Academy Adventures

The entrance to The Mix is conveniently located on the main floor of the library, right off of the Larkin Street entrance.

Just to the left of the entrance is a small makerspace, where a MakerBot2 was busy constructing some cool thing.

Past the entrance and to the right is probably the most expected part of “The MIx,” a set of book shelves stocked with young adult-focused books. The two shelves stacked with manga were really enticing to me and a lot of the teens who were there. We compared our favorite titles and wondered about the “Attack on Titan” movie coming out.

Right nearby were several computer stations that have some cool audio production equipment.

Next to that is a kiosk where young people can check out iPads and PC laptops!

Around the corner is a large open space with carpeted, tiered seating. This spot looks ideal for youth showcases, performances, and presentations of their work for each other. (Hopefully the sneak preview and opening festivities will be the last times that this area is occupied by a bunch of older people.)

In the middle of “The Mix” are two of the coolest rooms: a video production booth with a retractable green screen, and an audio production room. During the sneak preview, teens were already creating dope beats and mixes. I predict that will be a very popular space!

Of course the most important part of “The Mix” arrives on Thursday: the youth! I can’t wait to see how they choose to use the space, collaborate, create cool media, and celebrate their work together. Our Cal Academy teens will be piloting programs there all summer, and then will continue to support “The Mix” into the school year.

Its producers introduced us to the general format, which we have outlined here in simple steps.

Step 1: Brainstorm an idea

Step 2: Create a storyboard

After choosing an idea, the visualization studio begins to create a general outline of the planetarium show.

Step 3: Consult with scientists or experts in a particular field

Step 4: Collect real data

Step 5: Edit and finalize the storyboard

Step 6: Make videos and take photographs

Step 7: Animate using computer graphic programs

Step 8: Consult with scientists or experts again

Step 9: Make any changes if necessary

Step 10: It’s finally done, after a whole year of hard work!

Although this is only a general outline on how the video studio creates their planetarium shows, it is apparent that scientific accuracy is very important. Many people may find this excessive, but to a science museum, it is a necessity. In order to verify accuracy, the Academy’s Visualization Studio consulted with scientists to confirm the authenticity of the animated flight of a bird. Although only 25 minutes, the making of such an in-depth show requires around a year of work. In fact, the animators become so attached to their work after such a long time, some of the animals in the show have been given names, like Emmett the otter, who was created by Ken Ackerman. In addition to the intensive research behind the show, the scientists in the Viz Studio have other projects to work on, such as the California Academy’s Science Today videos.

Ken Ackerman showing us Emmett the Otter’s animation rig

The Morrison Planetarium uses six projectors to present a digitally generated show based on a science topic. The panel screen covers the entire front wall of the dome, from ceiling to floor. Dim lights guide the way up the stairs for the audience to find a seat, creating a theater-like feel. The narration for Habitat Earth was outsourced, meaning the team sought out an outside member to be responsible for the voice-over.  

Among the most interesting things we learned during our tour of the Viz Studio were the way Matt Blackwell programmed the kelp into software that randomized each individual kelp strand, the aerial shot of Earth, in which the team used real data to show salmon habitat, and the fact that all representations in the show were based on actual data.

Matt Blackwell showing us the computer view of a planetarium dome show

Habitat Earth, the current show airing at the Academy, is based on the Academy’s focus on biodiversity and marine life.  The show was created solely by the Viz Studio in their cozy office below the Planetarium, hidden by a secret spiral staircase.  With their group of 8 producers, animators, and writers, the Viz Studio created a brand new, original planetarium show that is currently airing at the Academy.  And it is not their last: next year, an entirely new film will be shown, bringing viewers into space and beyond.

Check out audio clips of our Viz Studio tour: here!

And, if you think planetarium show production is as cool as we do, check out the following animation resources to learn more:

- “How to Make Birds Fly Good”

- Habitat Earth

It was really great getting to meet Filipino scientists who were working alongside their American counterparts during the VIP expedition. This international, collaborative partnership is part of what makes our work their so special and valuable, both locally and back at the Academy.

Here’s another video of Don collecting sea cucumbers in the Verde island Passage.

Thanks for the impromptu chat and demo for us, Don!

One big challenge is just getting Filipinos into the water. Despite living so close to the ocean, many people in the communities we spoke to admitted that they did not know how to swim. Several shared that they were actually quite afraid of the water. Parents told me that they didn’t know of any programs where their children could go to even learn to swim.

And beyond just getting in the water is being able to explore the reefs. One young man during our Lobo outreach asked the group how could a normal person in the community like himself ever hope to go diving, when it is so expensive?

We discussed various options, from local resorts offering special programs for local youth to get to learn to dive to getting a set of community-managed masks and snorkels so that anyone could borrow them for the day. But the reality is that scuba diving is a very expensive activity that is far beyond the budgets of most people in the coastal communities in the Philippines.

Our “habitat in a bucket” activity had them occupied for a long time, as they inquired into the relationships among the sand, rock, coral, seaweed, algae, and marine animals.

Getting to meet and talk with both American and Filipino scientists was also a high point of the outreach. Dr. Bob von Syoc impressed them with his knowledge of barnacles. Dr. Sarah Cohen shared her love of the tiny marine animals called tunicates. And Filipino scientists Jenire Miravite and Joseph Comendador shared their personal scientific interests (marine biology and sea sponges) and brought important local perspectives.

At the end of the teacher outreach, the educators shared what their major takeaways were from the training.  Several talked about different lessons that they planned on doing in their classrooms, from bringing in local specimens to doing scientific sketching to encouraging more sustainable practices in their schools. One teacher moved us all with his impassioned question, “Why is it that foreigners come to the Philippines and get so inspired that they create a Philippine aquarium exhibit, but we Filipinos have not done the same for ourselves?”

It was really amazing seeing these teachers so inspired by the biodiversity in their own backyard. We left them with USB drives with our lessons, paper handouts, and internet links. But most of all I hope that we left them with the mental tools and emotional motivation to improve their practice as educators, and impact their students’ lives dramatically.

This tunicate was collected by peeling it away from the coral it was attached to.

This valonia ventricosa, also known as a “sailor’s eyeball,”  was quite striking. The entire “eye” is a single cell, one of the largest single cells known to science!

This lovely wrasse was collected by the fish team. The photo doesn’t quite capture his beautiful colors and patterns.

I set out in the morning with Rich, Meg Burke, and Lindzy Bivens from the Academy, and two local Filipino researchers. 

After suiting up, we rode a small boat for about 30 minutes to our snorkel site called “Boulders” not far from our expedition headquarters in Sabang. Rich gives us the run down of what we are likely to encounter and what our plan of attack is.

The dive site was incredibly pictureque and charming. In this one small area, we had a colorful colony of coral, a sandy section full of marine life, a dense section of eel grass to swim through, and a copse of mangrove trees growing right up to the water. There was a lot to explore just one small cove!

There were of course a lot of sea urchin and sea urchin tests (shells) to check out. This little guy covers himself in debris around the immediate vicinity, apparently for some camoflage and to protect himself from the sun.

This huge sea cucumber was really cool. One of the Filipino researchers specializes in sea cucumbers, so he collected several neat specimens to take back.

Chocolate chip sea stars are my favorite sea stars I’ve encountered so far! There’s lots of neat variations in their coloring.

And here’s a brittle star that I got to hold gently before putting her back.

I honestly don’t remember what species Rich told us this guy was. But he certainly did not look too pleased that we were bothering him.

One of the coolest moments was toward the end of our two-hour dive. Rich beckons us over to where he is standing.

“This is a look-but-don’t-touch,” Rich cautions us.

Then he has us stick our faces in to look at what appears to be... a rock. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be looking at or noticing. Then Rich starts to gingerly remove bits of coral, shell, and debris to reveal a startlingly beautiful flower urchin. It was like a magic trick.

I got a newfound appreciation for the depth and breadth of Rich’s knowledge of marine life, and his ability to reveal it’s wonder to others.

We have a large section of the dining area reserved for examining and processing marine specimens that we bring in — a very curious sight for tourists staying at the resort having their breakfast!

The dive shop seems world-class and more than able to handle the amount of diving gear we’ve brought with us, including elaborate re-breather apparatus for deeper dives. The boats that take us out on dives are just a few steps from the resort, which if you have ever waddled around wearing scuba gear is a huge benefit. And the kitchen staff have been very accommodating of our unique meal and drink needs, so we can stay fed and healthy for our long stay here.

We’re actually in the nearby town of Sabang, which has a huge sign at the port that indicates that we’ve chosen the right place to make our temporary home.

Yesterday afternoon, after settling into the room, I had my first real snorkel outing with Lindzy Bivens, also from Teacher Youth Education. Lindzy is an accomplished distance swimmer and experienced snorkeler. So appreciated her help in getting used to being in the water. An obvious example of my newb-ness was that I had my wetsuit on backwards!

Anyway, after a few minutes of testing our gear, we spent a happy 45 minutes just checking out what could be seen just a few meters from shore. We were blown away by  the lush coral and aquatic flora despite being directly in the path of very active boat traffic lanes. We saw beautiful sea stars, tiny crabs hustling along in their protective shells, iridescent fish darting around, and a lot more.

This morning is our first real snorkel outing with some of the researchers, including Rich Mooi. Can’t wait to find out what we’ll discover!

The first day, we learned each others names, toured the facility, and flew a robot in a giant tank to learn all about the program. We split up into three groups of two in order to build different parts of the robot. My group was in charge of the “brain”, or electronics, of the robot.

The controls for the ROV/what it is seeing with its camera

The second day, we continued working. We finished early, so we decided to bedazzle our robot with green and blue gems! Our robot was from kit number 1600, so we decided to name it “Puck”, as Shakespeare had lived in that time. 

OpenROV’s picture of a version 2.7 ROV (source)

The third day, we went to a different spot: Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER), in Alameda, founded by Silvia Earle. There, we got to see huge ROVs and submarines being created in a giant factory that can go super deep underwater. We learned about expedition planning and where you can go with a robot that goes underwater, using resources like Open Explorer. After eating lunch, we went outside the factory and put Puck into the water and went on an expedition! It got caught in some weeds, but we managed to pull it out and overall, have a lot of fun.