Flames rise from the fingertips of Robot Resurrection at 2017 Maker Faire San Diego in Balboa Park.
Balboa Park has been invaded! Cool robots of every size and description are roving throughout the park during 2017 Maker Faire San Diego!
Maker Faire San Diego seems to grow bigger every year. During this amazing event, eye-popping inventions and marvels of technology take over the heart of Balboa Park and many of its museums.
This morning I walked around feasting my mind on all sorts of creative stuff. Students, inventors, hobbyists and local clubs were proudly showing off their unique ideas and feats of engineering. Examples of 3D printing and robotics were everywhere.
Maker Faire San Diego continues in Balboa Park through Sunday. If you can, check it out for yourself!
Here are a few of the cool robots you might see!
2017 Maker Faire San Diego features lots of very cool robots, including 28 foot tall Robot Resurrection.A human operator emerges from the chest of the gigantic flame-throwing robot! If this thing could walk it would be a formidable battle robot!Human and robot fingers meet.Robot Resurrection has a couple of tiny pals. Here’s one.Here’s the other!The very cool Electric Giraffe has returned to the annual Maker Faire San Diego.The Electric Giraffe can move about while using an array of sensors in its head. When the neck is raised, this crowd-pleasing robot is 17 feet tall!This cute cow robot is named Milky White. It can move its eyeballs, eyelids, ears, tail and jaws!People at San Diego’s annual Maker Faire in Balboa Park check out a very creative robot designed by a friendly young man.Many schools from around San Diego demonstrate robots and other engineering projects during Maker Faire.The Robotics Society of Southern California has a sophisticated humanoid robot that moves realistically.The Glendale Robotics Academy had their Party Rover on display in the Japanese Friendship Garden.Kids check out another robot in the garden.A performance artist becomes a fun robot. People walking down El Prado posed for photos!This robot named Darth Zamboni was created by the Top Hat Technicians of High Tech High North County. It launches balls!Small autonomous cars on a track inside the San Diego History Center. They were being controlled remotely in order to gather navigational data.Autonomous car technology being developed today utilizes deep computer learning.A student participating in the First Robotics Competition demonstrates a small vehicle that their team built. Many robots can be seen up close in the San Diego History Center.This competitive robot corrals balls and then launches them.Cool robots of every size and description are on display throughout Balboa Park during 2017 Maker Faire San Diego!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Many generous Boy and Girl Scouts volunteered to beautify Cabrillo National Monument during Operation Gum Drop Removal!
I noticed during my visit to Cabrillo National Monument today that troops of Boy and Girl Scouts were busy around the park cleaning up chewing gum and other trash!
This very cool volunteering event was part of National Public Lands Day. It was also an opportunity for Scouts to earn special badges and enjoy a free lunch with park rangers!
Wow! Great job Scouts! Your positive outlook and dedication to community service has made San Diego even more beautiful! So here’s a big Thank You!
Scouts helping to remove gum and trash were awarded a Scout Ranger Patch, and enjoyed a complimentary lunch with Park Rangers! How cool is that!View of Cabrillo National Monument’s Visitor Center from afar. I could see Scouts working hard throughout the park!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Admiral Hornblower on blue San Diego Bay. It gleams in the last rays of daylight.
This evening I glimpsed dreams of gold on the darkening blue…
The ship moves across the darkening water toward a golden sunset.Young students row a Maritime Museum of San Diego longboat as the sun sets. Perhaps they dream of finding pirate gold.Rowing the longboat forward across the water. They move together, as if in one twilight dream.A trail of gold glistens behind Admiral Hornblower as it moves into the mysterious distance.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Fishermen enjoy a perfect September day along the Ocean Beach Pier. Today everybody was catching mackerel.
Today was a good day to catch mackerel in Ocean Beach. Fishermen were pulling up shining prizes all along the OB Pier.
What was their secret? Cut bait, a little patience, slathered sunscreen, and perhaps a cool beverage and some music. Nothing more. (Not even a fishing license. It’s free to fish from a San Diego pier.)
The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier was built in 1966 and is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast. Its reach into deep water makes it an excellent place to catch a wide variety of fish.Not everyone was fishing. Some were just out enjoying the sunshine. A guy on a bike looks down on the busy beach.This guy caught a silvery mackerel. They were really biting today along the entire length of the pier.Young and old alike were having success!Below the pier, there seemed to be as many surfers as fish in the ocean.Some kids at the OB Pier’s T-shaped end catch another nice mackerel!This guy caught one, too!A curious glance backward as a photo is taken of a prized catch!It appears catching that mackerel was a lot of fun!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Fun street art in Mission Beach, a short distance from Mission Bay. Characters from the beloved animated movie Finding Nemo have been painted on a utility box!
Look what I spotted during my weekend walk through Mission Beach! Some really fun Finding Nemo street art!
Squirt and Pearl.Blenny and Bubbles and Peach.Sheldon and Jacques.And, of course, Dory and Nemo! This happy street art was painted by the Splatter Club!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
People stroll down El Prado, checking out a huge variety of gourmet food trucks on a late Friday afternoon.
If you haven’t been to Food Truck Friday in Balboa Park, you’re missing out!
Not only is there all sorts of yummy food, but there is grass to picnic on and live music and juggling and hula hoops and checkers and crafts for the kids and colorful flowers and splashing fountains and amazing architecture and smiles and . . . I could go on and on! And the museums are open late, too!
Balboa Park’s special magic adds spice to an already tasty meal!
Balboa Park’s Food Truck Friday promises yummy eats and fun through September in the Plaza de Panama and along the length of El Prado.Feasting on the grass in sunny Balboa Park. Food Truck Fridays is the place to be for a festive family-friendly dinner.Kenny Shelton the awesome juggler was getting warmed up. He and other entertainers can be found throughout the park.A beautiful photo of the Plaza de Panama, its fountain, flowers, and the sunlit House of Hospitality during Food Truck Friday.If you live in San Diego, this giant checkerboard and these hula hoops are waiting for you!Musicians were playing under the Balboa Park Conservancy canopy near the Plaza de Panama fountain.The San Diego Model Railroad Museum had a table in the plaza where young kids could apply dots of paint to fun trains!And nearby, Spanish Village Art Center had their own cool table where kids could be creative!I spotted a Puppet Shows sign traveling through the plaza. So naturally I had to investigate…The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre in Balboa Park is now presenting The Little Mermaid! A pelican puppet says hello and invites you all to the show!A truly Happy Friday in San Diego’s always amazing Balboa Park.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A whole flock of Cartoon Network characters take to the sky! Fun balloons fly over the fountain at Children’s Park during 2017 San Diego Comic-Con!
Fourteen of seventeen Cartoon Network character balloons have been inflated so far for 2017 Comic-Con. You can see them soaring above the fountain at Children’s Park on MLK Promenade! I learned this morning two more balloons will be added tomorrow, and one final balloon on Friday!
Do you recognize some of these characters? If you do, feel free to leave a comment!
This helpful sign appeared on Thursday!
The Cartoon Network balloon characters include: K.O., Ice Bear, Four Arms, Richard, Robin, Darwin, Buttercup, Cannonbolt, Panda, Steven Universe, Beast Boy, Gumball, Raven, Omnitrix, Grizz, and Steven’s Shirt!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity pose for the judges in the Uniform Contest at 2017 OTL. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)
People playing Over The Line on Fiesta Island today had to be blinking their eyes. They didn’t just see Santa Claus striding across the sand–they saw a whole team of jolly Santas!
Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity is competing this year in the OMBAC World Championship Over The Line Tournament in San Diego! And they’re spreading the important message that kids should eat healthy, nutritious food!
The unique team of Santas is organized by “Sustainable Santa” Richard Eckfield, and its members were observed this morning parading around the island handing out carrots and talking about the dangers of processed, sugary junk food and the rise of childhood obesity. Supported by several sponsors and the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, their mission is simply to promote healthy eating habits for children. “Healthy, Happy and Fit for Life!”
Members of Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity can also be seen from time to time at farmers markets across San Diego County. They encourage children to eat real, honest-to-goodness wholesome food.
Will they win the OTL Camummy Division this year? I don’t know. I do know these Santas have a winning message!
You might like to follow the Santa & Mrs Claus for Healthy Children Facebook page!
Unlike most presents unwrapped at Christmas, good health is a gift that will last a long, merry, magical lifetime!
Kristin Francy, Miss Emerson in 2015, and a team of sporty Santas at the Over The Line World Championship tournament in San Diego. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)Photo of Baseball Santa Bill Swank and Richard “Sustainable Santa” Eckfield at the Linda Vista Farmers Market last December. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)Front and back of cards that Sustainable Santa hands out at farmers markets throughout San Diego County. (Image courtesy Bill Swank.)Baseball Santa Swank holds up carrots which the Real Santas United hand out to kids instead of sugary candy canes. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)
Your online gift to Ronald McDonald House will sponsor a meal, buy supplies for a student, or support a night’s stay for a family with a hospitalized child.
Today was Red Shoe Day. If you drove about San Diego, you might have seen smiling, unselfish people holding up big Ronald McDonald shoes at major intersections. Perhaps you were in traffic and didn’t have a chance to make a charitable donation.
Well, here’s your opportunity. Make your donation online (or learn about Ronald McDonald House) by clicking here!
Help support Ronald McDonald House. Fill the red shoe with an online donation!
Someone walks toward the Nature Center on Tecolote Family Day.
Today I headed over to Tecolote Canyon Natural Park. While I frequently drive around this narrow San Diego city park, which serves as a nature preserve inside Tecolote Canyon east of Mission Bay, I’ve never taken a single step inside. When I saw that an event called Family Day would be happening today, I decided to pay a visit!
What did I discover? Read the photo captions to find out!
A sign near entrance to the Nature Center provides information about Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.A narrow strip of natural habitat preserved in San Diego. Tecolote Canyon features hiking trails and a refuge for wildlife.Sign inside the Tecolote Nature Center. The park was originally dedicated in 1977. Houses, yards and streets surround this area where the native environment still survives.Many interpretive displays can be found in the Nature Center. The coyote is Tecolote Canyon’s largest predator.One sign describes San Diego’s Coastal Sage Scrub habitat, which is found in a small part of the world, along the coast of Southern California into Mexico.The Brown Towhee is one of many birds one might spot in the canyon.Along Tecolote Creek lies the Riparian Woodland habitat. Water attracts animals from the dry hills, and native trees like willows, cottonwoods and sycamores grow near the creek’s banks.One of the displays shows Lemonadeberry (a common chaparral shrub in San Diego), Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry, and a California Thrasher.A topographical representation of curving Tecolote Canyon, which you can see directly below Mission Bay. Up is west, right is north.Many of the plants and animals now in Tecolote Canyon are the same as those here 200 years ago. Golden eagles and mountain lions, however, have vanished because this natural space is too limited in size.Families enjoy a special day and learn about the canyon’s environment. It’s Tecolote Family Day! There were lots of educational displays and activities at the Nature Center.Activities at Tecolote Family Day included a scavenger hunt for kids, art, music, dance and a silent auction.Inside the Nature Center, one table had lots of displays concerning insects! Another one had snakes.At another table I was shown a coyote skull.I believe these beautiful poppy paintings were part of the silent auction.A friendly parrot was at a booth promoting Zovargo, a local business that offers animal summer camps for kids.These kids were dancing to a fun song about pollination!Nearby I discovered the Tecolote Native Plant Nursery.Work is ongoing to take back the native habitat from invading plant species.I saw some signs about the importance of composting. It enhances soil and protects watersheds.Behind the Nature Center, near an amphitheater and native garden, I saw this example of an e’waa, a simple willow branch structure built by the Native American Kumeyaay.A sign depicts the Tecolote Watershed. Pollutants can flow down the creek and enter the soil, Mission Bay and eventually the Pacific Ocean.Several signs can be found around the small native garden. This one, Aromas of the Canyon, depicts Black Sage, White Sage and California Sagebrush.On the way to the hiking trail that leads into Tecolote Canyon, one might spot this owl!Hikers read the sign at the Battle Trail trailhead.Welcome to the Battle Trail – Nature’s haven in the city.I start up the easy trail. The vegetation in Tecolote Canyon is still green in late spring, after a very rainy winter.This lush greenery will soon dry out in the Southern California summer and turn mostly brown.I am greeted by cheerful yellow flowers.I believe this house on a post is for bats. I’ve seen similar boxes in other open space parks around San Diego.A family heads into Tecolote Canyon to explore nature.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 