New Permanent Exhibit at The Tech

San Jose's most famous museum is about to receive a new permanent exhibit that sounds very promising! It's called "The Tech Challenge Gallery: Inspiring the Innovator in Everyone" and utilizes videos made by Bay Area students to teach science to visitors. Apparently it's the first of its kind on the west cost. Have a look below for the full press release and information on the opening reception!

*************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2010

Lights, Camera, Action!

New video gallery teaches science concepts and challenges visitors to discover science basics

SAN JOSE – The Tech Museum on Tuesday unveils The Tech Challenge Gallery: Inspiring the Innovator in Everyone, the West Coast’s only permanent exhibition featuring Bay Area students who use video to teach visitors a range of simple science concepts from magnetism to levers to circuitry.

The gallery, uniquely developed without labels, is the first of its kind to cast students in the role of teachers who then deliver their expertise through video. Visitors can test their knowledge using more than two-dozen clever, hands-on exhibits.

“Here, in The Tech Challenge Gallery, science is spoken,” says Peter Friess, museum president. “We’ve developed a cutting-edge way to deliver information in an exciting and bold format. Whether you’re a child learning these concepts for the very first time or an adult eager to review his knowledge of science, this gallery is designed to communicate with people at all levels.” 

The gallery takes its name from The Tech Challenge, one of the museum’s signature programs. The annual team challenge, for youth in 5^th-12^th grades, introduces and reinforces the scientific process with a hands-on project geared to solve a real-world problem.

****************************************************

(Editors: Photo ops and interviews available)

WHO: Students whose videos appear in the exhibition, parents and visitors join Dr. Peter Friess, president of The Tech Museum and Sandra Yellenberg, science coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education

WHAT: Opening reception for The Tech Challenge Gallery: Inspiring the Innovator in Everyone, the West Coast’s only permanent exhibition featuring Bay Area students who use video to teach visitors science concepts

WHERE: The Tech Museum, 201 South Market St., San Jose, CA

WHEN: Tuesday, August 10 at 11 a.m.

Contact: Roqua Montez,
 Director of Public Relations 
(408) 795-6225
rmontez@thetech.org


About The Tech Museum

The Tech Museum is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum - located in the Capital of Silicon Valley - is a non-profit learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual team design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, Inc., The Tech Museum celebrates the Spirit of Silicon Valley by encouraging the development of innovative ideas for a more promising future.

South First Friday Art Walk Today!!! (+Street Market and Stage Performances)

Another huge First Friday is coming to SoFA today! All the galleries will be open late, local vendors will line the streets, and you'll even get a few stage performances. Below is a nice summary of what's happening tonight from Phantom Galleries!

********************************************

Join us this Friday, Aug. 6th for San Jose's monthly Art Walk + Street Mrkt!

Start off at KALEID Gallery for opening receptions for Lucy Liew and Nora Schwaller, 7pm - 9pm.

Floral Fantasy by Lucy Liew
In this series of paintings, you are invited into a lush garden of floral fantasies that are a fusion of the real and the fantastic.

Portraits by Nora Schwaller
A bird stripped of its body is left unable to take flight. This series of work seeks to capture moments of loss. A feeling that is visually altered by the portraits fanciful nature.

----------------------------

New exhibit at Phantom Galleries location 386 So. First Street by Wadl

----------------------------

At Caffe Trieste

On view: Are you Normal Enough? by Michael Foley is a collection of oddities. Selected paintings and photography that show the eccentricities that surround us on a daily basis.

First Fridays are Opera Night at Caffé Trieste with some of the Bay Area’s best opera singers performing your favorite arias and duets.

----------------------------

At Good Karma Cafe

Opening Reception: A Little Bird Told Me by Christine Benjamin, Sid Enck, Jr.

A fun and wacky art show featuring the art of Christine Benjamin and Sid Enck Jr. Christine and Sid create their own characters and tell their own stories. Also featuring collaborative pieces from Christine and Sid.

----------------------------

In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk, join us for this DIY urban faire out on So. First Street with live music, great artists & indie vendors starting at 7pm!

ON THE STAGE:
10:00 PM Rykarda Parasol www.rykardaparasol.com
8:50 PM Panthelion www.panthelion.com
7:45 PM The Emerald Hill www.myspace.com/theemeraldhill
With Special Guest Emcee "Mighty' Mike McGee www.mikemcgee.net

ARTISTS/VENDORS:
Folded Inc, Ai & Ai, Laura Callin Bennett, DonBon, EAZ1 & Jodi Macarenas, Korrupt Clothing, Beadworker, Force 129, Love & Logic Studios, Mike Borja , Kurtis Rykovich, David Mejia, Al Preciado, Theresa Munoz, Gianfranco Paolozzi, Michelle Waters, Gretchen Kisler, Pellet, Michael Foley, Joe Nance/Handy Music Mgmt, Shayne Herrera, Joshua Quinonez, Slave Labor Graphics, Emo, Skully Boom, Art for Global Justice, Flashing Panda, Studio MME /Jeffrey Opp Photography, Trading Voices Project, Right Brain Halo, Retail Therapy, Christina Martin, Barefoot Coffee, MoGo BBQ, Quick Dog Catering, TreatBot

For full listing of participating venues and event information, please visitwww.SouthFirstFridays.com or call 408-271-5155

Diridon Station Community Workshop

In a couple of days there will be a community workshop to discuss the future of the Diridon area. Eventually this will be the grand central station of the west coast, connecting High Speed Rail, BART, Caltrain, Light Rail, ACE, Capital Corridor, Amtrak, and a massive Bus hub. One of our readers reviewed the preferred draft of the plans for the area and found some discouraging items in there such as suburban-oriented parking ratios and an alternate plan with freeway-oriented retail on Bird & San Carlos. If you want to help San Jose get to the next level of urbanization (especially in this critical transit-hub neighborhood), this would be a great workshop to attend an let your voice be heard!

Diridon Station Area Community Workshop- Preferred Plan

Saturday, August 7, 2010

10:00 a.m. - Noon   

City Hall Council, WING
Rooms 118+119+120
200 East Santa Clara Street

San Jose

At this workshop the community will be provided with an opportunity to review staff and consultant work to date on the development of the Preferred Plan for the Diridon Station Area.  Community members will then be asked to provide input to further develop and complete the Draft Preferred Alternative.

Satori Tea in Downtown San Jose!!!

Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term that essentially means "enlightenment." It's a name that embodies what Downtown is striving for right now, although I think we have quite a journey ahead of us. Shops like Satori are what's pushing Downtown along that road!

Satori offers undoubtedly the best tea and chai I've ever had. It's a bold statement, but my wife and I drink tea all the time and we're never buying tea from a grocery store or mall store ever again. Satori offers just about every loose leaf tea you can think of: black, green, white, chai, decaf, organic, exotic, fusion, rare display teas... you name it. If you look at some of the photos below, you'll get an idea of the crazy variety of carefully selected teas they offer. We've tried 8 different kinds, and they have ALL been amazing (my favorites so far are the Coconut Chai and Coconut Ginger Green Tea).

Vicoria Boyert is the proprietor behind Satori (photo down below). She's invested her entire life savings and the last year of her life--see previous blog post--following her dreams and opening up this shop in Downtown San Jose. Ever since she took a class on tea preparation at the age of seven, she's know that she wanted a career in tea. Today, her ambitions are more than just having a small tea shop. Victoria believes that tea is an experience and wants to build community around enjoying tea, perhaps similar to the the way people enjoy coffee in Europe today. To help build this community she's planning to have classes to teach people on different kinds of tea and proper preparation, as well as a focus on bringing various events to her tea boutique. In addition to purchasing tea to take home, patrons can also immediately enjoy a professionally brewed cup of any tea they carry, either toasty hot or iced (great idea for hot San Jose days).

As you can see in the photos below, the store has a really charming atmosphere. It's uncluttered, unpretentious, unique, with very comfortable furnishings.  There's plenty of local art on the wall (some by SJSU students), with more to come. Satori is even utilizing part of the late A.P. Stumps outdoor patio. You definitely won't find a tea shop like this anywhere else... as mentioned before, exactly the type of retail store Downtown needs!

Satori is located at 37 N San Pedro St (around the corner from Peggie Sue's), and is open 7 days a week, Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm, and Sat-Sun from 12pm to 5pm. They also validate parking in public garages. They are planning a Grand Opening celebration for the public soon and while I don't have an exact date yet, I'll be sure to post more information as soon as I receive it.

Help Bring Baseball to San Jose Today!

From SJ Metblogs:

***************************


Help bring Major League Baseball to San Jose by attending today’s City Council meeting.
August 3rd · 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

San Jose City Hall Council Chambers
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA

COUNCIL AGENDA
Baseball San Jose facebook

New Hypothetical Scenario For SJC

5 months ago Anthony Dominguez, one of our readers, posed a hypothetical question regarding the need for our airport occupying prime real estate in central San Jose. In this post, he proposed to consolidate operations with SFO, which will eventually be a very short High-Speed Rail ride away.

Today, Anthony proposes a different scenario. Instead of merging with SFO, he's proposing to combine SJC operations with the Hollister Municipal Airport, where there are vast amounts of space to build a world class international airport. He wrote an in-depth document about this over here, of which I'll just post the proposed benefits:

Benefits Of A New SJC/Hollister - San Jose
a ) No building height restrictions in the downtown, central San Jose or along the N. First Street corridor.
b ) Aircraft noise elimination for vast areas of central San Jose.
c ) Opportunity to redevelop the current Mineta/SJC site into revenue generating urban development, including the adaptive reuse of current terminal/parking complex.
d ) Future population growth for San Jose could now be accommodated in high-rise/high density developments at the Mineta site, downtown core and N. First Street/Monterey Hwy. corridors.
e ) Shared revenues from SJC/Hollister operation.

Benefits Of A New SJC/Hollister - Hollister/San Benito County

a ) Economic stimulus in the form of tax revenue from airport and related developments; i.e. hospitality, retail, aviation support services.
b ) Employment opportunities associated with airport and service/support operations.
c ) High-speed rail connectivity to San Jose, Silicon Valley and Central California for Hollister and San Benito County commuters/travelers.

In order for you to be able to read the entire proposal, I posted it as a public Google Doc. Click here to access the document!

New Electric Car Charging Stations Installed in San Jose

Coulomb Technologies is a visionary company that is currently building infrastructure to support a barrage of upcoming electric vehicles (e.g. Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S). Coulomb's very first customer was actually the City of San Jose, and around city hall you'll find 3 of their first charging stations. So when Coulomb received a $37m government grant to build thousands of free charging stations across California, what city do you think they picked to start with? Well, as of yesterday we're the proud owners of the first 2 Chargepoint America EV charging stations which are located in the McEnery Convention Center parking lot. Several hundred more are to follow in other parts of San Jose and Silicon Valley, giving us a nice head start in building out infrastructure for electric cars.

New Yorks Times Article RE: Downtown San Jose

Awesome article in the New York Times about San Jose entitled "Fresh Start for a Rebirth Stalled by a Recession." I think it actually does a pretty good job at conveying the current situation Downtown. As an added bonus, the article also mentions a new development in North First featuring 1,750 apartments sitting on top of retail called Crescent Village. The folks from the development forum think it will be built on the site of a former Sony campus. For the full NYT article click here!