The Little Engine That Did

By C.J. Hirschfield

Last week, Fairyland welcomed more than a thousand guests to our first Port Day, in partnership with the good folks who operate Oakland’s popular air- and seaports. Together with its business partners, the Port of Oakland supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region, and getting kids – even little ones – excited about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) may ignite an interest that could lead to a career in the sciences … and perhaps at the Port.

Many wonderful hands-on activities and giveaways were on the schedule, but the big draw was the Port’s mini container crane that could be operated by the kids. The crane had not been out in the community for a number of years, so we were over-the-top excited.

But just half an hour before we were to open our fairy gates, disaster struck.

You see, although the crane is mini when compared to its huge working counterparts, it is nonetheless 12 feet tall and weighs in at about a thousand pounds. When it was pulled into our grassy meadow area, its trailer sank into the rain-soaked earth and couldn’t be extracted.

The Port of Oakland's mini crane.

The Port Comes to Fairyland

By C.J. Hirschfield

Although Star Wars creator George Lucas has denied it, we Oaklanders still like to believe that the AT-AT Snow Walkers from “The Empire Strikes Back” were either consciously or unconsciously influenced by our port’s massive cranes, which are used to move huge containers from ships onto waiting trucks and back again.

Full-size Port of Oakland crane.

Movie connection or no, Oakland’s cranes are undeniably super-cool. And soon Children’s Fairyland will offer kids the opportunity to operate a smaller version of them. It’s something we’ve wanted to do for years.