It's Maker Faire weekend! The Maker Faire runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds, and is full of cool stuff. This year, in addition to hands on activities and inspiring talks, Caine from Caine's Arcade will be there, as will Adam Savage from Myth Busters, but best of all, we'll be there! Find us to build a stick structure that can survive a shake table earthquake, make a Spin Art creation, and check out Go-Karts while talking to the campers who made them. Ticket prices vary.

Come find us at the Maker Faire this weekend for some great fun!  We'll be there both days, running an exhbit with three fabulous attractions. 

Shake and Quake Test Center – With assistance from experienced camp staff, kids will build structures from Popsicle sticks and hot glue and test to see if they can withstand an earthquake.

Go Kart Garage – Check out close up Go-Karts made by campers.  The Go-Kart makers will be on hand to talk about the creative process behind the Go-Karts. 

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.