SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of families celebrated this year’s Fiesta with a science twist at Fiesta de los Niños.
Families enjoyed a day of demonstrations featuring video games, VR technology, live music, Fiesta medals and learning opportunities for children at the Boeing Center at Tech Port.
“This right now is a playground for him,” said Savannah Gonzales, mother of 9-year-old Josiah. “He can spend hours in a museum."
Gonzales said Josiah loves science, building Legos and video games. She added that life hasn’t always been easy for Josiah, and it’s been a long journey learning to live with disabilities.
However, she said that video gaming has been a game-changer for Josiah.
“He would have a lot of outbursts as any autism mother has seen, and video gaming has helped him calm down, has helped them focus,” Gonzales said. “And now that he has his new VR goggles ... new things have come together for him.”
“We are all about marrying tradition and technology,” said Stephanie Garcia with Port San Antonio. “We have a really robust, thriving STEM ecosystem within San Antonio, and all of our community partners are just as excited to spend the day with kids and inspire them to pursue careers in technology."
This year marks the 15th annual Fiesta de los Niños that has taken place in the Alamo City, and the third year it’s happened at the Boeing Center at Tech Port.
Garcia said the event aims to combine children’s interests with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in San Antonio.
“A lot of the skill sets that kids develop while they’re playing video games can be linked to technologies that are being developed, such as flight simulators or driving simulators,” Garcia said. “Those are just higher forms of gamification.”
Josiah isn’t only a video game player — he’s also developing his own game, which has already reached 1,000 players.
“It’s a lot of challenging stuff, but he has overcome so much,” Gonzales said. “And he is not afraid to go for the ambition that he has.”
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