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ROARING GOOD TIME … After a brief public debate and a few months of anticipation, the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo is preparing to roll out the red carpet next week for its newest residents: a group of dinosaurs. The city will hold a special ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 7 to mark the opening of its new California Dinosaur Garden, which offers children a glimpse of what life was like more than 66 million years ago.
The garden will feature seven life-size animal sculptures, ranging from the size of a small bird to the 32-foot-long Hadrosaur, a giant duck-billed herbivore. According to the city, the main feature will be an Ankylosaur, a bulky, short-limbed dinosaur with bony armor that children will be able to climb to get a sense of scale.
There will also be fossil digs in which children will be able to find dinosaur bones and teeth (replicas, of course).
“Building a foundation in science begins with compelling storytelling,” Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo Director John Aikin said in a statement. “Utilizing creative, sensory-rich exhibit techniques, California Dinosaur Garden will tell stories to help children ages 3 to 11 increase their knowledge of dinosaurs and the evolution of life over time. This experience will also create positive feelings towards science learning and set the foundation for long-term educational interest.”
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE … The Foothills Nature Preserve is widely acknowledged as one of Palo Alto’s most wonderous open space areas — a prized hangout spot for deer, hawks, vultures, coyotes, woodpeckers, chickadees, humans and other critters big and small.
But Palo Alto animal control officers were somewhat concerned on Aug. 30, when someone found a dead bat near the Chamise Trail and when that bat tested positive for rabies. Staff from the Community Service Department responded by putting up signs warning visitors about the bat and urging them to keep an eye out.
Since then, however, there have been no other bat sightings and all the signs were taken down, Daren Anderson, assistant director of the Community Services Department, told the Parks and Recreation Commission on Sept. 26. He suggested that visitors who find rabid bats should notify animal control immediately and not handle them.
Commissioner Shani Kleinhaus, meanwhile, recalled another recent sighting: a young beaver that was found swimming in Matadero Creek. “It made me think it would be nice to have cheerful updates about wildlife in the Baylands — not only like rabid bats,” Kleinhaus said.
She welcomed the return of the beavers, a comeback nearly 160 years after they were driven to extinction in this area. Their presence in local creeks is now being cheered by conservationists as a feel-good story.
But like many other creatures that come to Palo Alto, they are equipped with engineering skills — a trait that Kleinhaus suggested could make them valuable to the city’s flood-control efforts. “I think it’s wonderful we have beavers here. Hopefully, they’ll get all the way to Searsville Dam and then we won’t need the dam and there won’t be any flooding in Palo Alto anymore because the beavers will do their job,” she said.
MIKE’S HAVING A PARTY! … It’s party time for Mike’s Diner Bar. With live music, free food and face painting for the kids, Mike’s is all set to make a statement — it’s here to stay. The festivities will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
This celebration is a gesture of gratitude and goodwill; Mike Wallau, eponymous owner of the popular Midtown Shopping Center institution, recently heaved a last-minute sigh of relief after about six weeks of uncertainty. The relief came when it was clear that he had evaded eviction. In the first week of September, Wallau and the property owner, Scher Holdings LLC, reached an agreement to extend the existing lease.
The beauty of the episode lies in how the community came out to support Wallau when the news about his possible eviction became known in July.
“It made a huge difference to me and my family and the restaurant. Everything has been phenomenal. I could never have imagined that we’d ever get this type of support,” he said in an interview with the Palo Alto Weekly.
This party is his way of thanking Midtown’s residents and city leaders for standing by him through thick and thin. The party is open to one and all, including customers, petition signers, neighbors and people who run and value local, family-owned businesses. The eatery, located at 2680 Middlefield Road, has also added breakfast and lunch to its menu recently.