Tag: science

Tour a Norwegian tall ship in San Diego!

This coming Saturday, November 15, 2025, between noon and 3 pm, the public is invited to step aboard Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, which is currently visiting San Diego.

The large, beautiful 1914 ship with an intriguing history is docked downtown at the Broadway Pier. It arrived yesterday and will be staying in San Diego through Sunday.

Why is the three-masted barque, based in Bergen, Norway, tied up to Broadway Pier? The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is on a 12-month global voyage as ambassador for the UN Ocean Decade. Its One Ocean Expedition includes sail training, ocean science, education and diplomacy to inspire action for a sustainable ocean.

From San Diego it will sail down to Mexico, then Central and South America. According to a banner that I photographed, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl will visit a total of 26 ports on 3 continents, and travel 30,000 nautical miles!

Yesterday I took some photos from the pier to provide an idea of the tall ship’s immense size and beauty. If you’re downtown on Saturday, you might want to step aboard. It’s your possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

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Explore emerging ocean technology in San Diego!

A special event is coming up next Saturday, November 15, 2025. Visitors to the Maritime Museum of San Diego will have the opportunity to explore how emerging technologies are transforming how we use and protect ocean resources.

The event is free with General Admission and is perfect for families, students and anyone interesting in learning about blue technology. Hours are 10 am to 4 pm.

What is Blue Tech? It’s a category of advanced technologies focused on the sustainable development of the world’s oceans and coasts, also known as the Blue Economy.

According to one sign in the Maritime Museum, there will be hands-on exploration and interactive experiences concerning underwater robots, engineering, data tools and more. Student marine clubs will be there with their own innovations, too!

Super cool!

Some high tech equipment I spotted today near the sign…

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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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Ancient bison skull found at San Diego stadium!

Today, down in the San Diego Natural History Museum’s basement Paleo Center, Mary was working on a fossil found in Mission Valley.

Visitors peering through the Paleo Center window could watch her as she removed tiny bits of sandstone from the partial skull (with horn cores and cervical vertebrae) of a Bison Latifrons, found in Ice Age stream deposits, and dating from 100,000 years ago.

She was using a small pneumatic chisel-like instrument to “clean” the fossil. It reminded me of my last dental appointment!

The ancient bison fossil was unearthed in 2020 while workers were excavating the parking lot of the old Qualcomm Stadium, getting ready for San Diego’s new Snapdragon Stadium! The ancient bison would have stood between seven and eight feet at the shoulder! Imagine it roaming eons ago in Mission Valley!

I learned The NAT has numerous unearthed fossils in line waiting to be expertly prepared. Fossils are frequently discovered at different construction sites around the city.

Right now the San Diego Natural History Museum is half open as it undergoes a monumental roof renovation. Fortunately the paleontology center on the lower level of the museum remains open. Follow various signs and you’ll find this Amazement in the Basement!

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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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The oculus at Chula Vista’s Sweetwater Park!

The newly opened Sweetwater Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront has a very unique architectural feature.

At one end of the public restrooms a sheltering roof contains an oculus. What’s an oculus? It’s a circular opening that allows natural sunlight to shine through.

During the day, the oculus casts a circle of light on bands in the concrete underfoot. You can see those curving bands in the above photograph.

By observing the light’s movement along the bands, Earth’s rotation can be tracked, as the sun “rises” in the east and “sets” in the west. Depending on the season of year, and the angle of the sun’s path through the sky, the projected light will follow a particular band.

On the wall is an explanation…

The Theory of the Seasons.

The Earth’s rotation axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees with respect to the ecliptic and is always pointed to the celestial poles as the Earth moves around the Sun. Sometimes the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and the Sun’s rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at a shallow angle.

The Summer Solstice marks the beginning of Summer and is the longest day of the year, just as the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of Winter and is the shortest day of the year.

The Equinoxes; Equi meaning Equal, and Nox meaning Night, telling you that the day and the night are of equal length. This occurs when the Sun is directly over the Equator, in between the two Tropics and occurs around March 21st and September 23rd marking the beginning of Spring and Autumn.

If this sounds like a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo, fortunately there’s an illustration to help one visualize the concept…

Now consider my next photograph.

On June 21, as the summer begins, the sun will be at its highest in San Diego, here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Because of this, the sun’s light projected through the oculus will come from a high angle, and follow the lower band as Earth turns and the day progresses.

It just so happened that I visited Sweetwater Park on June 18. I arrived at the oculus a little after noon.

You can see the circle of light is almost atop the June 21 band, and is now to the right of the central drain, past the 12 PM mark.

The light would continue to move right along the same band as the sun descends in the sky toward the horizon.

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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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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!

Building sand dunes from air in Carlsbad!

I wondered. Why are hundreds of little wooden stakes sticking out of the sand at South Ponto Beach in Carlsbad?

Reading a nearby sign provided the answer. Habitat restoration in progress. The fence, shims, and plants will build dunes and keep sand on the beach.

I never heard the word “shims” used this way.

I found a webpage that explains how to “make land from air.” Biomimicry uses 14- inch-long, narrow cedar shims which are randomly inserted several inches into the sand. The shims are placed 10-14 inches apart, in a random matrix, along the upper beach. This matrix stabilizes existing sand while also collecting new sand, by generating turbulence in laminar ocean storm winds.

There’s another fascinating word!

Biomimicry. Definition: The design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes.

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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!

World’s most famous fishing boat to visit San Diego!

Western Flyer, the world’s most famous fishing boat, will be visiting San Diego on March 26, 2025, and you have the opportunity to tour it!

If you’ve read John Steinbeck‘s famous book Sea of Cortez, you’ll recognize the name of this fishing boat. In 1940, Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts explored the Gulf of California in this very boat.

For decades the boat was lost, then it was found and restored by the Western Flyer Foundation. It now operates as a floating classroom, educating youth about the intersection of science and literature.

With a General Admission ticket, visitors to the Maritime Museum of San Diego will be able to step aboard and tour the legendary fishing boat as it makes its visit to our city!

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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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Leo and the Science Project puppet show!

Wow! Look what’s coming up at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park! It’s Leo and the Science Project!

If you have young children and you’ve never been to the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, you’re missing out on a long-time San Diego tradition and tons of happy fun.

This coming show looks awesome! Its description: The Magic Jacket Kids are back! Join Leo, Zhuri, and Elijah as they create fun science projects for school and learn that when they work together, everyone succeeds!

(I hope these smiling characters succeed better than my poor attempts at Science Fair way back when!)

Leo and the Science Project will be presented February 21 to 23, and February 28 to March 2. Showtimes are 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Grab a ticket at the box office window in front when you arrive!

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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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San Diego River Center at Grant Park is rising!

A new public park, nature center and educational facility is rising in Mission Valley!

The River Center at Grant Park, an amazing project of the San Diego River Park Foundation, is gradually taking form on Camino del Rio North, immediately east of Qualcomm Way.

I walked in Mission Valley yesterday afternoon and took photographs of the River Center over the surrounding construction fence. It was exciting to see how one building is now standing near the center’s entrance.

Last summer I enjoyed a tour of the new River Center and posted a blog here. Since then several structures have appeared, as you can see in these photos.

A kiosk has appeared outside what will be the River Center at Grand Park.
I love the artwork on this long construction wall at one end of the coming park space.
I took this photo near the park’s future entrance.
I believe this building near the Entry Courtyard is The Den pavilion structure. It will include restrooms.
A walkway at the park entrance that will lead to an outdoor amphitheater. (The construction you see near the top of this photo is a completely separate commercial project on the opposite side of the San Diego River.)
The San Diego River Foundation needs you to join their volunteer team!

Feeling inspired? Would you like to help the San Diego River Park Foundation?

Opportunities include habitat restoration projects, river clean-up events, educational volunteer experiences, joining the Grant Park River Center care team, becoming a community engagement volunteer, and administrative support opportunities.

Check out their website by clicking here!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Doctor Who exhibition coming to San Diego!

Doctor Who and science fiction fans, take note! The exhibition Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction is coming soon to San Diego!

Both fun and educational, the world-class exhibit will open at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park on March 15, 2025.

The museum will be overflowing with iconic props, sets, and behind-the-scenes materials from Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science fiction television show!

BBC Studios and scientific advisors will help produce an interactive experience that will inspire Comic-Con Museum visitors, as they learn about scientific topics touched upon in episodes of Doctor Who. As a promotional flyer explains: It is a must-see for families, school groups, Doctor Who fans, curious minds and future scientists, whether or not they have seen the TV show.

People I spoke to at the museum today are super excited to be hosting this epic exhibition.

Mark it down on your calendars! I can’t wait!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!