Media Room In the News

South Bay Teen Inspires Young Visitors with “A-mazing” Talent

ABC 7 News
November 20, 2018

Jonathan Pappas is a teen with talent. He inspired museum's visitors with his passion for all things mazes with an "UberMaze Experience Day" during Thanksgiving holiday. Jonathan's spark for art, math, and technology began when he was five years old. At sixteen, he's now designed more than 300 original mazes, been selected as a Maker at this year's Maker Faire, and created a child-friendly app that he prototyped at the museum. Learn More

Community Service Learning, Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, Science Learning

Executive Director Marilee Jennings On Diversity & Inclusion with SV Business Journal

Silicon Valley Business Journal
November 16, 2018

On any given day in the museum, you'll hear numerous languages being spoken. The museum's audience mirrors the tremendous diversity in the Bay Area. This is no accident. It's the result of years of intentional work that includes everything from the Cultural Celebration Series, tri-lingual signage, staffing decisions, and exhibits and programs to deeply held community partnerships. Learn More

Community Service Learning, Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, Environmental Stewardship, Exhibition Development, General Museum, Health Promotion, Inclusion & Cultural Competence, Learning Research, Partnerships & Resource Development, Science Learning

Two-Year Initiative with Immigrant Families Culminates with Traveling Installation

The Mercury News
June 3, 2018

The museum continues its cutting-edge work with immigrant communities. The latest is a compelling visual and performing arts pop-up, A Seat at the Table, traveling to South Bay events this summer. The exhibit sparks conversations and art activities around the meaning of home, heritage, identity, and shared values. It's the culmination of Common Ground, a two-year initiative funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to promote cultural understanding amongst immigrant families from Mexico, China, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam and the greater South Bay communities. Learn More

Community Service Learning, Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, General Museum, Inclusion & Cultural Competence

Artist Inspires Visitors by Painting with His Head

The Mercury News
February 5, 2018

Don Ryker struggles to speak, but his paintings talk for him - bright and vibrant, active and intelligent. From the seat of his power wheelchair Don turns blank canvases into works of art by applying acrylic paint with his uniquely adapted hardhat. Cerebral Palsy hasn’t deterred Ryker from many things in life, including learning how to fish and play baseball and video games and now pursuing his dream as a professional artist. As part of the museum's Creativity through the Arts and Inclusiveness and Cultural Competence strategic commitments, Don was at the museum demonstrating his technique. Visitors had the opportunity to experiment with his method of wearing a similarly adapted hard hat. Learn More

Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, Inclusion & Cultural Competence

Thousands Celebrate 20th Anniversary of The Three Kings Event

The Mercury News
January 7, 2018

Twenty-one years ago the museum launched The Three Kings Celebration as a way to introduce the museum to the large Latino community. This success served as a model for helping the museum meet the changing needs and demographics of Bay Area families and children. Learn More

Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, General Museum, Inclusion & Cultural Competence, Partnerships & Resource Development

Ringing in the New Year Across the Time Zones Draws Huge Crowds

The Mercury News
January 1, 2018

New Year's Eve may be for adults, but not at the purple museum. Created in 2006 so families could ring in the new year together, the Noon Year's Eve event highlights the diverse community the museum serves with three LED-lit ball drops coinciding with time zones around the world. Fashioned after the famous New York City Times Square Ball Drop, the celebration provides a joyful occasion for all ages. Learn More

Creativity through the Arts, General Museum, Inclusion & Cultural Competence

Museum Makes Great Vacation Destination

VacationIdea Dream Vacation Magazine
December 11, 2017

The museum has long been a local favorite for Bay Area families. It's also a popular destination for families in search of enriching ways to spend time together beyond amusement park-like attractions when on vacation. Learn More

General Museum

Immersive Mural Boldly Transforms Museum Entryway

El Observador
December 8, 2017

The museum's massive stucco-covered entry has been transformed into a pallet of brightly colored imagery and bold symbols inspired from community input. Acclaimed multi-media artist Jaque Fragua of Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, and local curator Juan Carlos Araujo of Empire 7 Studios created the iconographic motifs based on design ideas submitted by 50 Rocketship Alma Academy 2nd – 5th-grade students, EY corporate volunteers, and museum staff. The project supports the museum’s strategic commitment, Creativity through the Arts, and is part of Community Pathways, the museum’s pilot program funded by San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs to activate the spaces outside the museum. Learn More

Creativity through the Arts, Early Childhood Development, Inclusion & Cultural Competence, Partnerships & Resource Development

Mural-cle of a Makeover

The Mercury News
November 30, 2017

Big, bold, and bright. That's the best way to describe the museum's new mural. Using only the simplest of materials - paint, brushes, and rollers, the mural artists Jaque Fragua and curator Juan Carlos Araujo have transformed the museum's plain, stucco entryway into a stunningly beautiful and welcoming space celebrating creativity and community-building. Learn More

Community Service Learning, Creativity through the Arts, General Museum, Inclusion & Cultural Competence, Partnerships & Resource Development

Nature NOW! Bill’s Backyard Opens Oct. 29

Red Tricycle
October 22, 2017

Go outside and play. This sentiment is often at odds with the valley's tech-heavy culture, especially in the Bay Area. To encourage kids to put down their devices and engage with the outdoors, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose recently doubled its exhibit space to add a new outdoor exhibit, Bill’s Backyard: Bridge to Nature, and it’s the tree house and dig pit of childhood dreams. Every detail was meticulously planned from the living roof on the junior ranger station to the life-sized bronze animals hidden throughout the exhibit. Learn More

Early Childhood Development, Environmental Stewardship, Exhibition Development, General Museum, Partnerships & Resource Development, Science Learning