Exciting news: we're on Pinterest! You know Pinterest, right? It's the social sharing site that's easy to love and even easier to become obsessed. Pinterest is a great place for us to share fun, educational activities for kids and families, many of which expand on our camp themes and Majors, allowing campers to continue the camp enthusiasm at home. Our boards aim to help parents share and interact with their kids through fun science projects, art, cooking, or other activities.

Have you wondered how our elite team of rubber chickens spend their offseason? Not in an office, or worse, a stuffy storage locker, for sure. Now that they're preparing for another fabulous summer at camp, they've been showing off vacation slide shows, and wanted to share, so we're turning over the blog to the rubber chickens.

Ob la di, ob la da, chickens have rock star dreams, too!

Make a life pie. Make It at MOCFA, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art's monthly hands-on event, will focus on the sustainable gardening philosophy broken down into a pie by Pie Ranch's chef educator. Participants will make their own life pie out of clay. The event is May 12 from 2 - 4 p.m., and costs $5, including admission and materials. 

Migratory Bird Day! Learn about migratory birds - and even watch a few get banded - during International Migratory Birds Day at Muir Woods. The day will include a beach walk, and storytelling. The event is free.

Now that you’re prepped to prototype, here are a few favorite warm-ups and prototyping activities:

• Role Play, Videos and Board Games: How might a new product or service feel? Do a role-play to demonstrate the invention and uncover challenges or insights about how to improve it. Make simple stop motion videos to explore how an invention works and share it on YouTube to gather feedback. Take an old board game and modify it so that it simulates a “user journey” with the product.

As part of the Galileo Innovation Approach, kids spend a great deal of time actually creating, or prototyping, their ideas. Since this step in the process comes after lots of brainstorming, kids are usually thrilled to start bringing their ideas to life. If they stay flexible and think rough, rapid and smart, they can prototype a solution to nearly any problem.

Here are some basic prototyping principles to get you started:

We're hard at work on plans for summer 2013 and beyond, and while we have a long list of great theme ideas, we want to hear what you and your campers think would make the most engaging week of Camp Galileo. Each summer campers and parents often casually suggest themes that they think would be fun and inspiring, and because we love learning which subjects our families find most intriguing, we are officially opening up the theme development process.

As a reward for your creative input, one lucky family will win a free week of camp this summer!

¡Celebramos Cinco de Mayo! The Bay Area Discovery Museum is hosting a family-friendly Cinco de Mayo celebration including dancing, music, food, and traditional crafts, including paper flowers and tin ornaments. The fiesta runs from 1o a.m. to 5 p.m. For a larger celebration, head to the Cinco de Mayo Festival in Dolores Park. It's a family friendly (and alcohol-free) celebration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., including music, dancing, and a Zumba-thon!

Fans of the Maker Faire know that it's educational, inspirational, and a lot of fun, making it the perfect place for a field trip, if not for the fact that it's held on the weekend and it's popularity brings great crowds. Have no fear, Education Day is here! The Maker Faire offers a sneak peek to students and teachers, allowing them to interact with the Makers, watch the set up and behind-the-scenes prep, and participate in activities. It's a great chance for kids to get a closer look, stoke their curiosity, and get inspired to try something new. 

It's opening day on the Bay! The Treasure Island Sailing Center is offering free sailboat rides, kayaking, and stand up paddle boarding to celebrate the event. There will be music, activities, food, and a chance to win free sailing lessons. The event is Saturday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Celebrate the Golden Gate! Can't wait to Celebrate the Golden Gate this summer? Get a head start with a sculpture workshop for kids ages of 5-12 on Saturday from 1 - 4 p.m. at Fort Mason. The free Building Bridges event will feature sketching, brainstorming, and building with recycled materials.

Glen's Notebook is a monthly look at education, innovation and other issues affecting Bay Area families, from the desk of Galileo Learning’s Founder and CEO, Glen Tripp.

I have been immersed in a fascinating new book called Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. In it, Lehrer looks at how our creativity is impacted by the combination of our brains and our environments. The key perspective of the book aligns perfectly with what we believe at Galileo: Creativity is not just for “creative people.” No matter where we are on the spectrum, we can learn to create—and innovate—more.

The Tech Challenge is here! After weeks of prep, it's finally the day where students publicly show their solution to the annual Tech Challenge question. This year participants were asked to come up with a way to help earthquake survivors stranded on a bridge. Help support the kids who took on the Shake, Rattle, and Rescue challenge at The Tech Museum this Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.

We know our campers are full of creative ideas, so we're teaming up with Sifteo, an innovative gaming company that fosters intelligent play, to reward innovative ideas with a week of free camp! Recognizing that Galileo Learning supports intelligent play, curiosity, and new ideas too, Sifteo is offering two scholarships to camp this summer (one for Camp Galileo and the other for Galileo Summer Quest), including lunch and extended care. 

But that's not it! Several lucky winners will receive Sifteo cubes for hands on fun!

Identify backyard birds! Learn about local birds, and make a bird treat to take home, at the Hillview branch of the San Jose Public Library. The Backyard Birds Workshop is today at 4 p.m. The free event is for ages 5-12.

Celebrate Earth Day at Chabot! Chabot Space and Science Center is hosting an Earth Day celebration April 14, featuring craft making using recycled objects, the healing powers of LED lights, a FixIt Clinic (bring a broken household item that needs help), and hands-on activities. The event is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is included with admission.

Brainstorming Activities

Here are a few favorite warm-ups, brainstorm exercises, and wrap up activities that will work for individuals, teams and brainstormers of any age.

WARM UPS

The Naysayers: Begin with a silly two-minute brainstorm: How can we make a space station for ducks? For every idea offered, say “That will never work!” Kids should respond with “But we can…” Note that it takes just as much energy to shoot down a brainstorm idea as it does to find a solution.

Paying attention to your brainstorm environment will pay off with productive, inclusive brainstorming.

Internalize the rules. Print out your brainstorming rules and display them in your brainstorm area. Until the rules have become second nature, you can review them before starting. You’ll find kids will begin referring to them in the course of the brainstorm. After it’s over, have your child reflect on the brainstorm rules: “I liked that we didn’t judge, because it helped me come up with a lot more ideas.”

By Jim Ratcliffe

For most children, brainstorming comes naturally. They are gifted with the boundless reserves of energy and creativity that good brainstorms demand. Yet at one point or another, everyone struggles with the dynamics of a brainstorm. It can be frustrating if your ideas aren’t heard, or your brainstorming seems to go nowhere.

Contrary to the free-for-all it sometimes appears to be, brainstorming is one of the most structured parts of the innovation process. At Galileo Learning, we believe that by creating the right environment and following a few simple rules, children can dramatically improve their brainstorming skills.

Hunt for eggs in the dark! There are numerous egg hunts scheduled for around the bay this weekend, but one of the most unique is an after dark egg hunt in San Anselmo. It's a free event, suggested for kids ages eight and up, beginning at 8:15 p.m. precisely. Bring a flashlight and comfortable shoes!

Learn to ollie! A free skateboarding clinic is being offered by the Marin County Parks this Saturday at McInnis Park in San Rafael. Rangers will teach beginning skateboarding techniques aimed at building confidence and skill. Bring your own board, helmet, and pads. The clinic runs from 9 - 11 a.m.

Hang out with us this weekend! Galileo Learning staff will be at both the Marin Camp Fair and the Evergreen School District Science Fair this weekend! Look for us at the Marin Camp Fair tonight in San Rafael from 4:30 – 6:45 p.m. with our super awesome shake table or find us the next day at the Evergreen Science Fair from 9 a.m. to noon in San Jose, with both the shake table and a Spuds in Space activity. Please stop by to say hello!

Glen's Notebook is a monthly look at education, innovation and other issues affecting Bay Area families, from the desk of Galileo Learning’s Founder and CEO, Glen Tripp.

If your family’s morning routine is anything like mine, it can be a little rushed, to say the least. After giving it some thought, my wife and I decided to try something new to change things up: The Morning Huddle.

At 8 a.m. the four of us (we have 7- and 9-year-old boys) gather by the front door. I kick things off with a joke.

Forecast the future! Brian David Johnson, FutureCaster at Intel, and author of The Tomorrow Project Anthology, will speak tonight at Chabot Space and Science Center as part of the Future Fridays series. Find out about future forecasting, how to be an active participant in the future, and how is Intel using Science Fiction to design better technologies during the talk. Tickets are $20 Members/$23 Guests. Those registering in advance will receive a copy of The Tomorrow Project Anthology.

Celebrate Norouz today! U-Me in Menlo Park is hosting a Norouz party today from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., featuring food, music and activities to celebrate the Persian New Year, and the traditional 13 days of activities when the sun directly faces the Earth's equator. Cost is $25 per family/free for members.

Asher Laughlin saw cardboard robots in a magazine, and decided to make his own by improvising with materials on hand. Not only did he create really cute robots representing each member of his family, his innovation won him a free week at Camp Galileo, as part of our Galileo Innovator contest. Hooray for Asher!

Asher and his mom were nice enough to answer some questions about Asher, the innovator.

Project: Paper robot family.

He…

Go green! Get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit with events in San Francisco, Dublin, and San Rafael. Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Festival runs until 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring Irish dancing, music, food, and crafts, including traditional knitting and weaving demonstrations. The San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival - the largest St. Patrick's Day west of the Mississippi - has a major parade beginning at 11:30 a.m., and kids rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, food, entertainment, and…

Girl Scouts are celebrating 100 years today! As all Girl Scouts are taught, Juliette Low began the organization 100 years ago in Georgia to encourage self-reliance and resourcefulness in girls through traditional homemaking activities, such as sewing and cooking, but also through teaching professional topics and citizenry. Girl Scouts today are much the same; exposing members to nature programs, but also science, technology and finance, while fostering leadership skills. Girl Scouts has recently launched a major campaign to empower girls to help them build confidence and connect…

Meet an astronaut at NASA Family Night! Chabot Space & Science Center will host Astronaut Rex J. Walheim as part of a Destination Station event tonight, March 9 from 5 - 9 p.m. Kids can create their own unique space suits, and hear a talk from Col. Walheim about life in the International Space Station. There will a Q&A session after the talk, and time for autographs and photos. Destination Station is part of an awareness campaign by NASA Johnson Space Center to promote work and activities…

In Part I we focused on simple questions for helping your child start to see that innovations are best designed for a particular audience.  You can use those questions whenever your child is about to embark on any new project at home or school. Here’s another activity to deepen a young innovator’s audience understanding skills:

Gather a pile of old magazines and have your child go on a “Character Safari.” Allow them 15 minutes to hunt for pictures of people who:

• Seem the most…

Welcome to Galileo Learning’s Innovation Station blog, a look at how to nurture innovation and creative thinking year round. We believe that the world needs innovators and problem solvers, and Galileo summer camps are only one avenue for teaching kids the skills to bring their ideas to life. Every month in Innovation Station, expect to find fun activities and thought-provoking content designed to inspire the innovator in your child. 

Please join our email list to receive this monthly blog post via email, plus news and discounts…

Galileo Learning, out and about! Make sure to find us this weekend at the San Francisco Summer Resource Fair and the Westgate Mall Camp Fair. We have a large banner making us easy to spot, and we'll be having the most fun, with spin art set up for kids to participate. Please stop by to say hi!

Moonlight hike tonight! Meet at Chabot Space & Science Center at 5 p.m. tonight for a moderately strenuous four to five mile hike through the redwoods. Learn about the sky, the…

Shake, Rattle and Rescue at The Tech! This weekend is an opportunity for teams for students in grades 5-12 to enter The Tech Challenge 2012 using the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem. The challenge this year is to create a way to help earthquake survivors. The premise is that an earthquake has severely damaged a bridge, but there is a person stranded on it who needs to be rescued. The challenge is to create a solution to rescue the person. The Tech Challenge website has all…

With just over a week left to take advantage of fabulous early bird discounts, the time to enroll in camp is now!

Here are five reasons to enroll now:

An Exceptional Staff comprised of selectively hired, rigorously trained educators who return year after year to make your child's camp experience consistent, enriching and fun;

Thoughtful Curriculum developed by our year-round education team, featuring four brand-new themes for Camp Galileo and 14 exciting majors for Galileo Summer Quest, and the Galileo Innovation…

An early bike ride with animals. The San Francisco Zoo is opening early Saturday morning for a family BikeAbout. There will be one hour and half hour cycling tours through the zoo, allowing an early morning glimpse of how the animals begin their day. Cost is $18 for zoo members, $23 for nonmembers, and free for children piggy backing on their parents' bikes. Cost includes the tour, admission to the zoo, and parking. Preregistration is required and guests must bring their own bikes and gear.

Get tinkering…

The Science of Love! Chabot Space and Science Center will have several Science of Love activities, including lessons in the science of chocolate, ancient chocolate cultivation, and why chocolate is associated with love. A craft area will be set up for Valentine card making. The Feb. 11 event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free with admission.

Valentine Celebration at the Marin Farmers Market! Get into the Valentine's Day spirit at the Marin Country Mart Farmers Market, Feb. 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Larkspur. The market will feature…

One sweet night! Tonight in Los Altos, take part in the Valentine Sweets Tour around downtown between 6-8 p.m. The all ages, free event features music, Valentine card making, and dessert tasting. Over 45 shops and restaurants will be open late for the celebration.

Imaginate! The newest exhibit at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley - Imaginate - aims to add creativity to science. The exhibit opens Feb. 4 and runs through April 29, and features some of the Hall's most popular activities, in…

Our adventure into space begins this week, as enrollment for Chabot Space & Science Camp opens Feb. 1. This camp promises to be the ultimate experience for aspiring scientists, engineers, inventors, and space explorers entering 3rd to 7th grade.

There are 10 unique, hands-on science and technology classes to chose between, including Coasters and Contraptions, Music and Technology, and Climate Quest. It's an opportunity to get behind-the-scenes at Chabot Space & Science Center, with all the fun and engaging activities for which Galileo…

Oceans Aglow! Take the kids on an evening hike, as the sun sets over the Marin Headlands. NatureBridge is offering an easy hike for all ages, in search of bioluminescent plankton twinkling in the sand, and ending with a bonfire and s'mores. The hike is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Jan. 28. Pre-registration is required.

Grab some popcorn and sit back with kid-friendly, short films! The Bay Area International Children's Film Festival is happening in Alameda this weekend. Both days are filled with…

**We've had a request to repost last year's Valentine's Day card idea. Soon we'll post another idea for this year, but in the meantime, last year's photo card is back, due to popular demand.**

This year our household Valentine list was over 75. My daughter is in 
a class of 20, but my son needed over 50 to cover two preschool
 parties. (One on a Thursday and another on a Monday, to ensure all 
kids make it to one party, regardless of how many days a week of
 preschool…

Celebrate Chinese New Year at Chabot! Chabot Space & Science Center is helping to ring in the Year of the Dragon with hands-on, traditional Chinese activities and crafts. The fun is included with admission, Jan. 21 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Enjoy constellations without getting wet from the rain! Randall Museum in San Francisco is hosting a drop-in science event featuring an inflatable planetarium. Learn about the stars and hear stories about the night's sky on Jan. 21 at 10:30 a.m. for only $4…

We know that Galileo campers are innovative all year round, not just during the summer. We've heard about the GSQ Fashion Designer who created her own unique Halloween costume, the Chefologist who cooks at home for his family, or the Nebula who created a clever way to retrieve her lost ball, and countless other takes of innovation.

We love these stories and want to hear more - so much that we're kicking off a new contest! Now, when you share a story about your child, the Galileo Innovator, on…

Ring in the Lunar New Year! The Children's Library in Palo Alto is hosting a Lunar New Year Spectacular from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 14. The free event features of variety of activities, including craft, a magician, a lion dance, kung fu demonstration, and a Mandarin story time. Food trucks will be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring various Asian dishes.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto! Create an artistic robot during the MakeArt Workshop Jan. 14 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. at…

Ready for an awesome summer? Enrollment for Summer 2012 is now open! Sign up for Camp Galileo (pre-k - rising 5th graders) or Galileo Summer Quest (rising 5th – 8th graders) today to guarantee a summer full of Galileo fun and
innovation.

Enroll now to take advantage of these amazing savings:

Sign up by March 1 and save $20 per week;
Save $20 off your camper’s second week of camp, $40 off the third week and $60 off the fourth week and beyond;
Take 50%…

We have very exciting news! Some would say astronomical news! We're partnering with Chabot Space & Science Center to create a fabulous, one-of-a-kind camp experience! Beginning this summer, campers entering third through seventh grades can take part in the Chabot Space & Science Camp, combining Chabot's world class facility in Oakland with our enthusiasm for learning, innovating, and our experience delivering a high quality camp experience that includes work in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The partnership will provide the ultimate camp experience for aspiring scientists, engineers, inventors, and space explorers. Campers will get a behind-the-scenes look…

It's migration time! The California gray whale is migrating south to Baja California, passing right by great viewing spots along the coast. Every weekend through April, docents will be out at Point Reyes National Seashore Lighthouse Observation Deck from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to answer questions about gray whales. A Journey of the Whales talk will be led by a park ranger on weekends at 1:30 p.m. beginning at the Lighthouse Visitor Center. The half-hour, free program includes information about the gray whale habitat, and adaptations, with some time to search the waters for…

Has science ever been so cute? These fun (and adorable) projects are science lessons for Nebulas.

Look up at the red moon!  A brief lunar eclipse will happen just before dawn on Dec. 10, estimated to be at 6:05 a.m. PST. Get the kids out of bed early to catch the last total lunar eclipse until 2014. Instead of turning dark, dusty air in our atmosphere will cause an orange to red hue over the moon. It may be early, but it’s a rare and unique way to start the day.

Become a certified field scientist at BioBlitz! Anyone can become an official…

This picture holds a big hint. If you can figure out what is on top of the shirts, you may have the answer to one of our new 2012 themes!

It’s not merely paint, brushes, and paper, but a fascinating lesson on art and artistic qualities. Plus, it’s always fun to throw on a smock and experiment with color.

Nebulas (campers who are pre-k or turning age five by Dec. 1) help out with our 2012 curriculum testing too!

It’s cold enough that many people are day dreaming about summer, but instead of day dreaming, we’re working hard on our summer plans. The Summer 2012 curriculum will soon be revealed, after many months of hard work and planning, including testing from a group of top camp experts: our campers themselves! In the next few days leading up to our exciting reveal of 2012 themes, we’ll post photos from our testing sessions that may include small hints of our awesome summer plans. Just try to guess what we’ve got planned!

Looking to get out, but avoid the holiday hustle? Bank of America’s Museums on Us is this weekend, granting free admission to anyone holding a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch card. It’s only at participating museums, but luckily the Bay Area has many, kid-friendly options, including: The Tech Museum, Chabot Space and Science Center, the de Young Museum, and the Children’s Creativity Museum.  The full list, and more details are available on the BofA website.

Make handmade holiday cards! The San Francisco Children’s Art Center has a cardmaking…

Ready to take tinkering to the next level? Tech Liminal in downtown Oakland is holding a Workshop Weekend Dec. 10-11, giving kids and adults the chance to learn new skills from experienced makers. Classes include: soldering, spontaneous magic, basic electroluminescent wire, flow wand levitation, and much more. Kids would love to learn how to impress their friends with a rainbow holographic levitating stick.

In Tech Liminal’s own words:

Have you heard about Workshop Weekend? You can learn to sew with electronics, create a musical instrument, and play with glowing electroluminescent…

Ever have a childhood fantasy of surviving in the wild? Take the Plants and People Tour for Kids at UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden to learn how California Indians used plants for everything from food to games. The tour will cover customs and skills used by the native Californians, and include a take-home project inspired by native crafts. The workshop is Nov. 19, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Preregistration is recommended; cost is $15 for each adult and child pair, $12 members, $5 each additional person.

‘Tis the season for ice skating outdoors. Outdoor rinks are…

Our search for a phenomenal 2012 seasonal Home Office team is officially underway! Each January, the year-round Home Office staff are joined by seasonal team members in our Recruiting and Customer Service departments who play an integral role in preparing for the upcoming summer (our eleventh!), and bring even more spirit to life at Galileo headquarters.

In addition to all the great things you know about Galileo from working at camp, Galileo Learning was recognized in 2011 as the No. 1 “Best Place to Work in the Bay Area” by The SF Business Times. Working on our Home Office team of 30+ means joining a close-knit group of high achievers who are passionate about Galileo’s mission: to develop innovators who envision and create a better world.

One of our new classes at The Tech Summer Camps this summer is Product Design Studio. It fits perfectly with the Galileo Innovation Approach, as the philosophy of the class really encourages campers to rethink and redesign (or invent!) everyday products. In its inaugural week, campers started off the class with a warm-up challenge: improve the peanut butter (and/or jelly) jar.

Typically, customers end up with smeared peanut butter…

Camp Galileo Lafayette is definitely moving along full speed. The hallways are filled with smiling campers and the sounds of team cheers. Like our campers, the staff is bonding closer together, innovating new things themselves. Chalk covers the floors with chicken-walks, giant footsteps and hopscotch. We’re on our way to creating memories—both for our campers and our staff—that will last a lifetime.

It’s hard to describe the magic that happens at camp. It’s a chance for campers to reinvent themselves. Children who are reluctant to raise their hand in…

Our Summer Snapshot contest is back for another summer, and this time, we’re giving away our biggest prize ever! As part of our ten-year celebration, we’ve got a perfect 10 of a prize. Can you guess what it is? Drum roll, please…It’s 10 free weeks of camp for one lucky winning family! Spread the winnings out over two years, ten years, or more because it’s 10 weeks of camp!

We want to see your innovators in action! To enter, post a picture on our Facebook page of…

As our Chefologists know, cooking is like science. It involves testing, a little risk taking, and a lot of hoping for a successful outcome. The Galileo Summer Quest Chefology Major teaches campers skills that will serve them for life, including knife skills, menu planning, recipe reading and adjustment, and for Quasars, an introduction to the local food movement. While the GSQ Major is designed for rising 5th-8th graders, it’s never too early to get comfortable cooking in the kitchen at home. My daughter has no interest in learning…