After school on Oct. 18, some children and parents of Washington Open Elementary School stopped by the cafeteria for the school’s 3rd Annual WO Costume Exchange. Many dropped off costumes they no longer needed and left with new costumes another family had passed on. The instructions taped to the front of the cafeteria were clear: … Read more
On a recent Friday afternoon at MaKaboom (2905 Homestead Rd. Suite C), a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning center, children were assembling Legos in the facility’s MaKaSpace. Here, children can build as tall and wide a Lego structure as they liked. Access to the room comes with an hourly fee. But a child … Read more
When many people hear the term “hack” or “hackathon,” the idea of breaking into a protected computer system might come to mind. But “hacking” also means writing one’s own code and creating something new and innovative. From Oct. 13 to Oct. 14, about 130 students from local schools assembled into about 30 teams at Wilcox … Read more
On the morning of Oct. 7, about a dozen ice cream enthusiasts crafted their own customized ice cream at Santana Row’s Smitten Ice Cream (www.smittenicecream.com/locations/santana-row, 3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1055, San Jose). The workshop, “Churn Your Own Ice Cream: Falloween Flavors,” highlighted the flavors of autumn comfort food, with treats like candy corn and pumpkin … Read more
An estimated 7,000 people of all ages—many who came in cosplay or costumes—immersed themselves in the world of comics at the Oct. 7 Santa Clara City Library Comic Con where crafts, activities, panels, drawing demonstrations, signings and photo opportunities filled Central Park Library. In the morning, librarians Angela Ocana and Kelly Quinn Chiu sat on … Read more
Many costume stores operate only during the Halloween season. San Jose’s Natasha’s Attic (www.natashasattic.com, 1238 S. Bascom Ave.) is a 40-year-old family run costume store that’s open year-round. The big well-stocked store offers endless costume ideas for adults and kids. One area of the store hosts a wig bar showcasing various hairstyles of all colors … Read more
On Oct. 7, members of the general public stood back as they watched firefighters perform a daring rescue in a building at Santa Clara Fire Station 2 (1900 Walsh Ave.). This event was part of a fire engine crew operation demonstration for this year’s Santa Clara Fire Station Open House where citizens could visit a … Read more
At the Sept. 29 after school creative writing class held at Washington Open Elementary School, Jane Gilmore, teacher and founder of Joy to the Words, led families through Rainbow Storytelling Poker. Students and parents drew cards with different colors, each depicting an element of a story, such as character, setting and conflict. Prompted by the … Read more
Santa Clara resident Raj Chahal was pleasantly surprised to learn that his wife Daljit nominated him to be one of State Senator Bob Wieckowski’s nine 2017 Local Heroes. Wieckowski formally recognized Chahal at the Sept. 28 State of the 10th Senate District Address and Awards Ceremony held at U.C. Santa Cruz’s Silicon Valley Campus located … Read more
On the evening of Oct. 5, a few girls from Santa Clara High School’s Girls Basketball Team waited outside their school gym for donated items to be dropped off. Two more future donation drop off times will be held at the same location—Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Oct. 19 from 5 … Read more