Tiny Iron Fists

Hello Kitty in Space

Michelle shared this "Hello Kitty In Space" video with me knowing our family would enjoy the video tremendously (we did). While it's near identical to last year's "A Toy Train In Space" video, it's just as fascinating to see an every day object in near space propelled by a child's imagination and doing.

Lauren Rojas, a 13-year-old Californian sent Hello Kitty up into the atmosphere to test the effects of altitude on air pressure and temperature for her school's science fair. More about the video:

Cornerstone Christian school 7th grade science project.
The effects of Altitude on air pressure and temperature.
Cameras: GoPro Hero2 video footage.
Edited By: Eddie Lacayo elacayo212@gmail.com
Flight gear: High Altitude Science.
Flight computer / Data acquisition: High Altitude Science.
Tree Climber: Woodpecker Arborist.

Reach for the Stars! Thank You, Astronaut Olivas!

Look what Lulu got!

I'm incredibly excited that Astronaut John "Danny" Olivas, a real live spacewalker, took the time to write a few inspirational words for my little Princess Scientist!

Dr. Olivas is a retired American astronaut who spent 27 days, 17 hours, and 5 minutes in space. He was selected by NASA in 1998 and served on two  missions. On spaceflight STS-117, the 118th Shuttle mission, Dr. Olivas accumulated 14 hours and 13 minutes of extra-vehicular activity experience (the first on-orbit EVA repair to Space Shuttle Atlantis). On spaceflight STS-128, the 128th Shuttle mission, Astronaut Olivas accumulated 20 hours and 15 mins of EVA experience. The mission included three spacewalks!

Dr. Olivas also gave Lulu a patch and sticker; insignias for his two missions!

These incredible gifts would not have been possible without the help of Lulu's tatie Monica, who listened to us everytime we talked about space and astronauts. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, Monica!!!!

LA - Museums Free-For-All (01.26.13 - 01.27.13)

More information: http://www.museumsla.org/news.asp

An Unwanted Conversation

This morning, Lulu told me if she heard "thunder" in her school that she's supposed to play hide and seek and be very quiet in specific play areas. She also told me that some kids should tell the teachers about the thunder while others should sneak to "the kitchen" and "the library". If they are sleeping, they should wake up and move quickly.

I'm not upset that Lulu's school is thinking about her safety. But I'm incredibly bummed this conversation even ever had to happen. Lulu is 3.5 years old.

Related articles:

Talking to Other Parents About Guns

Talking with Kids About News

Gun Safety

Boy's and Guns: What's a Parent to Do?

 

Gift Guide: Toys for Girls Who Want to Have Fun

A friend surveyed Facebook friends for toy recommendations for his five-year-old daughter, "Ok... I need some good toy recommendations here...M and I aren't in to buying a bunch of random toys for S. Lately, we've focused more on crafts/art sets, sports/outdoor items, and on games that we can play together (Apples to Apples, UNO, Sorry). For girls turning 5, what have you found to be meaningfully engaging toys?? (S doesn't watch much TV so she has no real advertising generated requests except for Disney Princesses stuff). Thoughts??"

I responded with three suggestions:

1. Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Set. Connect gears. Encourage creativity. It's hours of fun and learning. And much to my surprise, while referencing it for my inquiring-friend, I was pleasantly surprised by the photo of the young girl in the advertisement. This is the kind of play and company I am stoked to support!

2. Secondly, we recently supported this inspirational venture, GoldieBlox via a Kickstarter project. Although the first toy won't be ready this winter holiday season, GoldieBlox gets me giddy. The tagline is so best: Goldie, the girl inventor who loves to build. And the mission, to create really fun toys that develop spatial skills and teach basic engineering principles, is something I am excited for.

3. Lastly, we subscribe to Kiwi Crate (on-and-off). Every box we have received is brill, engaging, and surprising. Lulu loved watching her plants grow. And we often recycle crate materials for other craft projects. Everyone I've ever recommended this out-of-the-box present to, always thanks me for it.

While many toys inspire me and give joy to Lulu, here are a few to start with. I'd love to hear what your family has been having great fun with recently too!

LET'S MAKE SOME GREAT ART: An Art Workshop for Children (12.08.12)

LET'S MAKE SOME GREAT ART: An Art Workshop for Children
Saturday, December 8, 2012, 11am
The MOCA Store at MOCA Grand Avenue

Award-winning British illustrator Marion Deuchars hosts an art workshop with activities from her popular series of children's books. Come and create! All materials will be supplied.

FREE; no reservations

Mission 26: The Big Endeavour

I took off work on Friday, October 12th so I could take my daughter, a budding Princess Scientist to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour travel through LA's streets starting at Los Angeles International Airport, ending at the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

It was a surreal experience. Exhilarating. And full of wonder and dreams. Please, The Force, let me live long enough to enjoy more days like this one. The rest of what we witnessed in 146 photos:

Eye on The Sky

Lulu loves watching the planes take off from Santa Monica Airport.  On the east side of Clover Park, there are benches for resting and telescopes for close up viewing. They're hardly ever occupied and great fun for the little ones.

Milestone: First Day of Preschool

First day of preschool. Say hello to the class clown!

NASA's Curiosity and the Princess Scientist

Lulu is very interested in space. She calls herself a Princess Scientist and loves to talk about other planets and outerspace. I let her stay up way past her bedtime to watch NASA's Curiosity rover land on Mars. She saw people who were excited by science and although she didn't quite understand what was going on, she was thrilled to watch.

Lulu's generation may be the first to visit Mars. What an exciting day for our planet!

Lulu: They will find aliens?
Me: Maybe.
Lulu: To eat me?!
Me: I don't think so.
Lulu: Maybe they will play!

LA - Target Free Holiday Mondays: Memorial Day (05.28.12)

Target Free Holiday Mondays: Memorial Day
Monday, May 28, 2012 | 12 pm

Visitors of all ages are invited to a free day at the museum*, with live music by George Kahn "Jazz and Blues Revue" on the plaza at 12:30 and 2:45 pm. Free bilingual tours, programs, and other activities occur throughout the day.

LACMA | Free, general admission ticket required; *does not include admission to In Wonderand | Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.

To ensure a safe and pleasant visitor experience, tickets to the Boone Children's Gallery on Target Free Holiday Monday will be timed and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick up your free, timed ticket in the Boone Children's Gallery on the day of the event. Timed tickets allow for a thirty-minute visit.

LA - National Train Day (05.12.12)

Union Station 800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Get Directions | Trip Planner | Program Guide

When: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday, May 12

General Admission: Free

Now in its 5^th year, National Train Day is back to celebrate train travel and the ways trains touch the lives of people with events across America. This year, festivities will highlight the unique perspective passengers enjoy as they take in the vastness and beauty of the American landscape, from cities big and small, to country vistas and everything in between, when traveling by rail.

As part of National Train Day, each major market event features live entertainment, interactive and educational exhibits, kids’ activities, model train displays and tours of Amtrak equipment, freight and commuter trains, and notable private railroad cars. Special thanks to LA County Metro Transit Authority.

Growing a Kiwi Crate Garden Kit

Lulu's face in this photo is the reason why I give Kiwi Crate, the crafty, inspiration-in-a-box, a hearty two thumbs up. Thanks to a couple of online specials we were able to order two Kiwi Crates for $20 (normally $19.95/month for one box) and each box has been full of fun.

This month, we received the Garden Crate. Inside were two projects that, "grow with your imagination" including one Window Growing Garden kit and one Designing Flower Pots kit. We decided to grow the vegetables first: "Everything you need to plant, grow, and observe your own beans and squash."

Lulu counted soil circles and deposited the same amount into each window pocket. She then carefully watered the pellets with equal amounts of water and got incredibly animated when the dirt expanded. She then carefully colored in the plant markers and placed them in their respective pockets. From start to finish we had a lot to talk and get excited about.

Now to inspect and water the plants until the sprouts arrive!

I aspire to assemble something as creative for Lulu someday. Science is fun! Sign up today!

Explosive Fun: The Erupting Volcano!

This is the second year we've had the pleasure of attending The Growing Place's annual fundraiser, the Dino Fair. And once again, our little Princess Scientist spent all our money on the erupting volcanoes!

If you are interested in creating your own epic eruptions at home, all you'll need are a container, vinegar, baking soda, a bowl, and trash bags or a drop cloth (it's going to get messy)! Line the floor with the protective covering and then add the baking soda to the bowl, sitting in the larger container. Add vinegar, stand back, and watch the sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid react into a messy bubbling mixture of fizz and fun.

Best of all, this experiement is non-toxic so it's great for all ages!

Cai Guo-Qiang's Mystery Circle: Explosion Event for MOCA, LA Recap

We secured front row seats shared by the press corps, for Cai Guo-Qiang's highly anticipated Mystery Circle: Explosion Event for The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Lulu waited patiently. I waited anxiously.

More about Mystery Circle from MOCA:

Mystery Circle, a site-specific work created for MOCA, will contain four stages of special pyrotechnics. At the moment of ignition, 40,000 firework rockets will form a string of crop circles and launch perpendicular to MOCA’s north wall, toward Temple Street, before falling onto the ground. Amidst a curtain of smoke, approximately 100 spinning pyrotechnic UFOs will sporadically appear from the parking lot grounds, while an imaginary alien-god figure on the left side of the wall is outlined from bottom to top by gunpowder fuses. When the burned fuses reach the “halo” of the figure, mini Titanium Salute rockets will shoot into the air followed by a grand finale. The rockets will create a burned imprint on the museum wall, leaving an outdoor drawing. While Cai’s signature explosion events, Project for Extraterrestrials, have been dedicated to creatures from outer space, his new project at MOCA will be the first time an imaginary alien figure actually appears.

Plenty of Angelenos showed up for the post-sunset fireworks show. 

After much anticipation, the time finally arrived! We experienced Guo-Qiang's site-specific work created for MOCA up close. Maybe too close. When the first humongous explosion ignited, everybody screamed because they were simultaneously scared and excited. People generally expect fireworks to explode in the air, vertically. At blast off, we experienced a wall of 40,000 firework rockets with full visual, auditory, and olfactory senses dialed up on overdrive. Not to mention the heatwave that followed. The spectacle lasted only a minute but it had the crowd chattering all night long. It was an amazing, amazing, amazing event to experience.

[I have a full unedited three minute video too.]

The imaginary alien figure appears on the smoldering firework wall.

After the outdoor exhibition, we toured Guo-Qiang's first west coast solo museum exhibition, "Sky Ladder". Upon seeing this crop circle piece, Lulu pointed excitedly and yelled, "The carpet is on the ceiling!" This made me laugh.

The rest of the evening was spent dreaming about the explosions in the sky.

Visit The Museum of Contemporary Art before July 30, 2012 to view Cai Guo-Qiang's "Sky Ladder".

LA - Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art (04.01.12)

Andell Family Sundays—Recycle, Transform, Make Art

Join us on Sundays for programs designed especially for families. Make art, look at art, and talk about art together in workshops and bilingual gallery tours. Most of all—have fun. Some artists see art in things other people throw away—in old car parts, for example. Join workshops where you, too, can transform used materials into playful, environmentally friendly works of art. We will have additional activities on Earth Day, April 22, including telling stories, making spoke cards, and more.

See Chris Burden's kinetic sculpture, Metropolis II in action every Sunday at the following times: 12:30–1:30 pm; 2:30–3:30 pm; 4:30–5:30 pm; 6:30–7:30 pm.

North Piazza | Free, with museum admission | 12:30–3:30 pm

Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Andell Family Sundays is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and the Hauptman Family Foundation.

LA - Etel Leit Event (03.24.12)

Let's Read, Sing, & Sign with Etel Leit

Saturday, March 24
10:30 a.m
Ages 3 to 7 
 
This special program is filled with signing, singing, story-telling, rhymes, movement, games, puppet shows, bubbles and more! Not only will the kids have fun, but also adults will learn how to incorporate sign language into child's favorite books and songs.

Children's Book World | 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd | Los Angeles | CA | 90064

Hands On The Future

We met up with Carlyn of Crash Space, Tod of ThingM, and Jean and Shawn of NOTCOT today and this little prototype ended up in Lulu's hand. After we all received a turn with the not-yet-manufactured gadget, Lulu got a chance at figuring out what it was. Not sure what to make of it, she did what we did -- she turned it around, shook it a little, and tapped on it. I can't say yet what this object's going to be, but I do hope it gets produced so the rest of you can check out how cool it is! As you can see on Lulu's face, it's mesmerizing!

Farmers' Market Farm Animals

The Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Sunday has a little petting zoo and for $5, you and your little one can feed and visit with the animals. The vendor is really kind and there is no time limit. You can stay however long or short. Pro tip: visit early in the morning for more animal engagement. By noon, they're "stuffed" and have less of an appetite. Today there were lots of new baby goats who were adorable and energetic.

More information about the market can be found here.

Video: LEGO NXTified Friends Robolab (3933)

Anika Vuurzoon of the Netherlands has published a video with encouraging words for those interested in roboticizing their LEGO:

Do you want to have your own Robolab with moving Robots? Then watch my NXTified Friends Robolab. A great combination of Mindstorms and the Friends Olivia's invention workshop set.

Interested to learn more about the Vuurzoon family? Check out their LEGO enthusiast page here. I'll be following Anika and her future work closely. What an inspiration to us all!

Play-experiment with your child today: LEGO Friends Olivia's Inventor's Workshop 3933

[Hat tip to Geek Dad]

"The Fantastic Flying Books Of Morris Lessmore" iPad App

I've never read Lulu an e-book before. "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" might be the first one. The beautiful bedtime story was born from the winner of the Best Animated Short Film in the 84th Academy Awards. More from the Studio:

Put yourself in Morris’ shoes as you dive into the story of Mr. Lessmore and his flying friends through Moonbot Studios’ first Interactive Storybook. In this reinvention of digital storytelling you can repair books, tumble through a storm, learn the piano and even get "lost in a book," flying through a magical world of words, giving you a dynamic journey through the story. This iPad App has been touted by Apple as one of the "Top New Apps for the iPad," and will surely be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Using rich CG animation, innovative interactivity, original composed music, and unique games sprinkled throughout the book, this App will revive a love of story in all.

Purchase on iTunes for $4.99.

'Under the Big Black Sun' With A Little One

I wasn't sure how kid-friendly MOCA's 'Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974–1981' was going to be compared to the wildly colorful and blockbuster success of 'Art in the Streets'. Aside from a few exhibits guards advised I steer her away from, Lulu seemed to really enjoy the survey exhibition, stopping a long time to observe French artist, Guy de Cointet's installation. The performance video captured her attention and she stood to watch and listen for awhile. I'm not sure she understood any of it, but who's to guess? Lulu also openly enjoyed the punk-rock segment.

Even though a lot of the work was young-spirited, it really wasn't for the young. Needless to say, I'll keep bringing Lulu back to the museum until she doesn't want to go on her own accord.

Outfit: DPAM top, American Apparel kids shiny leggings, and Native Corrados.

Architecture and Offspring

We recently visited the Eames House aka Case Study House #8 with our Parisian family and I shot a few videos of Lulu enjoying the grounds. She was naturally attracted to the swing and ran to it immediately upon entry:

French translation:

Lulu: Look, a swing.
Silvio: Are you happy?
Lulu: Look, a big tree!

Here's Lulu waving a big stick she found in the meadow. She decided to have fun and poke me with it.

Lulu running around the meadow singing her "boobies" song.

And a sweet clip of Lulu laughing with her cousins at the swing.

The Eames House, located in the Pacific Palisades, is a wonderful and magical place for families to visit. There's lots to explore outdoors and the lush meadow brings joy to visitors of all ages. Plan a visit today!

Thomas Suarez: iPhone Application Developer

I love that everyone surrounding Thomas Suarez, a smart young man, encouraged him to learn and create. It takes a tribe of believers to turn dreamers into doers. Bravo to Thomas' whole community!

More from TEDxMB:

Thomas Suarez is a 6th grade student at a middle school in the South Bay of Los Angeles. When Apple released the Software Development Kit (SDK), he began to create and sell his own applications. "My parents, my friends and even the people at the Apple store all supported me," he says, "and Steve Jobs inspired me". Thomas points out that it's hard to learn how to make an app. "For soccer you could go to a soccer team ... but what if you want to make an app?" He's started a club for fellow students at school, where he shares his knowledge of programming. Thomas articulates his vision that students are a valuable new technology resource to teachers, and should be empowered to offer assistance in developing the technology curriculum and also assist in delivering the lessons.

Thomas has been fascinated by computers and technology since before kindergarten. Recently, he's been focused on the development of applications for the iPhone, and has established his own company, CarrotCorp http://www.carrotcorp.com/. His most successful application is one he terms "an anti-Justin-Bieber game" called "Bustin Jieber". "It's is a variation on the Whac-a-Mole theme," he explains. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bustin-jieber/id404956571?mt=8

More information about TEDxManhattanBeach can be found at http://tedxmanhattanbeach.com/. Follow us on Twitter @TEDxMB

Lulu is a VIP Cookie!

We live in Los Angeles. Land of red carpets, Hollywood glamour, and VIP status. So it's only appropriate that Lulu has been awarded her first VIP card as a two year old. For what? Well... we're great big fans of the ever so charming, Books and Cookies in Ocean Park and happened to shoot some photos they've used a few times. In appreciation for her unofficial modeling work, Lulu's been recognized as a kid Books and Cookies wouldn't mind having around more often.

While Lulu has always been recognized as a VIP in our household, I'm happy for the perks she will receive: a free cookie per visit, free story times, play groups, cookie decorations, discounts on classes and purchases... totally sweet, thanks!