THE NATURE OF CHILD’ S PLAY
Children’s Discovery Museum aims to tackle ‘nature deficit disorder’ and get kids away from screens
The Children’s Discovery Museum may not be able to solve all of society’s ills, but there’s hope that Bill’s Backyard can help with a condition San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo termed “nature deficit disorder” at Thursday’s dedication of the new outdoor learning area.
“There are kids who are glued to their screens — and sometimes their parents are glued to the same screens — and it’s a lot of work to get them pulled away to actually see what the world looks like outside,” Liccardo said. “Bill’s Backyard is going to be the ‘gateway drug’ for enabling kids to embrace nature and become better stewards of nature.”
The half-acre space behind the Children’s Discovery Museum is a project that’s been in the works for a decade — and with a $3.5 million price tag, it’s also the museum’s largest capital project since it opened in 1990. While the playful exhibits inside the museum introduce kids to concepts and experiences they might encounter in an urban environment, it’s a whole new world outside.
“We know today more than ever families need opportunities to unplug and go outside and play, and this new space provides the perfect incentive,” said Toeniskoetter Construction President Dan Amend, who chairs the Children’s Discovery Museum board. “It makes sense to have the museum experience burst through those purple walls and celebrate the natural world.”
Officially called “Bill’s Backyard: Bridge to Nature,” the space is a hybrid of park and playground, named for Bill Sullivan, the retired CEO of Agilent Technologies and a longtime board member of the museum. Wearing a shirt reading “I’m Bill,” Sullivan spoke to the audience at the dedication, which included Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager; Andrea Mackenzie, general manger of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority; and bestselling author and nature advocate Richard Louv, who provided the keynote address.
Louv said Sullivan and Agilent were setting a great example for the val- ley’s tech leaders on how to help connect kids with nature. “The leaders from this region, Silicon Valley, in the technology industries could make a huge difference if they step forward to emphasize the need for balance,” Louv said. “We need to have a mantra: The more hightech our lives become, the more nature we need.” But Bill’s Backyard didn’t really come to life Thursday until a group of third-graders from nearby Horace Mann Elementary School were unleashed at the climax of the opening ceremony. Many of them were among a group of second-graders who were at the groundbreaking ceremony last November, where they scattered handfuls of wildflower seeds.
Nearly a year later, they were back to be among the first kids to climb, slide, dig and explore. They were — naturally— more in- terested in the man-made structures like the big tree climber and the gravel dig pit than the beds of vegetables and herbs or the real gem of Bill’s Backyard: The Tree of 40 Fruit, a living piece of art created through grafts by New York artist Sam Van Aken.
Children’s Discovery Museum Executive Director Marilee Jennings said there’s a lot for the entire family to learn, too, from the the drought-tolerant plants on the walls of succulents to the junior ranger station and the dry creek bed that’ll provide real-life lessons on rain water harvesting.
Bill’s Backyard will be open to the public — and included with museum admission — starting Oct. 29.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
» The San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild is rolling out the 20th edition of its Dia de los Muertos procession and festival on Sunday in downtown San Jose. The multicultural event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. behind the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on the San Jose State campus, will include performances by Kaisahan San Jose, Akoma Arts, the Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association and, of course, Teatro Familia Aztlan, a highlight of the annual event.
The 30-minute procession will begin at 11 a.m. at City View Plaza on Market Street and continue to the festival site. Attendees are encouraged to wear traditional Dia de los Muertos costumes. It’s free to attend, and you can get more information at www. sjmag.org. OPENING SOUNDS » The San Jose Chamber Music Society opens its 32nd season Sunday at 7 p.m., with the distinguished Auryn Quartet from Germany returning to play at the sublime Trianon Theater on North Fifth Street. “We are glad to bring the Auryn back so South Bay listeners can experience how they apply their hallmark interpretive mastery, individuality and intensity of expression this time to Mozart, Grieg and Debussy,” Chamber Music Society Artistic Director Ted Lorraine said. Get tickets and check out the rest of the season at www. sjchambermusic.org.