A traveling dinosaur museum brought prehistoric creatures to life for students in the small town of San Diego, giving children a rare opportunity to experience fossils and dinosaur exhibits up close.
"I was so excited. Me and my mom love it," said Katalina Galvan, a third grader at San Diego Independent School District with a fascination for wildlife.
When asked about her favorite part of the exhibit, Galvan pointed to the massive fossils on display.
"The fossils behind me. Because they're big and because you could study them," she said.
The Dinosaur George Traveling Museum has been captivating not just children but adults as well in rural communities.
"I can't recall having something like this come out to SD," said Katherine Cortez, the ACE Program Site Coordinator and San Diego graduate.
Cortez expressed how meaningful it was to bring such an educational experience to her hometown.
"Kids need to be exposed to different things especially coming from our small community. There's not a lot out here," she said.
The traveling museum is run by George Blasing, who has been passionate about prehistoric creatures since he was 4 years old. For decades, he has taken his collection across Texas to share his knowledge with communities that might otherwise miss out on such experiences.
"I get to expose them to something that otherwise they may not get to see," Blasing said.
He particularly enjoys witnessing children's reactions when they encounter the dinosaur exhibits.
"There's a lot of these rural communities where the kids don't get the opportunity. You know, sometimes driving five, six hours one way is just not a realistic thing to do," Blasing said.
Emma Maldonado, an 11-year-old student visiting the museum with her mother and sister, explained why such exhibits matter to children in her community.
"So, they could see what existed millions of years ago," Maldonado said.
Blasing noted that in the late 1990s, a dinosaur fossil was discovered not far from San Diego, Texas, making the traveling museum's visit even more relevant to the local community.
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