Turns out one of my kids' elementary school classes recently found this blog. They apparently used their free time on their Chromebooks to search Google for each other's last names — and many found their way here. (When my parents combined and hyphenated their last names in 1970s Santa Cruz, they likely didn't realize they were also search engine optimizing their eventual offspring's names.)
This blog occasionally writes about field trips: I practically insisted to my daughter's teacher last year that I get to chaperone the field trip to the "morning bun factory." Another field trip the other school year to the Alameda Police Department was going to turn into a blog post (primarily about how excellently a few Public Works and APD staff explained complicated and sensitive concepts to impatient children) but I was also weirded out by a "thin blue line" flag on display within the APD building, debated about how I wanted to address that, and never finished that post. Another post covered a "field trip" by City Council, although that one did not involve any schoolkids or anyone else with obligations during the middle of a weekday (not exactly the most inclusive way to conduct public engagement).
Earlier this school year, I chaperoned a field trip over to the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland. The Peralta Hacienda Historic Park was our destination, where the students got to cycle through a series of hands-on activities to learn about the native people of the East Bay. Another dad and I ran a station where students prepared and sampled a concoction of chia seeds, sunflower seeds, and a few other local ingredients. At other stations, parents helped to supervise crafts and games. We were all led by two friendly docents. And after a full day, we all drove back through Fruitvale and over the High Street Bridge to Alameda, having learned about the past of the East Bay, as well as about some of the people who continue to live right here.
The Peralta Hacienda is now under threat because Elon Musk just doesn't like education or civil society. According to ABC News 7:
Recently the museum was hit by a letter from the federal government terminating their grant of $250,000 effective April 8.
"It was still a blow," said Miguel Lopez, Executive Director at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park.
These cuts are part of the national termination of grants by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. The cut compounded another loss. The city of Oakland cut funding to the museum just weeks earlier.
"We have lost funding for our cultural program; we lost funding for our park. We are losing funding federally to continue our field trip program here, as well as, new exhibitions of the Ohlone people. Like a lot of organizations in the city we are scrambling, we are trying to figure out how to fill that gap," said Lopez.
A tough reality for the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park which won the prestigious national medal for museum and library services in 2017.
[Their website also mentions that "in 2023, Peralta Hacienda's School Field Trips program was honored with the California Association of Museum's Superintendent's Award for Excellence in Museum Education."]
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, along with other members of Congress, sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding the funds be restored at multiple places.
"The only way that funding will be restored is if our voices are loud, if our litigation and legislation activities are swift and that we don't back down. I'm not in any way for any moment, any second going to take the attacks on my constituents here lightly," said Congresswoman Simon.
Between the city and the federal government, the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park is set to lose over $270,000. The museum is working to get funding from private donors and add more field trips to stay afloat all in hopes to continue providing cultural services to this community.
As also reported today by Bloomberg News, Musk to Refocus on Ailing Tesla With DOGE Work 'Mostly Done'. (As one writes online: lolsob!) Now it's up to us to repair the massive damage caused in such a short period of time.
Thank you to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon for representing the Peralta House and other local civic institutions (as well as other federally funded efforts such as fixing Alameda's Lincoln Ave). While I can't find articles about the other museums and non-profits facing these cuts in the inner East Bay, the list likely includes both the Oakland Zoo and Children's Fairyland, which received grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services just last year. (About a month ago, Musk's associates put the entire staff of the IMLS on leave.)
To express your support on this and other local challenges, you can leave a voicemail for the congresswomen or RSVP for her town hall to be held in person in Alameda this Friday evening.
And in case any third graders are actually reading this, I'll see you all when I chaperone your upcoming field trip to the Chabot Space and Science Center! (Chabot being another local civic institution that's benefited from federal grants from the IMLS.)