Science Museum hopes 'Stranger Things' gets gear sales roaring again

The Science Museum of Minnesota 1980s vintage dinosaur apparel
The Science Museum of Minnesota says it is rolling out a new batch of 1980's-style vintage dinosaur apparel ahead of the launch of the third season of the Netflix series "Stranger Things." A cameo appearance by a museum hoodie in 2017 set off a rush for a purple "Thunder Lizard" science museum sweatshirt dating back to the early '80s.
Courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota

The approaching debut of the third season of Netflix hit "Stranger Things" has the Science Museum of Minnesota bringing out new apparel inspired by the show.

The early 1980s-themed science fiction and horror thriller featured one of the museum's brontosaurus hoodies in its second season, released in 2017.

Dustin Henderson, a central character in the show, appeared in a purple "thunder lizard" science museum sweatshirt and sparked a wave of nostalgia for the gear from the museum's store.

Demand for the apparel was so intense it crashed the museum's website shortly after the episode became available.

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Dustin wears the vintage Science Museum hoodie
Fans of the Netflix show "Stranger Things" swarmed the Science Museum of Minnesota's website to snap up the museum's vintage "Thunder Lizard" hoodies, which became a sensation after appearing on a recent episode.
Netflix via the Science Museum of Minnesota

The museum brought back the hoodie and sold 18,000 of them online in the first two days. More than 40,000 have been sold since the "Stranger Things" appearance and revival.

The sales brought the museum a $500,000 windfall, according to Mimi Daly Larson, vice president of mission advancement at the museum.

Larson said the proceeds have gone to fund outreach programs across the state, including the purchase of a new van to transport program materials and staff. New sales will fund the same effort, Larson said.

There's no telling what the characters will be wearing in the latest run of the series, but Larson said the museum is upping its nostalgia game, complete with a retro Science Museum of Minnesota logo, and graphics featuring its all-time most popular dinosaurs — a Tyrannosaurus rex and a triceratops.

The original purple "Thunder Lizard" hoodie is also available.

The third season of "Stranger Things" is scheduled to be released July 4 on Netflix, the streaming services that produces the series. The Science Museum of Minnesota is also having a "Dino Fest" celebration July 13 in St. Paul.