two-goal deficit. Even after Joakim Kemell rang a shot off the post to try and spark a late rally.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

With the AHL All-Star break coming up this week, Milwaukee will return to play at Rockford for back-to-back games next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 14th and 15th. The Admirals come back to Panther Arena to host the Texas Stars Wednesday, Feb 18.