Parkeology offers insight into Balboa Park’s past

If you’re interested in learning more about Balboa Park, the ongoing event “Parkeology” might be right up your alley.

Parkeology is a live event that invites the public to explore the lesser known sites and stories in Balboa Park. Each event is also featured on Channel Parkeology and ParkCast — a web-TV and podcast series hosted by marionettes Park Ranger Kim Duclo and Art Ranger Kate Clark.

The event began in February and will feature monthly events through June.

This month, the event is “Facing Artifacts,” which is centered around the San Diego Museum of Man and will give some lucky participants the chance to have their face preserved in plaster at a “life casting station.” The event will be from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 27.

Admittance to the museum is free with a reservation to participate in the face casting lottery. Reservations can be made online at parkeology.org/facingartifacts/.

Life casts have a long history at the Museum of Man. In 1915, Museum of Man archivists made life casts of members of Native American tribes, as well as people of many different races.

These casts were exhibited in the Panama California Exposition.

Now, over 100 years later, the museum examines the question of racial categorization in its exhibit “Race: Are We So Different?” which is currently on exhibit.

The life casts gathered from the Parkeology event, along with the original life casts from 1915, will be put on display alongside the exhibit as a temporary loan.

The life casting station will be in the museum rotunda, where visitors who are selected to participate will sit for 30 minutes with a lead “Parkeologist” and have their features cast in plaster.

In April, Parkeology will be taking a look at Balboa Park’s LGBT history with “Queen’s Circle,” on April 30 in Marston Point Parking Lot.

While Marston Point is now a quiet space in the area, it was once a hot spot for the LGBT community.

This event will take a look back at the area’s history, including the AIDS crisis, hate crimes and cruising culture. This event is in collaboration with Lambda LGBTQ Archives and is a free event with no reservations required.

May’s event will take a look at a lesser-known aspect of Balboa Park: its nudist park.

On May 22 in Zoro Garden, cultural journalist Welton Jones will educate visitors on the two years of nudity in Balboa Park, during the California-Pacific International Exposition from 1935 to 1936.

This event is free and requires no reservations.

The final Parkeology event will be on June 10 and will showcase the famous Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

This contemporary music concert is designed to show off not only the sound of the organ, but for audience members to see and feel the vibrations from it as well.

Three regional and nationally renowned contemporary musicians will each perform a 10-minute composition, shaped around the physical properties of the organ.

During the concert, live projected visualizations will allow attendees to “see” the sound through a live projected seismograph registering the physical vibrations of the audio.

For more information on the Parkeology series, visit parkeology.org.