CHOC Visit - Fall 2025

Today R2 joined Kylo Ren (hey, why not?) as they visited young patients in the oncology ward at Childrens Hospital Orange County.



The floor was decorated everywhere with Star Wars balloons and such. Several of the patients had R2 plushies, and one wore an oversized R2 t-shirt.



As always, I can't take pictures with the patients, but the staff got a group photo (Kylo Ren is toward the back of the group).



The kids loved meeting the characters, and one 2-year-old in particular was so fascinated with R2 that we made a return visit to her room before wrapping up for the day. These visits are always meaningful, and I hope to be back before too long.

The Force Awakens in Concert

Tonight R2 joined members of the various Star Wars costuming clubs as part of the pre-show entertainment, as the Pacific Symphony Orchestra presented The Force Awakens in Concert, at the Great Park in Irvine, CA. The orchestra plays the score live to the movie as it is shown on the screen, making for a great listening experience.



The characters roamed the field pre-show, posing for pictures with arriving guests.



A little before the show started, I stowed R2 back into the Droidmobile and took my seat and enjoyed the show.



Everyone had a good time, and hopefully we get to do something similar again someday.

KP Anaheim Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Summer Carnival

Today R2 joined several members of the 501st and Rebel Legions to help Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim with their Pediatric Hematology/Oncology carnival.



I arrived at noon for our 1pm start time, and once 1pm rolled around, we headed on out to meet the patients, family and staff.



Some continent ponies.



There was a photo booth, so R2 and I were able to get some photos.



At one point they had all the survivors that had been treated at the hospital come up for a group photo.



Everyone had a good time, and hopefully we'll be back next year.

Left Foot Shell Repair

The other night at the Dodger game, during the photo op one of the fans stepped on R2's foot shell, and part of the foot shell skirt snapped off. The foot shells are made from flat sheets of PVC, and are glued together using PVC glue.



It's a simple fix, although taking the foot off the droid is always a bit of a pain. Since the droid was still in the car, I could use the droid lift to help elevate R2 to take the foot off.



Some PVC glue and clamps, and the foot shell was good to go again.

Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium - 2025

Tonight was Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium, and R2 and I were there to partake in the festivities.



I arrived at our call time of 4pm and unloaded.



Once I drove R2 into the office area, employees started gathering for pictures.



Around 4:45pm we went to the Center Field Plaza area, where fans lined up to get photos with R2, Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper and Luke. The line was probably 200 people long.



At 6:15pm R2 and I headed through the center field gate and onto the warning track, where we made our way to the 3rd base side of the home plate area.



I got a couple of pictures with some Dodgers employees I see every year. First, with Richard, who is the security guard near the Dodgers dugout. He came over to our side.



And a picture with longtime Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo.



The characters helped out with a trivia contest with some fans.



After that, we stood by for the National Anthem, and then took our positions near home plate for the "It's time for Dodgers baseball" announcement.



Once that was done, it was time to skedaddle, and I drove R2 off the field near the Dodgers first base dugout (where I spotted Shohei Ohtani and team) and I took the wheelchair elevator down below field level. We made our way to the chair lift, and R2 glided on up.



With our pregame duties completed, I stored R2 back in the Droidmobile and took my comped seat to watch the remainder of the game. The score was tied 3-3 at the time, but the Dodgers soon took the lead.



The Dodgers ended up scoring 6 additional runs, with a final score of Dodgers 9, Athletics 3.



R2's record with the Dodgers is now 13-3(!). They really should have him out for the post-season. As always, I had a great time and I hope to be back next year.

STE(A)M Presentation at Portola Elementary School

Today R2 and I were invited to give a STE(A)M talk at Portola Elementary School in Irvine, CA. Droid #2 was able to get out of the house for this visit. There were two assemblies in the school's multipurpose room. The first was for 3rd/4th grades, and the second was for 5th/6th grades. Both assemblies consisted of at least six classrooms each.

I prepared a presentation where I touched on how the R2 build involved all aspects of STE(A)M. For Science, I discussed build materials, and spent some time explaining how I used a two-part mixture to create resin parts, and how they cured and hardened from a clear liquid to a white solid in about 15 minutes in the mold. For Technology, I talked about the electronics used to control R2, such as the transmitter, receiver and speed controller. For Engineering, I discussed programming I've done on the sound system, and dome and sound automation circuit, and demoed both. I also touch on the Art of R2, and how Ralph McQuarrie's concept art and R2's final design made him look interesting to me, and inspired me to want my own droid. Finally, for Math I explained gear ratios using an animation that showed how a 6-tooth gear will cause an 18-tooth gear to spin 3x more slowly, thus effectively reducing the speed of the motor.



At the end of both presentations I took questions, and each class got a group picture with R2. Everyone seemed to enjoy learning about R2, and we enjoyed the visit.

Altadena Arts Magnet School Visit

Today R2 visited the relocated Altadena Arts Magnet School. The students and their families were greatly affected by the Altadena fires, so much so that something like 75% of the students' homes burned down in the fires, and they had to be relocated to another school that had been shut down previously.

I arrived at 10:38am for the 11am visit, and unloaded droid #2.



Since this was a school visit, I didn't take any pictures of the event itself, but we visited around a dozen classrooms, and the lunchtime cafeteria. Every student in attendance got to see R2 and most (if not all) classes got a group picture as well.

R2 had sustained some minor damage when his upper utility arm was pushed into the body. Normally there is an MDF backstop behind the arm, but that snapped off, leaving some bare, unpainted MDF at the shear point.



This is an easy enough fix. Just cut a new MDF stub, and paint it black.



And finally, glue it in. Should be good as new.