Camp Promotes Heritage and Academics

Sheriff Lee Baca chats with students in the Heritage Camp held at Cal Poly Pomona.

Students in grades 2-6 started their summer days with a little more motivation at a five-day Heritage Camp hosted at Cal Poly Pomona. Activities included not only those typically found at a summer camp such as arts and crafts, but also Afro-aerobics/yoga, math clinics, reading skills, roundtable discussions among other cultural and academic activities. Another unique feature was a visit by L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. A partnership between the nonprofit Heritage Educational Group and The California State University helped make the event possible.

Space is the Place

(Top) Edrich Yau of Britain, Manon Larocque of Canada, Nelson Mutai of Kenya and Daniel Escobar Basco of Spain assemble a small autonomous rover.

When you think of outer space, Cape Canaveral, Edwards Air Force Base or the Johnson Space Center might come to mind. This summer, nearly 100 young professionals and postgraduate students from 30 countries added a university to the list. Cal Poly Pomona hosted this year's International Space University's intensive summer session where students are exposed to a broad perspective of space activities and international cooperation for nine weeks at a host institution. Projects offered included neutral buoyancy exercises, rocket launches, robot competitions and astrobiology experiments. International Space University is dedicated to interdisciplinary education and research for the peaceful development of outer space. The conference is held in different locations every year and has previously been held in France, Canada, Chile and Japan.

Mural, Mural on the Wall

Professor Jen Bracy puts finishing touches on the Pasadena art mural.

Where do art students hang a 32-foot-long painting done as a class project? How about the Pasadena Superior Courthouse. With assistant professor Jen Bracy's help, students in the upper-division art class began planning a large-scale community-based mural after a suggestion from Pasadena Judge Mary Thornton House and local café owner Al Barnes. Bracy describes the finished product as "bold, cheerful and unified," with iconic images of the Pasadena City Hall, Old Town Pasadena, the Arroyo Seco Bridge, the Jet Propulsion Lab, the Rose Bowl, San Gabriel mountains and a Metrolink train. Through the planning process, students recognized the value of such beautification projects in the community and the role that art plays in the quality of life. The mural's permanent home is in Al's Café, on the third floor of the courthouse.

Dishing up Local Culture

Cal Poly Pomona's Cultural Café is adding some cultural perspective to the area. With the objective of sharing and preserving the traditional arts and cultural diversity of the Pomona Valley, the program has new offerings at the Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center the fourth Saturday of each month. Past cafés have featured art exhibits, meditation techniques, fashion shows and book readings. "The program can provide a forum for groups to educate us about their art, poetry, story telling, dance, music, language and way of life," says Dean Barbara Way of the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences. "It is a way of honoring the achievements of all cultures and of educating the broader community about each other. In the long run, the program may help to create more harmony in the community." The Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center is located at 300 W. Second St. in the Pomona Arts Colony. For more information on Cultural Café events, call (909) 469-0080.

Panorama is published by the Office of Public Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona.
Questions or comments? Please email publicaffair@csupomona.edu.