San José’s Christmas in the Park just got a little more animated, thanks to a squad of San José State University mechanical engineering students who brought a long-retired penguin display out of storage and back into the spotlight. The students outfitted the fiberglass birds with simple animatronic mechanisms, allowing the penguins to flap their wings and move, transforming a senior-design assignment into a working public installation set slightly back from the crowd at Plaza de César Chávez. The refreshed flock joins more than 40 animated exhibits that pull families through the walk-through holiday event each winter.
From Classroom To Plaza
The project began on campus when Professor Vimal Viswanathan proposed it as a senior design option, and a small team, including students Bradley Karr and Zachary McGee, stepped up to revive the long-retired figures and add motion. The group first conceived a full-rotating carousel with a slip-ring system to prevent wiring from twisting into a knot, but time and budget constraints necessitated a pivot to a simpler setup: stationary penguins with reliably flapping wings.
According to Christmas in the Park’s official site, the penguin installation is on view from Nov. 29 through Jan. 1 as part of the downtown festivities.
How To See It
The downtown walk-through at Plaza de César Chávez runs from late November through Jan. 1 and features more than 40 animated exhibits, a towering community tree, and nightly entertainment. Entry is free, and the event is largely volunteer-driven. A separate drive-thru light show helps fund the walk-through and its upkeep. For specific hours and programming details, check Christmas in the Park’s official site.
Engineering Lessons In Public
Behind the scenes, the project doubled as a crash course in real-world engineering. The student team relied on class tools, such as the House of Quality, regular communication with their “customer,” and iterative problem-solving, to prioritize reliability and ease of maintenance for park staff. “Seeing the penguins finally move — after months of planning, modeling, 3D printing, and assembly — was an amazing feeling,” Karr said. To keep the magic going year after year, the students placed the display out of arm’s reach. They used durable, serviceable components, allowing the mechanics to be maintained season after season, as reported by the SJSU NewsCenter.
Christmas in the Park’s technical advisors have already expressed interest in future collaborations, and Viswanathan said he hopes to expand projects to include industrial design and other disciplines, allowing students to pair mechanics with aesthetics. For downtown San José, it means a beloved holiday tradition doubles as a public learning lab for local students, while helping keep community displays functional for years to come. Families can visit the Plaza de César Chávez walk-through nightly through the holidays to catch the newly revived penguins alongside the rest of the park’s glowing attractions.
_-_DSC03952.JPG){kind=link}