The Search Is On: Hidden Baby Sun Gods Offer Festival Prizes

Kristin Luciani | May 9, 2011

They’ve been spotted perched upon the Triton Statue and hiding in trees. Others have been seen browsing the shelves of the bookstore, waiting outside lecture halls and even taking a coffee break at the Art of Espresso. Hidden throughout the UC San Diego campus are 500 baby Sun Gods, collectible characters of the Sun God Festival redeemable for discounts on festival merchandise and other prizes.

This fun campuswide search leads up to the annual Sun God Festival, taking place Friday, May 13. One of UC San Diego’s most popular traditions, the festival offers 12 hours of music and entertainment on RIMAC Field. This year’s lineup features Wiz Khalifa, Jimmy Eat World, Mike Posner and Crystal Castles.

“The Sun God babies started as a way to get students excited about the festival, and it just caught on,” said Melissa Ewart, senior graphic artist at AS Graphic Studio. “Two years ago, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue asked that Sun God babies even be hidden in her office.”

To help students find the Sun God baby collectibles, AS Graphic Studio (@asgraphicstudio), AS Concerts and Events (@asce) and Triton Outfitters (@tritonoutfitter) are posting clues about their whereabouts on Twitter. More than 200 babies have already been found and redeemed for rewards. The most dedicated students are going to great lengths to find these festival collectibles—even singing and dancing in the Price Center to earn a baby Sun God.

“Last week we had a contest offering baby Sun Gods for the first ten people to do the Dougie dance on the Price Center East bridge,” said Ewart. “For our first contest, we asked students to come into the office and sing a song by one of the artists performing at this year’s festival. We got six students in just five minutes.”

The first Sun God baby scavenger hunt took place just two years ago, and it has quickly become a favorite new tradition of the annual Sun God Festival. The search has generated a substantial following on Twitter, and is one of the ways that social media is elevating excitement for the festival and adding a new element to the campus tradition.  

 “They’ve become collectibles,” added Jenalyn Inong, one of the student designers at AS Graphic Studio. “We’ve had students come in asking if this is where the Sun God babies are made, and if they can have one. They didn’t even want the prizes, just the baby itself.”

More than 200 baby Sun Gods are still hidden on campus. For more about the search for baby Sun Gods, or to redeem one for a prize, visit this website. For clues, pictures and contests that will lead you to a Sun God baby, follow @asgraphicstudio, @asce and @tritonoutfitter on Twitter.