Unbeknownst to most bipeds, we canine critters have a real knack for science. How else would we be able to anticipate how high to jump to snag a Frisbee or food scrap in mid-air, or know how fast we need to run in a circle to catch our tail?

My human friends can close this science learning gap next month when Balboa Park presents the second annual Science Family Day on Saturday, March 19. As the official kick off to the week-long San Diego Science Festival, the Science Family Day encourages pups of all ages to explore the science behind everything from optical illusions in art to paper airplane making to catching food with a 12-inch tongue (dare to dream!).

Over 20 Balboa Park institutions are presenting activities, entertainment, and information from 11am to 3pm as participating museums offer FREE admission to children 17 and under with a paid adult.

In addition, there will be a free drawing for a number of cool prizes at the Balboa Park Visitors Center, including a Family 4-Pack of Balboa Park Passports. And outside the Visitors Center, booths hosted by various organizations, such as the San Diego Zoo, SDG&E, and MTS, will offer even more goodies and activities.

For a complete list of activities and updates, visit Balboa Park’s website. And for the scoop on the San Diego Science Festival 2011, visit www.sdsciencefestival.com.

If you found this blog, you undoubtedly know San Diego’s official kick off to the holiday season, Balboa Park December Nights, is this weekend. But, you may be asking yourself, what’s all the fuss? Where do I go? What do I do?

To make the most of this grand tradition—that just keeps getting bigger—be sure to arrive early, either via public transportation or by parking in the free lots at the County Administration Building and San Diego City College and then taking a free shuttle into the Park. 

Once you’re in the Park, it won’t take you long to realize that this event is everywhere! (see map) So assuming you arrived early, head straight to your favorite museums, which are open free of charge beginning at 5:00pm on both Friday and Saturday nights.

December Nights is the perfect opportunity for you to dig into the Natural History Museum’s Fossil Mysteries exhibition, set to holiday music, the Reuben H. Fleet’s recently upgraded Kid City, and the Timken Museum’s annual Christmas tree, displaying artist-made ornaments.

After taking in a few museums you will likely be hungry—real hungry. Thankfully, food stations will be in as much supply as holiday cheer. But for something more than the usual hot dog-on-a-stick fare, check out the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages’ Christmas Festival where over 30 distinct cultures will serve a diverse assortment of world cuisine.

Another hot spot for Cosmos-approved treats is the Holiday Spirit Lounge in the Plaza de Panama, featuring food stations provided by the Cohn Restaurant Group and Prado Restaurant. These gourmet-savvy folk will also debut their meals-on-wheels food truck, Chop Soo-ey, so keep an eye out for my new best friend, a cleaver-wielding samurai pig.

In between museum and food hopping, be sure to stop by the many stages that really make this holiday event sing. Performers from the San Diego Junior Theatre, San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, and other talented groups will present lively sketches, music, and other holiday-themed entertainment throughout the night.

And, of course, what would an epic festival be without a family zone, conveniently located in the Palisades Midway in close proximity to the equally epic food zone at the aforementioned International Cottages.

Can’t wait until October 31 to start enjoying Halloween? Then why not dress up all your pups (and I do mean all of them, both two- and four-legged) a day early for Balboa Park’s 2nd Annual Halloween Family Day on Saturday, October 30? Most museums in the Park will be open FREE for youngsters 17 and under (with paid adult) and offer free hands-on activities, storytelling, crafts, and other tail waggin’ goodies!

But the event that really has everyone in my pack excited is of course the Halloween Doggie Costume Contest at 1pm in the Spanish Village Art Center courtyard. And as if that wasn’t enough reason to spend this Saturday in the Park, families can also see live Zoo animals on the Prado and enjoy this wide assortment of other trickless treats and things to do:

• Wildlife costume parade & creepy critters (Natural History Museum)
• Create a spooky steam engine (Model Railroad Museum)
• Scary art scavenger hunt (Mingei)
• Make & fly alien-themed kites (Air & Space Museum)
• Day of the Dead activities & spooky tour (Museum of Man)
• Design and color ghost cars (Automotive Museum)
• Face painting, makeup, and hat making (San Diego History Center)
• Create colorful koi fish masks (Japanese Friendship Garden)
• Creepy cockroaches, mutant flies, and pumpkin anatomy (Fleet Science Center)
• Gallery games and treats for kids (San Diego Museum of Art)
• Puppet show “Polka Dot Ghost” (Puppet Theater, 11am, 1 & 2:30pm)
• Ghostly giggles storytelling (Timken Museum of Art, 11am)
• Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF boxes (UNA International Gift Shop)
• Don authentic uniforms from historic wars (booth on the Prado)
• Watch classical music rehearsals (Casa del Prado; 8:30am–6:30pm)
• Safety coloring books, Lorax activity workbooks & treats (MTS booth on the Prado)
• Learn about Energy Vampires (SDG&E booth on the Prado)
• Free cider station & candy (SDMA Café by Giuseppe, while supplies last)
• Register to win theater tickets and Balboa Park Passports (Balboa Park Visitors Center)

I hope I’m not forgetting something, but if I did (can you blame me?), the official Halloween Family Day web page has all you need to know and then some.

If you’ve been following this blog, then you know I’m a pretty big festival hound. And the bigger the festival, the better (I’m already drooling over the upcoming Balboa Park December Nights event). And not many festivals in Balboa Park, outside the aforementioned December Nights, get bigger than this Sunday’s Diwali Festival.

What’s a Diwali Festival, you ask? It’s one of the most important holidays celebrated across the subcontinent of India, drawing on the traditions of three major religions and sprinkled with dozens of regional practices. Due to its cross-cultural nature, it is also celebrated in many other countries of the world, including the United States.

Locally, Balboa Park will be the site of perhaps the grandest Diwali celebration in the entire region, involving the two museums that are co-hosting it, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Mingei International Museum. In addition, a spectacular cultural performance will take place in the Organ Pavilion, where 1,008 lamps will be lit to culminate the evening’s festivities.

The October 24 event will get underway at 4:00pm with a colorful public procession down El Prado. Ticket holders will then have access to exhibitions and activities inside the two host museums as well as to the Alcazar Garden, which will be populated with musicians, dancers, henna artists, vendors, and of course, best of all, a broad sampling of howling good Indian cuisine.

How anyone can miss an event that features costume contests for both kids and pooches is beyond my superior level of canine comprehension. You heard correctly—a costume contest for dogs! And that’s just one of many treats in store for families who check out Balboa Park’s 2nd Annual Halloween Family Day on Saturday, October 30.

Like most annual events, this puppy just keeps getting bigger and bigger, with more than 20 Balboa Park organizations participating this year. In fact a dozen park museums will even be offering FREE admission to children 17 and under when accompanied by a paying adult. Admission will also include any free hands-on activities, crafts, scary storytelling, spooky scavenger hunts, and other Halloween-themed treats that particular museum will be presenting.

Of course the highlight of my day will be the doggie costume contest at the Spanish Village Art Center. Even though I haven’t picked out my costume yet, I wanted to give everyone in my pack a heads up so they can start scouting theirs. The first, second, and third place winners will be awarded some nice doggie treats, while the best costume nets a $25 Spanish Village gift certificate.

For bipedal pups who also like to show off their wild side, the San Diego Natural History Museum is hosting a costume parade and prize for best wildlife costume—wildlife as in animals, so no Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan costumes, please.

Be sure to regularly check this blog space as well as the main Halloween Family Day page for details and updates on all the planned activities, prize giveaways, and other goodies throughout the Park on October 30.