Scientopia Discovery Center Blog

Ever since I worked at UCSD a few years ago I have loved the Birch Aquarium. For those who haven't been it's just breathtaking. It's situated on a bluff in La Jolla at UCSD. It has an amazing view overlooking the ocean and pier below. Each time we visit San Diego I always make it a point to stop in and check things out. It's nice because they have one side of the museum dedicated to various aquariums called the Hall of Fishes that houses all sorts of habitats and animals and one half that is more hands-on exhibits. In addition they have an outdoor touch tank, a shark tank, and giant kelp reef tank. It's no Monterey Bay Aquarium but it is a lovely place to spend morning and it's well worth the visit. It's one of the real gems San Diego has to offer that isn't a tourist trap. It's just pure enjoyment.  

 
Claire and Andrew both seemed to get a kick out of the giant magnet wall. They loved putting the seahorses and fish in their habitat. It was a fun clever exhibit.

While in San Diego we made a special trip to the San Diego Children's Museum. This recently opened in May of 2008 and we were delighted to get a chance to play. We visited with our dear friends who live in San Diego. There were four kids and four adults total. Here's a sweet shot of little Van painting the Volkswagen outside. This exhibit was quite popular with all the kids. By far the things that interested our group the most had to do with all the various art opportunities around the museum. A fun day was had by all!

As part of our vacation to Southern California we were able to visit a couple of very cool places.  Yesterday we went to Disneyland which actually exceeded our expectations. It helped to go with our friend Stephanie and her 2 kids who are seasoned pros at Disneyland and have season passes to prove it! Having friends with us made the day so much nicer and more enjoyable. Claire loves all things Disney and she's living proof that marketing to 3 year olds works, which is a bit scary! She knows things about the Disney characters we didn't even know. I guess we'll be catching up on all that stuff from our childhoods in the coming years with a girl who loves all things princess.

For our next adventure we needed something a little more low key and mentally stimulating so we chose the Discovery Science Cube in Santa Ana. We met Jonathan's sister there and we all had fun checking out all the exhibits together. We saw quite a few familiar exhibits and were also pleasantly surprised by some of the newer ones. Claire loved anything that had a computer and Andrew loved the whole outdoor dinosaur themed play area. He was most fond of a dinosaur puzzle that he could take the pieces out. As the older children put the pieces in, he quickly helped unload them which he thought was very amusing. If you are ever in the area we'd recommend visiting this museum for a low key relaxing day of exploration. 

Naturally Jonathan and I were disappointed when potential locations on both Lincoln Ave. and California Blvd. didn't work out recently. Thankfully we are continuing to slowly bounce back. I guess the old saying that things happen for a reason is completely true. Those locations didn't work out because they weren't the best fit for us. All our research and planning is telling us that our business will fit in perfectly on Tanen Street. We are now hopeful that we can show the City why we are not only needed in Napa but why Tanen Street works.

Today I was invited to attend a DART meeting down at the City and found it to be very interesting and informative. Mike Moffett (a.k.a. Super Agent) and my good friend Sarah (our designer) came with me. Last week we submitted all our paperwork and this week we got a chance to explain our project, answer questions and get our own questions answered. This DART process is a way for both the City and the applicant (us) to track the progress of our Use Permit. Now all of our paperwork will be reviewed internally by all the key staff members from different departments that need to sign off on our location. Once they've had a chance to look at it they'll give us some valuable feedback and give the opportunity to make any necessary revisions. We are excited to finally have an actual location and not a hypothetical one! We will continue to monitor the progress over the coming weeks and keep you all posted as things develop.

Thanks again to everyone for the emails, calls and continued support for Scientopia. One day in the not too distant future we hope you'll come out and support us for our Planning Commission Hearing. We'll let you know all the specifics once a date has been set.