Contact: Emily Slater

805-266-0208; emslater@calpoly.edu

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly engineering graduates have unveiled a 10-foot-tall steel poppy crowned by a stained-glass butterfly that turns in the breeze in the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden.

Tasked by garden leadership with creating a wind-activated sculpture inspired by nature, the students’ work has quickly become a standout attraction in the Children’s Garden.

“This sculpture is the Children’s Garden’s new showpiece,” said Janine Stillman, executive director of the nonprofit that sponsored the project.

Garden leadership challenged the team to blend artistry with engineering, source materials locally and design for minimal upkeep. After touring the site and noting the garden’s poppy logo — the state flower — the students settled on a spinning poppy topped by a butterfly.

Built as an interdisciplinary senior project, the installation was completed just before graduation. General engineering graduate Aiden Largay and mechanical engineering graduates Irene Han and Madeline Xiong spent long days in Cal Poly’s machine shops, water-jet cutting and hand-bending each petal to bring their vision to life.

“I loved the creative freedom of this project,” Largay said. “There wasn’t another one like it.”

The team then painted the petals the garden’s signature orange in Cuesta College’s auto shop, guided by a welding instructor, before installing the stained glass that Stillman provided, which the students water-jetted and sandwiched into the butterfly wings.

“Having the freedom to craft something entirely new drew me in,” Xiong said. “Watching it evolve from sketch to reality and knowing we sourced everything locally makes me proud.”

The Children’s Garden welcomes more than 100 young visitors each week, many of whom are now drawn to the sculpture’s spinning petals and colorful wings.

“I like that the whole neighborhood will benefit,” Largay said. “Kids come here to learn about nature. Now they’ll learn about engineering too.”

For more information on hours, events and garden tours, visit the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden’s website at SLOBG.org.

Top Photo — From atop a ladder, general engineering graduate Aiden Largay secures the stained-glass butterfly atop the hand-bent steel poppy during the final phase of installation in the Children’s Garden.