Good News: Dinosaur Day

It was a rare sighting at Odom Academy when dinosaurs made their way through the campus hallways as the Texas Energy Museum invited Odom art students to paint the extinct creatures to display at the upcoming Dinosaur Day.

Dinosaur Day is the Texas Energy Museum’s annual outdoor program of hands-on activities about dinosaurs and fossils. The free educational program features outdoor activities for children to learn about dinosaurs and how fossils are found and studied. Activities include presentations by paleontologists, searching for real fossils and hands-on, creative activities.

Odom art students are painting designs on large-scale 3D papier-mâché dinosaur sculptures that will be displayed on the Texas Energy Museum lawn for several weeks, allowing students, families and the community to view them. Odom art teacher Donna Ware said this was the first time her classes painted dinosaurs for the event. Seventh-grader Tina Huynh helped design and plan the colors and patterns on one of the dinosaurs.

“It was fun and messy, but I really enjoyed the experience,” Huynh said.

“Painting the dinosaurs was an opportunity to help our community and for our school to be represented,” added Grace Chen, Odom seventh-grader.

Art students at Beaumont United, Blanchette, Caldwood, Dishman, Early College, Guess, Pietzsch-MacArthur, Regina-Howell, Smith and West Brook also painted dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Day will be held on the museum’s grounds in downtown Beaumont from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. The event is free to attend.