The Site of Rik Panganiban
I'm excited to announce that the California Academy of Sciences will be unveiling our latest planetarium show, "Habitat Earth" on January 16 in the Morrison Planetarium. This beautiful animated show has audiences "dive below the ocean’s surface to explore the dynamic relationships found in kelp forest ecosystems, travel beneath the forest floor to see …
As part of my duties as head of Digital Learning at the Cal Academy, I have been leading up a series of internal meetings on digital badges for learning. It's been a really great experience and I've definitely learned a lot. Many of my colleagues have been really curious and excited about the potential for …
This past weekend, one of my teammates and I led a youth workshop called "Programmable Puppets" for 15 Bay Area teens at the California Academy of Sciences. The purpose of this workshop was to expose teens to a couple of fun digital technologies and have them explore their interests in animal behavior through the process …
I love all of my awesome colleagues in the Teacher and Youth Education department of the California Academy of Sciences. Such a smart, dedicated and fun bunch of people. Here we are being silly for our special holiday departmental meeting. And the less exciting "regular" picture.
Working at a science museum, I'm in a space that is constantly changing. Exhibits are being phased out and in, new planetarium shows are being launched, living and dead specimens are being integrated into our collections and exhibits. It's part of what makes it exciting to work here. Yesterday was the last day of our …
Shooting is fun! Our TechTeens have been learning how to use professional DSLR cameras as part of their experiences at the Cal Academy this month. Our goal was for them to feel comfortable using higher-end cameras both for projects they are working on at the Academy and any future photography they may want to do …
Check out these amazing nature photos that were the winners of the California Academy's first "Big Picture" photography contest! Selected from 6,300 photos submitted by photographers from 12 countries, the 42 finalists are just stunning. They span a wide variety of species, environments, and formats — from intimate portraits to enormous vistas. Here are some …
I'm excited to share the news that the California Academy of Sciences has a acquired a state-of-the-art high resolution microscopic camera called the "Magnify2," created by the company GIGAMacro based in Napa, California. It looks, frankly, totally badass. The Magnify2 is billed as a "complete, high performance, precision robotic 3-axis linear motion control, image …
The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) Conference is one of my industry’s main gatherings of the year. It brings together more than 1,500 museum and science center professionals from hundreds of institutions from around the country and the world. This year it was held from October 18-21 in lovely Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s always fun and stimulating …
The California Academy of Sciences invites high school students to participate in a Game Design Playshop on November 8th and November 15th. Ethicist Mark Budolfson and award-winning game designing Chris Bennett will lead teens in designing tabletop (board, card, dice) games around important, natural science issues like climate change and ecology. Students will combine science …