Texas Through Time Fossil Museum Video (Texas Country Reporter)

Mesozoic monsters that once roamed the earth.

Andre Lujan
Texas Through Time Fossil Museum
110 N Waco St
Hillsboro, TX 76645
Phone: 254-262-3466
Website: https://texasthroughtime.org/

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Texas Country Reporter
#1696
2-29-2020

Video Script:: 

if you were to take a trip to downtown Hillsboro you might start to get the feeling that you're being watched take a look around and you'll find yourself face to face with a razor-sharp toothed creature from the past but don't panic this metal Mesozoic monster is here - welcome to the Texas through time fossil museum [Music] Texas your time our mission is to present the entire paleontological history of our state and in our region at large so obviously there were no state lines or borders or geographic areas during the Cretaceous in our ancient history so we present fossils from New Mexico Oklahoma Arkansas Louisiana because it's part of our regional history here so from the smallest little invertebrate sea creatures plant fossils to some of the largest most impressive dinosaurs of our state from mammoth toe bones to the cervical vertebrae of a Dimetrodon Texas through time is a dinosaur lover's dream and it all started when museum director Andre Lujan had his very first experience with these Jurassic juggernauts [Music] at the age of four I fell in love with Dinosaurs I had an experience right here in Texas at Glen rose at the Dinosaur Valley State Park and I stepped foot in a dinosaur track and that moment in my life really kind of decided my fate paleontology seemed so real and so tangible and it was something that I've just kind of pursued on and off ever since give me the quick laundry list of the biggest coolest things you've not not big in size but coolest things you've got in here according to you one of the things we have in this museum is the greatest variety of Texas dinosaurs anywhere in the state and possibly the United States and world that includes our very own and Kaila soros we have the first and only ever found in the state of Texas that I found two years ago so on the world stage it's a rock star in the state of Texas it's probably the most important fossil that we know of right now you know it Andre isn't out searching for relics of a lost era or working with his team to prepare and restore fossils for other museums they're busy leading tours and educating the public this is a meat-eating animal and we can tell that because of these sharp teeth and he says that's what Texas through time is really all about and that is a capture ina skull the museum is really here for the public we're just like the library in town we're free we encourage people to come and use this resource and and you know pique their curiosity and hopefully inspire somebody to go for their dreams like I've gone for mine I have this replica here of a Tyrannosaurus Rex foot and you see this bone right here in the middle that is that it the metatarsal so here we have the middle metatarsal of a giant Tyrannosaur from the state of Texas so maybe we have Tex Rex you never know oh I like the sound of that don't take this the wrong way but are you eat up with paleontology yes I am I'm a paleo fanatic yeah how long have you been doing this now professionally I've been doing this for about five years it's been a passion my entire life you know as I mentioned you're still excited every time there's no of course of course I mean every little boy's dream is to find a new dinosaur and having done that already I'm kind of like well what do I do next you find more new dinosaurs that's what you do it never loses its allure these fossils are important in you know why Texas has the greatest diversity of Permian fossils anywhere in the world taking a walk through the Texas through time fossil museum is a lot like walking alongside the great Tyrannosaurus Rex or the mighty Brachiosaurus each exhibit gives you an up-close and personal look at these mighty creatures that once roamed the earth and andre lu han's hoping that with every claw bone and skull you feel a little bit closer to our ancient ancestors what's more Texas than a giant armadillo with a club on its tail exactly I think true excitement is is infectious it's contagious you know anybody can raise their voice and exclaim things but real excitement is is something it's like a smile it just it just spreads but putting paleontology in the hands of our visitors putting a dinosaur tooth or a claw or allowing them in the lab to see how we prepare fossils and give them the opportunity to hold a tool and and do that work with us is something that they'll remember for the rest of their lives and it may be that that moment in time where they decide I want to be a paleontologist like the experience I had when I was four years old do you think this is a plant-eater or or a meat-eater [Music] you