![\"Taryn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMT-L-AUTOM-FILM4.jpg\")
Taryn Chiong \u2014 Living Coast Discovery Center\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n
I have been covering the Fleet Science Center in San Diego\u2019s 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 \u201cWings Over Water\u201d there.<\/p>\n
When I arrived, I discovered that the construction walls are finally down on the second phase of the Fleet\u2019s \u201cScience Starts Here Capital Campaign\u201d \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Taryn Chiong \u2014 Living Coast Discovery Center
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n
The first change that you will notice is the grand, spacious entrance gallery \u2014 free to the public \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
In the rotunda, in place of the previous reception area, is a new, large, multi-purpose exhibit gallery \u2014 currently home to an exhibit called \u201cMindbender Mansion,\u201d 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, \u201cchildren 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.<\/p>\n
Teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation prove paramount for all visitors of the mansion, presenting San Diegans with a unique experience and unforgettable memories.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
![\"Jessie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMT-L-AUTOM-FILM5jpg.jpg\")
Jessie Looney (California State Park interpreter \u2013 education specialist)
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n
Studio X, the makerspace at the Fleet Science Center, which provides opportunities for family-friendly STEM learning as they build projects, has moved upstairs.\u00a0 When you are ready for a break, Element 8 Caf\u00e9 is new. Even more is on the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWings Over Water,\u201d narrated by Michael Keaton, is being screened in the Giant Dome Theater. As we are told on the film\u2019s website (https:\/\/wingsoverwaterfilm.com\/about-the-film) and on the Fleet Science Center\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2018flyways\u2019 rely on this pristine wilderness for survival.<\/p>\n
![\""Wings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMT-L-AUTOM-FILM3.jpg\")
\u201cWings Over Water\u201d graphic
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n
I\u00a0am\u00a0originally from Alberta \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWings Over Water\u201d tells the story of the epic journeys of three amazing bird families \u2013 the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck \u2013 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\u201d in mass migration.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 seeds that grow into trees and all sorts of other plant life, where living beings can thrive.<\/p>\n
![\""Wings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DMT-L-AUTOM-FILM1.jpg\")
\u201cWings Over Water\u201d graphic
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n
I also never before realized that\u00a0the thundering hooves of heavy animals on the move serve to till the soil and, by so doing, help to promote plant growth.<\/p>\n
For more information about \u201cWings Over Water,\u201d visit the Fleet Science Center at: https:\/\/www.fleetscience.org\/films\/wings-over-water.<\/p>\n
To explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, with the most photos and the latest text, visit \u201cAutoMatters & More\u201d at https:\/\/automatters.net. Search by title or topic in the Search Bar in the middle of the Home Page or click on the blue \u2018years\u2019 boxes and browse.<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2026 by Jan Wagner \u2013 AutoMatters & More #948r1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I have been covering the Fleet Science Center in San Diego\u2019s Balboa Park for decades. Their films and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[310,1002,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-502925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-del-mar-times","tag-del-mar-times-opinion","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}