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 Approach, which teaches campers how to bring their ideas to life;

Unparalleled Fun—healthy doses of the all-camp activities, silly traditions and outdoor games that make camp just plain F-U-N;

Incredible Convenience with 21 Bay Area locations for Camp Galileo and 10 locations for Galileo Summer Quest, extended care until 6:00 p.m. and delicious daily lunch options;

Amazing Discounts including savings of $20 per week when you sign up by March 1, plus up to an additional $60 per week for enrolling in 2+ weeks.

Watch our Camp Galileo video and our Galileo Summer Quest video to see camp in action. Don't forget to enroll by March 1 to lock in savings of up to $200—you can change sessions or locations for no charge until March 31!

Get tinkering at the Exploratorium! It's The Tinkering Studio's Open MAKE day on Saturday, Feb. 18, and this month's theme is time. Time will be explored through stop motion animation, taking apart clocks to learn how they work, art allowing guests to express their own relationship with time, stroboscope photography, and a clock making workshop. There will be a talk featuring questions from the audience with five featured Makers, discussing their work and creative process in the McBean Theater at 1 p.m. Activities began at 10 a.m. and are included with the cost of admissions. While visiting with younger children, the Exploratorium is opening it's new Explorables station this Saturday, for ages three and up. Kids can make new creations using everyday materials, and take them home, for free. It's a refashioning of their 20 year old Physics with Toys program. The Exploratorium will be open on Monday for President's Day.

Richardson Bay after dark! Take part in the Richardson Bay Audubon Center's Sanctuary Night Hike, Sat., Feb. 18 from 6 - 8 p.m., allowing an after dark look at the sanctuary, and weather permitting, the constellations. Cost is $7 per person and preregistration is required.

Native American Storytelling. Hidden Villa in the Los Altos Hills is offering a Sunday afternoon of Native American tales and Ohlone Indian games and activities. The event is from 2 - 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19. Cost is $10 per person.

Spend Presidents' Day with primates! (That wasn't a political commentary.) The Oakland Zoo is hosting Primate Discovery Day on Monday, Feb. 20, including primate keeper talks, animal presentations, primate feedings, face painting, and other activities. The event begins at 10 a.m., is included with admission and supports chimpanzee conservation through the Budongo Snare Removal Project in Uganda. 

A special mid-week event because many kids may be out of school this week:

Happy birthday, Edward Gorey! The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco is holding an Edward Gorey party celebrating the artist's birthday, Wed., Feb. 22 from 6 - 8 p.m. The free event will feature "mysterious interpretations from the Fantod Deck," readings from Gorey's books, and a presentation by Gorey's former neighbor and playwright Carol Verburg. Cake and drinks will be provided.

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 cupcake decorating, pony rides, face painting, card making, a puppet show and stories. Tim Cain's music for kids and Brown Chicken Brown Cow will both play during the event.

SF Symphony Rings in the Chinese New Year! The San Francisco Symphony is holding a special Year of the Dragon family concert Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. Prior to the concert, at 3 p.m., a celebration will include magicians, acrobats, fortune tellers, stilt-walkers, contortionists, Chinese plate spinners, and others. Ticket prices range from $15-68.

Chinese New Year Parade! It's finally time for the annual Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco, the largest of its kind outside of Asia. The parade is Feb. 11 from 5:15-8 p.m., and prior to the parade is the Chinatown Community Street Fair featuring acrobatics, kite-making, and calligraphy. The free street fair runs Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Feb. 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rabbit Day in Atherton! 4-H and Sacred Heart Prep students will be showing off unique rabbits during Rabbit Day at the Atherton Library, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m. to noon. The students will discuss rabbit diet, habitat, and care.

Avatar, The Last Airbender! Meet Gene Yang, author of the Avatar, The Last Airbender comic books, as he gives a talk and signing of his latest comic, "Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise." The free event is at Fantastic Comics in Berkeley, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m.

Stenciled Hearts! Make one-of-a-kind Valentine's Day cards using stencils at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco. The museum is hosting the Stencil-Style event Feb. 11 from 2-4 p.m., aimed at ages five and up. Cost is $5 for materials and admission.

Valentine Tea for Kids! Take part in a Valentine's Day tea designed for kids at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens, including an exploration of herbs and flowers. Kids will make fresh tea and finger-sized herb sandwiches, along with Valentine cards made of pressed botanicals. The tea is Sunday, Feb. 12 from 10-11 a.m., and again at 1-2:30 p.m. Registration is required.

Hey Red Headed Girls! The Charles M. Shultz Museum wants to make Valentine's Day special for red heads, honoring Charlie Brown's affinity for a red headed girl. The museum will be closed on Valentine's Day, therefore is offering free admission on Feb. 12 to any red headed girls. Yes, this is real.

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 addition to a few new projects, including stop motion animation, a tinkering workshop, and a music lab.

Free Museum Weekend for Bank of America cardholders. The first full weekend of the month means a free adult admission for BofA cardholders to participating Bay Area museums (Children's Creativity Museum, Chabot Space & Science Center, Contemporary Jewish Museum, de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor, The Tech Museum, and the San Jose Museum of Art).

Cheese Please Pizza Lunch! Kids ages 6-11 will learn to make fresh mozzarella cheese at Hidden Villa farm in the Los Altos Hills on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. Kids will search the farm for edible greens and flowers for a salad and make a pita bread pizza with the fresh cheese. The class will end with a picnic lunch together. Adults are not required to attend. Advance registration is required.

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 Learning is known. Program details are available on the Chabot Space & Science Camp website.

Our popular refer-a-friend program applies to Chabot Space & Science Camp too! Refer a first-time family to a Galileo camp and you'll each save $40! The refer-a-friend bonus includes a Buy 1 Get 1 Free pass to Chabot Space & Science Center, a free family pass to the de Young Museum, a General Admission Voucher to the Tech Museum and a discount to the Klutz online store.

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 great short films to be enjoyed by all ages. Check out the schedule and buy tickets at the Bay Area International Children's Film Festival website.

A Lunar New Year Celebration for all ages! The San Francisco Zoo is hosting a lunar New Year Celebration this Sunday, Jan. 29 including Chinese acrobats, Lion dancing, Chinese yo-yo tricks, a scavenger hunt, and a Zodiac tour of the zoo. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is included with admission. However, guests born in the Year of the Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 and 2012) will receive free Zoo admission to the event!

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon continues at the Discovery Museum in San Jose. The celebration includes 30 minute performances scheduled throughout Saturday and Sunday, including dancing, a youth symphony, origami, and thinking games.

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 they attend. Other than a higher tuition, this is the real
 penalty for sending a child to preschool five days a week.) When I
 have to make 75 of anything, my attention to fine details goes out the
 door and the project turns into a battle of wills.

Yet, even with the high number of cards needed, I still want to send my kids to school with something unique to hand out to their friends. Last year’s little converted match boxes filled with candy were a hit, but too much work to repeat. My daughter’s classes have always featured homemade, rather than store bought cards, and while homemade cards can be work, it’s also fun and a time for us to get creative and brainstorm ideas as a family.

This year I looked around for inspiration, and built some of my own prototypes, but either our ideas were disappointing or took way too much time or money to create 75 copies. That was until I stumbled upon the greatest, quick Valentine’s Day card ever: a photo of an outstretched arm offering the recipient a lollipop. The idea’s creator said it took her an hour to do her cards, and it only took me a little more because I had the photos printed at the store, rather than drain my own printer ink on the high number of cards.


I took pictures outside of my kids holding a fist out toward me.
Trying to get my four year old to pose properly was a little
 challenge. He kept getting distracted by bugs, flowers and a dog
walking by.

I used Photoshop to add the wording to the photos, but free options, such as Picnik (before April, when it will shut down), work just as well. Consider this a little pre-Galileo Summer Quest foray into Digital Photography. I sent them over to a local store for developing, and once home, I used an X-Acto knife to cut small slits above and below their fists. Then we gently pushed the Tootsie Roll stick through and secured the stick in the back with a little tape. Finished! It was easier than cutting out construction paper hearts.

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 per child.

Make Toys! Interview innovative toy makers and make some toys of your own at the Exploratorium's Open MAKE, Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dissect toys, build a scribbling machine, and make a top, among other activities. Price is included with admission.

See future Olympians up close! Attention figure skating fans! The U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held Jan. 22 - 29 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, allowing an in-person glimpse of some of the greats and future greats of the sport. Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.

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 Facebook, you'll have a chance to win a free week of camp in Summer 2012. Here's how to enter:

* Leave a comment on our Facebook page letting us know how you child has shown the innovative spirit since camp (hint: you need to Like us first);
* You'll get one entry for the comment, two entries for a photo of the innovation accompanying your comment, and a bonus entry for sharing our contest on your own Facebook page. (Just hit the share button!)

The winning innovator will receive a free week of camp and be featured on our blog!

Contest ends midnight, March 1. A winner will be randomly selected. If the winner has already enrolled for camp at Galileo, the winning week can be reimbursed.

Whether you child was inspired at camp to learn more about an engaging subject, had the confidence to voice a new idea, made a marvelous mistake or has just been testing and redesigning a camp project since July, we can't wait to hear about it!

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto! Create an artistic robot during the MakeArt Workshop Jan. 14 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. at the San Francisco Main Library. The free event is targeted toward kids ages 6-12, giving them a chance to play around with nuts, bolts, paper and other art supplies to create a unique robot.

Meet a Cartoonist! Tessa Brunton, Cartoonist-in-Residence this month at the Charles Schultz Museum will be on-hand Saturday afternoon from 1 - 3 p.m. to talk about cartooning and answer questions, while allowing cartooning fans to learn more about the field.

Let's hear it for a female sports icon! Tennis legend Billie Jean King will be giving a talk at the Charles Schultz Museum Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. The museum is running an exhibit Leveling the Playing Field, featuring Charles Schulz’s depiction of girls in sports with 86 original Peanuts comic strips, an overview of women's sports history, and examples of women's sports attire from the 1880s to the present. The exhibit celebrates the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the federal legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, most known for its impact on high school and collegiate athletics programs. The exhibit will run through August.

Lead kids in a Day of Service! Help honor Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in a day of service with your children. Various activities are being held around the bay, including clean ups in Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond, Habitat for Humanity projects, tutoring in Hillsborough, food bank work in San Carlos and Novato, coat drives in Newark, habitat restoration in Oakland, and walks for social justice in Oakland and Marin. To find a project near by, go to the Day of Service website and enter your zip code.