I have been covering the Fleet Science Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park for decades. Their films and exhibitions are always interesting, and I enjoy sharing them with you. Recently, I attended a preview screening of the nature film “Wings Over Water” there.
When I arrived, I discovered that the construction walls are finally down on the second phase of the Fleet’s “Science Starts Here Capital Campaign” — a massive renovation and expansion project. The museum is truly transformed, with fresh, beautiful, reorganized spaces and a new, large exhibit gallery in the lower floor.
Taryn Chiong — Living Coast Discovery Center
(Jan Wagner)
The first change that you will notice is the grand, spacious entrance gallery — free to the public — and a new reception area, with intricately tiled pillars and a panoramic view of El Prado, including the Bea Evenson Fountain on its eastern edge.
In the rotunda, in place of the previous reception area, is a new, large, multi-purpose exhibit gallery — currently home to an exhibit called “Mindbender Mansion,” with its fascinating assortment of challenging, interactive puzzles for you to solve in the Parlor, Library, Map Room and Kitchen. In one activity, as the Fleet explains, “children frantically work together to load a tray before it reaches the end of the conveyor belt to retrieve their third clue, while adults on the other side of the mansion methodically organize color-coded puzzle pieces to gather their first.
Teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation prove paramount for all visitors of the mansion, presenting San Diegans with a unique experience and unforgettable memories.” A CLUE CARD is provided for you to keep track of your clues and passwords that are revealed as you solve the puzzles and unlock the vaults.
Jessie Looney (California State Park interpreter – education specialist)
(Jan Wagner)
Studio X, the makerspace at the Fleet Science Center, which provides opportunities for family-friendly STEM learning as they build projects, has moved upstairs. When you are ready for a break, Element 8 Café is new. Even more is on the way.
“Wings Over Water,” narrated by Michael Keaton, is being screened in the Giant Dome Theater. As we are told on the film’s website (https://wingsoverwaterfilm.com/about-the-film) and on the Fleet Science Center’s website: the prairie wetlands in the heartland of North America were created as the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age, over 10,000 years ago. They left behind an astounding gift of connected rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Today, these water highways are home to countless species: herds of bison that still roam the Great Plains, vital honeybees that pollinate our crops, salamanders in the smallest ponds and millions of magnificent birds that migrate along these ‘flyways’ rely on this pristine wilderness for survival.
“Wings Over Water” graphic
(Jan Wagner)
I am originally from Alberta — one of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, so it was particularly interesting to me to learn how farmers are restoring the prairie wetlands to bring back needed balance in nature, and restoration of our fragile and vital ecosystems, after farmers from an earlier time had been draining them to create more farmland.
“Wings Over Water” tells the story of the epic journeys of three amazing bird families – the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck – with extraordinary footage of their fascinating behaviors. Audiences will be captivated by the triumphs and challenges of these remarkable creatures that defy all odds and soar across mountains, deserts, cities and forests as they head home to raise their young” in mass migration.
Birds in the air sometimes make me wary, when they pass overhead. I used to consider bird droppings as nothing more than a messy nuisance to be avoided, worthy of futile criticism. It never occurred to me that, as we learn in this film, these very same bird droppings provide the essential functions of fertilizing the soil and spreading seeds — seeds that grow into trees and all sorts of other plant life, where living beings can thrive.
“Wings Over Water” graphic
(Jan Wagner)
I also never before realized that the thundering hooves of heavy animals on the move serve to till the soil and, by so doing, help to promote plant growth.
For more information about “Wings Over Water,” visit the Fleet Science Center at: https://www.fleetscience.org/films/wings-over-water.
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