The museum is closed, and the dinosaurs are lonely. Here’s how you can help.

Many Milwaukee families have had memorable experiences with dinosaurs at the public museum — whether it’s horrified awe at the T. rex’s meal during a thunderstorm, fascination at the thought of birds evolving from dinosaurs or just listening to children’s uncanny ability to pronounce difficult dinosaur names while walking through the exhibits.

Whatever your family’s experience with the dinosaur exhibitions, it’s common knowledge that they’re among the most iconic and most visited parts of the museum.

So, according to Jenni Tetzlaff, marketing director at the museum, it’s been a bit of a shock to the dinosaurs to miss out on all those guests during the museum’s closure since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our dinosaurs are so used to seeing so many families and school groups,” said Tetzlaff. “So they’re just feeling lonely and sad right now.”

In an effort to cheer up the dinosaurs and keep Milwaukee’s museum fans engaged, museum staff started the Lonely Dino campaign. People are being asked to send photos or videos of past visits to see the dinosaurs, as well as drawings, notes or even dance videos to cheer the dinosaurs up.

People can send the submissions to communications@mpm.edu or tag social media posts with #LonelyDino.

Tetzlaff said security staff are sharing submissions with the dinosaurs on their rounds, and the museum is also posting them to its website and social media accounts.

“We’ve gotten some really interesting things so far. Kids’ drawings and dance videos are of course adorable,” said Tetzlaff. “We also had an older gentleman who sent us a picture that looks like T. rex is eating his arm. I’m glad this is something that people of all ages can totally get involved in.”

The lonely dino campaign is expected to last until the museum is able to open to visitors again. It joins a variety of things to keep people interested in the museum during the pandemic, including virtual tours, museum exhibitinspired yoga poses and scientist videos. Contact Amy Schwabe at (262) 8759488 or amy.schwabe@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @WisFamilyJS, Instagram at @wisfamilyjs or Facebook at WisconsinFamily.

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM The Milwaukee Public Museum is asking people to send photos, letters, drawings and videos to cheer up the dinosaurs while the museum is closed.

SARAH PATTERSON Sarah Patterson submitted her son Owen’s dinosaur drawing to the Milwaukee Public Museum’s dinosaurs as part of the Lonely Dino campaign.

Bruce Cartwright shares a picture of himself on a previous visit to the Milwaukee Public Museum as part of the museum’s Lonely Dino campaign. BRUCE CARTWRIGHT