The number of machines that are part of our everyday lives is really amazing, especially in our community where farm equipment, construction equipment, and recreational equipment seem to surround us. Ady Frausto, one of the Discovery Museum’s program coordinators, and I had a chance to get up close to some amazing John Deere tractors a few weeks ago when we visited Cal Coast Machinery in Santa Maria. We saw tractors that were smaller than a bicycle and tractors bigger than an apartment! You might ask why two museum workers got to have so much fun with farm equipment, and it’s because we got to research some of these interesting machines as part of our planning for the first-ever Mighty Machines program we are holding on Saturday, Dec. 1. We are excited about these machines—I can honestly say I was so impressed with how high-tech, comfortable, and really interesting a tractor can be—and we can’t wait to show off these and so many other interesting machines when they all come to the museum for kids to look at, touch, climb on, and even play with! The community is invited to visit the Discovery Museum from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to enjoy tractors, motor graders, cement mixers, dump trucks, police vehicles, and even a robot. These are the real things, along with many of the expert operators, builders, and workers who use these machines to keep our community clean, safe, and growing. This is a ticketed event, so visit smvdiscoverymuseum.org for event details and to buy your ticket, which includes entry to the Discovery Museum for all of our regular exhibits and activities. Tickets can also be purchased at the door on Saturday.
Kelly White O’Neill, executive director of the Discovery Museum, contributed this week’s Discovery Corner. Discovery Corner is a weekly column in the Sun, highlighting events, science activities, and more for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum at 705 S. McClelland in Santa Maria. Send comments to [email protected].
