I received the following information as a blogger via Walt Disney Publications. While I attended an expense paid trip by Disney to the press events for The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out, and Miles From Tomorrowland, all opinions are 100% my own.
It was just last week I was out in beautiful San Francisco learning about amazing Disney creations! Hopefully you were following along via social media on my awesome California adventure. If not, have no fear… I’ll be posting regularly the next few months detailing my trip. One of the highlights was visiting the Google Headquarters to learn more about Disney Jr’s MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND.
Now I’m already quite familiar with the show as my son is a fan. MILES is centered around the Callisto family, who live on the Stellosphere, and spaceship! Miles Callisto himself is an adventurous, curious, but at times reckless good-nature boy. My son couldn’t be more excited when I returned from my trip with a Miles themed cookie and plush M.E.R.C. (Miles’ pet robo-ostrich) in tow just for him. 
Now I’ll chat about my visit to the Google Headquarters in a moment… but first let me tell you about some exciting upcoming Miles news! Since Halloween is my son’s favorite holiday, he’s especially excited about this Saturday’s Halloween-themed episode “Ghost Moon / Stormy Night in a Dark Nebula” premiering at 8:30 AM ET/PT on the Disney Channel.
Also did you know that this week is actually World Space Week? October 4th – 10th is the perfect time to tap into your inner astronaut and explore all things SPACE! Every year the World Space Week Association picks a new theme for the World Space Week. This year the theme for 2015 is “Discovery.”
This week is perfect to celebrate with our little ones the super exciting discoveries in space that teach us not only about our origins, but our future as well. Watching MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND together as a family is an awesome way to do so (and entertaining as well).
In “Ghost Moon,” the Callistos are sent to investigate eerie sightings on a dark moon, while in “Stormy Night in a Dark Nebula,” the Callistos enter a dark nebula and find some spooky inhabitants. These two episodes are going to be perfect for Halloween! Be sure to check out the clips below…
Clip from “Stormy Night in a Dark Nebula”
Clip from “Ghost Moon”
For the next seven weeks (starting this Saturday October 10th) there will be new episodes of MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND paired with new episodes of CAPTAIN JAKE THE NEVERLAND PIRATES!! The episodes will premiere on Saturday mornings beginning at 8:00AM on Disney Channel. There will also be a “catch-up marathon” on Halloween, October 31st! How awesome is that??
Visit to Google Headquarters
As I mentioned above, visiting the Google Headquarters was definitely a highlight of my time out in the East Bay area. I can’t tell you how cool it was to see the building! (WARNING: Yes, I clearly noticed that I do default into the same “red-carpet-like” pose when my picture is taken. Yes, you can tease me for it!)
When we first arrived at Google, we watched a panel on encouraging children to explore the STEM fields. Now I will get more into detail of the panel on a future post, but I do have to say… it was an awesome panel to watch!
The panel was moderated by Julie Ann Crommett, CS Education in Media Program Manager at Google. Participants included: Sascha Paladino, MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND Creator and Executive Producer; Diane Ikemiyashiro, Director of Original Programming, Disney Junior; Isis Anchalee, Software Engineer, Creator of #Ilooklikeanengineer Movement; Dr. Yvonne Cagle, NASA Astronaut and Consultant on MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND; and Angela Navarro, Google Software Engineer. It was really an amazing panel to hear!
As the creator of MILES, Paladino explained that as a kid, he was really into space. However he was more into the arts than science. He wanted to find a way to explore science through the arts. Once he found out he was going to be a father, to twins none the less, that is where the inspiration of MILES really came from. He said he had a mini panic attack and was worried that once he became a dad, he would no longer get to travel and go on adventures. He said he started daydreaming about what could be the greatest adventure to have with your family, and he decided that it was going to outer space! Thus the idea of MILES was born. The heart of MILES is the adventures you have with your family.
Diane praised the true collaborative effort of the show between the writers, artists, and science experts! Did you know that it actually takes months and at times even a year to create the 11-minute episodes? Insane! At the panel, we had the opportunity to get a glimpse at the “behind-the-scenes” work of what it takes to code an episode. Miles alone is over 18 million lines of code! Craziness!
Dr. Cagle noted that she was beyond excited when she was contacted about the show. She loves being able to share the exploration of space and what she learned during training with the rest of the world. She commented that as parents, our kids help us become smarter. She feels that as the show goes on, Miles makes her smarter in a sense.
Afterward we had time to explore the grounds a bit and take pictures, as well as enjoy a dinner with the panelists. Of course I needed a photo in front of one of the Google signs!
During dinner, Paladino actually sat at our table. It was very cool to learn that he was also a writer for other shows such as Henry Hugglemonster, Doc McStuffins, Sid the Science Kid, and The Oconauts, just to name a few. He took photos with a few of us afterward!
I later came across one of Google’s famous GBikes, created by their own engineers. Sadly as much as I wanted to… I could not take the bike home with me. *sad face!!* Still it was pretty cool to actually ride one of the Google campus!
It was really cool to see the funky offices and common spaces for employees to hang out and congregate. Seriously… why can’t my office put in a pool table??
At the end of the evening, we saw Andy! Now I’m a faithful iPhone user… but I still couldn’t resist getting my photo snapped with the adorable Android mascot.
Don’t forget! This Saturday, be sure to catch all new episodes of MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND, 8:30 AM EST, on the Disney Channel!
Want to see more of my adventures in San Francisco? Take a look at my Twitter (@AshBG) and Instagram (@ashb4211). Make sure you follow the hashtags #GoodDinoEvent, #InsideOutBloggers, #MilesEvent, and #Waltagram.
Looks like you guys had a blast. I can’t wait to check it out with the boychild.
I know it’s silly, but visiting Google HQ is something I’ve always wanted to do . I hear their security is crazy though!
It sounds like an amazing trip. It must have been great to meet such creative people and get to hear their stories. So jealous.
What a nice time. Looks like a blast. Thank you for sharing!
What a fun time. My two kids LOVE Miles from Tomorrowland. Glad to hear that new episodes are coming.
How awesome — I love the Google bike! I always love hearing about “behind the scenes” so I’m sure this was a fun event to attend. Thanks for sharing it with us!