Tag: museums

Create a native seed library for your neighborhood!

You’ve probably seen those book lending libraries placed near the sidewalk in front of homes. The boxes are filled with books that anyone can borrow.

Well, did you know there are similar native seed libraries?

Native seed libraries like the one in my photographs provide free native plant seeds for community members to use in their gardens.

As we know, native plants in San Diego are drought resistant and attract pollinators such as butterflies and birds. They’re good for biodiversity and a healthy environment.

If creating your own native seed library is something you’d like to look into, or do, check out this webpage on the San Diego Bird Alliance website. They provide starter kits that include seeds, envelopes, labels, brochures, posters and other materials for your box. Building the structure is your own fun project! (Perhaps make them similar to one of these.)

Here’s a map that shows the location of native seed libraries around San Diego. See if one is in your neighborhood!

(I learned all this today in Balboa Park. The San Diego Natural History Museum had a special outdoor event celebrating Pollinator Week!)

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Meowseum of Fine A(rt) comes to San Diego!

The Meowseum of Fine A(rt) has brought a purrfectly wonderful exhibit to San Diego. Visitors to the San Diego County Fair have the rare opportunity to view amazing masterpieces inside the Pets Rock Live on Tour theme exhibit!

A sign near the famous paintings explains: In The Meowseum of Fine A(rt), explore a sweeping retrospective of feline creativity–from purr-impressionist masterpieces to post-litterbox minimalism. This groundbreaking exhibit showcases how cats have redefined the art world through disruption, lounging, and high-concept box installations. Each work captures the eternal struggle between the feline spirit and the constraints of the hooman-designed world.

Examples of the stunning artwork that visitors will gaze upon…

Girl with a Purrl Earring, by Johan Vermeower.
Mewna Lisa, by Leanardough da Vinci.
The Meow, by Ed-purred Meow-nch.
Vincent Van Grrr (Self-Pawtrait)
Cubist Cat Cuddles, by Pawblo Picatso.
Sunpurrs, by Vincent Van Gough-Away-I’m-Napping.
The Kibble Kiss, by Gustav Klimpt.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Crafty armadillos roll into San Diego!

Dozens of crafty armadillos have rolled into San Diego. I observed them today in Balboa Park, inside the Mingei International Museum!

The roll of armadillos (that’s what a group of armadillos is called) is hanging out inside several glass display cases on the ground floor of the museum. Tuck and Roll: The Art of Armadillos is the name of the free exhibition.

The exhibition includes folk art armadillos crafted from wood, clay, glass, metal, stone, fiber and various natural materials such at shells, gourds and coconuts. There are bowl armadillos, toy armadillos, ashtray armadillos, pipe armadillos, jar armadillos, coin bank armadillos, toothpick holder armadillos…

These crafty armadillos were made primarily in Central and South America, and Mexico, where the roly-poly animals are found in the wild. Many of the objects were created by indigenous peoples following centuries-old traditions.

I took a few photos, but if you plan to visit Balboa Park, step through the Mingei International Museum’s door and encounter these fun armadillos yourself!

Tuck and Roll: The Art of Armadillos will be displayed into January 2026, so you have plenty of time.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A visit to the Heritage of the Americas Museum.

There’s a surprising museum jam-packed with wonders that everyone in San Diego should visit. I’m speaking of the Heritage of the Americas Museum in Rancho San Diego.

The Heritage of the Americas Museum is located near the West entrance of Cuyamaca College, immediately adjacent to the Water Conservation Garden. The museum building appears modest at first glance, but when you step through the front door your eyes might pop out of your head!

How do I begin to describe this amazing place?

The museum has four wings. They are dedicated to Archaeology, Anthropology, Natural History and Fine Art. If you wanted to examine every artifact, specimen and work of art, you could easily spend an hour exploring the museum.

Display cases contain objects from the Americas that fall into dozens of categories, whether it might be Peruvian textiles, or Haida and Tlingit artifacts, or paleo points dated 12000 B.C. to 6000 B.C., or millions-year-old fossils, or beautiful sea shells and coral…

When I visited, school children on a field trip were excitedly peering into the displays, seeing new worlds beyond their own life experience.

I’ll share a few photos so you get an idea of the fascinating worlds you’ll encounter, too.

Cool thing: the Heritage of the Americas Museum is free to the public every second Friday of the month!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Filipino food and culture served in Balboa Park!

Hungry during your weekend visit to Balboa Park? Do you love Filipino food, such as pancit and lumpia?

Head over to the San Diego History Center, where they’re serving up authentic Filipino food and culture!

Taste San Diego: Filipino Culinary Journeys is the name of the museum’s free exhibition, where displays tell the story of Filipino-American identity through the rich flavors of cuisine. It’s also where, on Saturdays and Sundays, tasty food is available for purchase at the Bataan Café!

What’s on the menu? Pancit, Shanghai Lumpia, and for dessert, Ube Crinkle Cookies and Dubai Ensaymada. Beverages include Ube Cold Brew, Calamansi Lemonade, Ginger Beer, and alcoholic Ube Wan and Jeepney.

When I swung by for lunch on Saturday, I was met by smiles and a neighborly vibe.

A family was enjoying their meal at a very special table. The table’s surface is actually a large video screen. Its looping video shows a Filipino boodle fight: a communal Filipino meal where food is placed directly on the table and eaten with bare hands. (My own table had me eating delicious lumpia by hand, but the pancit noodles made their way into my mouth by fork.)

I recommend you visit Taste San Diego: Filipino Culinary Journeys at the San Diego History Center. In addition to the great food served on weekends, there are walls full of heartwarming displays. They tell stories of Filipino family life and culture in San Diego.

Service with a smile!

I took the next photograph on a weekday, when the café is closed. My photo shows the scale of this exhibition at the San Diego History Center.

On weekends you’ll find people at the tables enjoying Filipino food!

The museum exhibit includes many displays.

This historical photograph shows how social fiestas help Filipino immigrants and Filipino-Americans stay connected to their roots and share rich traditions…

One display shows ingredients that are often used in the making of Filipino food…

Okay! It’s now the weekend and I’m hungry!

Time to eat!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Exhibition in San Diego celebrates Women in STEM.

An inspirational exhibition celebrating women in STEM opened a couple days ago in Balboa Park. San Diego STEM Women: Creativity and Curiosity can be experienced in the Women’s Museum of California‘s new, dedicated gallery, which is found inside the San Diego History Center.

The exhibition details how women in San Diego history, from the 19th century to the present, have excelled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, leading to important contributions in different fields.

There’s a special emphasis on young women pursuing career paths in STEM today. Various organizations are highlighted that can help those with STEM aspirations.

Young people, upon seeing this exhibition, will understand that pursuits in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics can do more than make a world a better place, but can be personally very rewarding.

Examples of what visitors will find…

ECOLOGIK was launched at Cabrillo National Monument in 2017. The free program engages children and young adults in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. There is an emphasis on ecology and environmental sciences.
Girls Who Code has reached over 760,000 students through virtual and in-person programming. The organization helps to spark an interest in transformative technology.
Dr. Charlotte Baker was San Diego’s first practicing female physician. She moved to San Diego in 1888 and ten years later she became the first female president of the San Diego County Medical Society.
During World War II, many women helped with military manufacturing in San Diego. In the aircraft industry, women made up to 65% of the workforce in 1943.
Dr. Janese Swanson, graduate of SDSU, was a pioneer at the dawn of the digital age. At Broderbund Software, she helped develop the popular game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Dr. Ellen Ochoa grew up in La Mesa. An engineer and astronaut, she was the first Latina astronaut in NASA history. She would log nearly 1,000 hours in space!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

An exhibition of very unique textile art!

There’s a museum in Liberty Station that visitors might mistakenly pass by. When I walked by today, it occurred to me I hadn’t stepped into Visions Museum of Textile Art for many years. So I had to see what I’ve been missing!

Long before I started Cool San Diego Sights, I remember how the museum was called Quilt Visions. The last time I visited, in 2019, it was called Visions Art Museum. I was told the name has evolved over time as the museum has enlarged its scope to cover many different types of textile art.

Today I was excited to see the Visions Museum of Textile Art is thriving!

I discovered several current exhibits, and chose to blog about one that features some very unique pieces. It’s titled INTIKA: Men In Textiles. As a sign explains, the INTIKA exhibition seeks to showcase the diverse works of male artists from various backgrounds, each employing different textile techniques. These artists push the boundaries…by experimenting with unconventional materials or incorporating elements from other disciplines like sculpture or installation art.

Check out the next photo. This visually complex piece, composed of sliced and woven street posters collected from the walls of New York City, Berlin and Venice, is definitely unconventional!

There’s all sorts of textile art to admire, including unique clothing, hangings and other needlework. More examples…

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Cut glass, new light, and the La Jolla coast.

Should you visit the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla, make sure to step into the Krichman Family Gallery. That’s where you can experience eye-opening effects of light, caused by apertures cut in glass windows overlooking the coast.

This site-conditional installation is the work of Robert Irwin, who passed away in 2023. According to a nearby sign, his art is foundational to a certain West Coast minimalism, referred to as Light and Space. He was a longtime resident of San Diego.

Window areas with no glass bring new light into the viewer’s eyes. Standing in the gallery makes one wonder: to what extent do we fully experience reality and its acute beauty? Is there “glass” in our eyes that can be cut away?

Those open spaces in the windows also allow our senses to feel and smell the fresh ocean breeze. Now, if only human hands could reach out and feel the ocean’s vastness.

Robert Irwin is also responsible for the Edwards Sculpture Garden’s radiant Spanish Fan, which you can see in the lower left of the above photograph.

Inside the museum’s adjacent galleries are more of Irwin’s beautiful works. Perhaps I’ll cover those at some future time.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Hoover High School students exhibit at MCASD!

An exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego features art by students who attend Hoover High School in City Heights. Across the Chaparral includes the work of students in two classes: Advanced Drawing and Painting, and AP English Language.

The students, after viewing and learning about relevant pieces in the museum, were asked to interpret contemporary life in our complex, uniquely dynamic, culturally diverse border region.

Across the Chaparral can be experienced in the museum’s Axline Court, a magical architectural space that I blogged about yesterday. See those photographs here.

Here is some of the student art…

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Magical light and form inside the Axline Court.

How does one describe the Axline Court inside the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego?

Magical, perhaps?

Should you ever visit the museum in La Jolla, step into this space and look up. Move about as your eyes are lifted. See how the light and form changes as if by magic. (Come to think of it, doesn’t the entire world operate this way?)

The Axline Court was designed by famed postmodern architect Robert Venturi. It was part of a 1996 expansion of the historic building, which originally was home to newspaper journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps.

The star-shaped Axline Court, a spacious atrium with simple white columns, bright high angled windows, and curvaceous neon fringed fins descending from the ceiling, was retained in the building’s latest redesign and expansion. Today it can be used as a gallery, or for weddings or special events.

I wandered about the space and took these photos. You have to experience the magical effect yourself. I personally wonder how, with the neon, it appears at night.

(My next blog post will concern an exhibition of art by Hoover High School students along one wall. You can glimpse a bit of it on a table in the next photo.)

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!