Classes/places to go

Atherton Lacrosse
38 Maple Ave., Atherton. Summer camps, classes and clinics throughout the year. Beginners to Intermediate levels. Open to boys and girls of all ages. Locations at Holbrook-Palmer Park in Atherton, Menlo Park and Los Altos Hills.
E-mail: AthertonLacrosse@gmail.com. Call 650-799-3600.

Camp Unalayee Association
3921 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto. Since 1949, Camp Unalayee, a nonprofit camp, has operated as a summer multicultural resident camp in Trinity Alps Wilderness in Northern California. Through backpacking and outdoor living, children ages 10-17 learn cooperative living and ecological awareness. Three two-week sessions. Cost is $1,725. Financial aid available. Transportation provided from the Bay Area. Director: Lowell Fitch.
E-mail: office@unalayee.org. Call 650-969-6313; fax 650-962-8234.

Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mtn. View. See entry in Arts (Museums) section. Call 650-810-1010.

Dance classes
Palo Alto. Palo Alto Arts and Sciences Division offers dance classes each quarter for children ages 2-18 in ballet, hip hop, modern dance and capoeira. Call 650-463-4900.

DanceVisions
Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, Bldg. L-3, Palo Alto. A nonprofit community dance project offering ongoing classes, including pre-ballet, ballet and modern dance for children. Director: Board of Directors President, Laura Zweig.
E-mail: info@danceaction.org . Call 650-858-2005.

Dreams and Futures
1000 Villa St., Mtn. View. The Mountain View Police Department runs an award-winning program for at-risk youth. The program runs from June through August for 4th-7th graders, and emphasizes teamwork and building self-esteem. Recreation leaders assist police volunteers in leading activities such as athletics, field trips and decision-making programs. Free. Transportation is provided. Program is through teacher referral. Director: Mountain View Police Department.
E-mail: ron.cooper@mountainview.gov. Call 650-903-6344.

Foothill College Observatory
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. View stars, planets and galaxies through a 16-inch reflecting telescope. Open on clear Fri nights 9-11 p.m. Solar viewing on Sat 10 a.m.-noon. Closed when cloudy. Free to all ages. $2 (eight quarters) parking. Call 650-949-7334.

Hidden Villa
26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills . The 1,600-acres of farm and foothill lands, once owned by the late Frank and Josephine Duveneck, are the base of a working organic farm, educational activities for children, hiking trails and a youth hostel. A summer camp runs from June-August and environmental education programs from September-May. Open Tue-Sun 9 a.m.-sunset. Director: Chris Overington, executive director .
E-mail: info@hiddenvilla.org. Call 650-949-8650; 650-949-8648 for reservations.

Holbrook-Palmer Park
150 Watkins Ave., Atherton . For ballet classes, call Kimiko Sugano at 650-326-7182. For tennis classes, call 650-752-0540. For playschool, call 650-854-6705.
E-mail: atherton@ci.atherton.ca.us. Call 650-752-0534.

Menlo Park Recreation Center
700 Alma St., Menlo Park . Music, dance, art, tennis classes; large gymnastics program; youth sport classes and leagues; swimming lessons in summer. Stop by and pick up a catalog. Mon-Thu 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Director: Barbara George. Call 650-330-2200; 650-324-1721.

Mimi Dye School of Music
4251 Los Palos Ave., Palo Alto. Locations in north and south Palo Alto. Offers year-round private and group music lessons for violin, viola, guitar, cello, piano and chamber music from very beginners to advanced. Children 4 yrs. and up and adults. Director: Mimi Dye.
E-mail: mimidye@aol.com. Call 650-380-0961.

Mitchell Park Youth and Teen Center
3800 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. The Drop is a free after-school drop-in center, offering computer/homework lab, homework assistance, break dancing, game tournaments, pool table, ping-pong, big-screen TV, snack shack, community service activities, teen leadership clubs, movies and more. Monthly middle-school dances, Teen band concerts. Open Mon-Fri 3-6 p.m., Wed 2-6 p.m. Director: Adam Howard, supervisor for recreation programs, teens.
E-mail: adam.howard@cityofpaloalto.org. Call 650-329-2390.

Moffett Field Museum
Moffett Field, Mtn. View . Displays aircraft models and artifacts. An actual P2 and P3 are outside the museum. Open Wed-Sat 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tours of the museum and tour of outside of Hangar 1. Director: Museum Curator: Bill Stubkjaer, President: Bernie McDonough.
E-mail: moffettmuseum@sbcglobal.net. Call 650-964-4024; fax 650-964-4028.

Mountain View Public Library
585 Franklin St., Mtn. View . Free age-level program series September-May requiring registration. Programs for toddlers and infants include Babies and Books, Baby Steps Up; preschoolers: Young 2s, Terrific 2s, Stories Plus and Reading Readiness. Free drop-in programs: Story time for 3-6 year-olds. Sat 10:15-11 a.m. Stories, music, movement and craft. Monthly Spanish story times. Call 650-903-6337.

Mountain View Recreation Division youth classes
201 S. Rengstorff Ave., Mtn. View . Fun and creative classes for young people in three groups: preschool, elementary school and middle school/teens. Preschool programs include creative movement, pre-ballet and Munchkin Theater, with age-appropriate physical and cognitive skills. Elementary school-age programs include ballet, jazz dance, tap dance, Tae Kwon Do, creative writing, cartooning, Theater in the Park and summer day camps, singing, nature study, arts and crafts and field trips. Middle and high school-age programs include Rec-ing Crew (camp of sports, crafts, barbecues, parties and field trips), street dance, yoga, Tae Kwon Do and Mountain View Teen Center, for dance, billiards, music, socializing. Open gym. Teen volunteer opportunities (special events, lifeguard, rec leadership training). Fees for some programs. Director: John Marchant.
E-mail: recreation@mountainview.gov . Call 650-903-6331.

Museum of American Heritage
351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto . Early inventions of the 19th and 20th centuries are brought to life. In the Livermore Learning Center, hands-on classes and workshops engage and encourage the public, especially youth, to understand principles and history of technology and consider careers in science and technology. Fri-Sun 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Special tours at other times available by arrangement.
E-mail: mail@moah.org. Call 650-321-1004.

Pacific Art League
668 Ramona St., Palo Alto . Art classes for children, teens and adults. Galleries. Director: Stephanie Demos.
E-mail: office@pacificartleague.org. Call 650-321-3891.

Palo Alto Art Center
1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto . Offers year-round art classes and workshops for children ages preschool and up. Project LOOK! offers a docent-led tour of current exhibitions with a hands-on activity that follows in the Project LOOK! studio. The center is open Tue-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tue-Thu 7-10 p.m.; Sun 1-5 p.m. Director: Linda Craighead.
E-mail: artcenter@cityofpaloalto.org. Call 650-329-2366.

Palo Alto Family YMCA Ventura Youth Activity Center
3990 Ventura Court, Palo Alto. The Ventura Youth Activity Center is for elementary to high school-age students. The center includes the Henry Page computer center, a tutoring center and an activity center with pool tables, foosball, air hockey, ping-pong and basketball courts. Offerings include: soccer, crafts, basketball, homework time and community service projects. Most activities are free. Sponsored by the Palo Alto Family YMCA, and the City of Palo Alto's Recreation and Positive Alternatives for Youth departments. Mon-Fri 3:30-6:30 p.m. Director: Danny Koba, program director. Call 650-493-2463.

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto . Fun and learning go together for children and their families in the hands-on, interactive exhibits and mini-zoo. The zoo houses bobcats, a red-tailed hawk and bats. The museum offers science classes, summer camps and an outreach program to local schools. Tue-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun 1-4 p.m.
E-mail: ines.thiessen@cityofpaloalto.org. Call 650-329-2111; fax 650-473-1965.

Palo Alto Recreation
1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Gymnastics, hula, golf, yoga, soccer, tennis. Teen programs offer free dance workshops including breakdance, hip-hop and choreographed dance. Pick up an Enjoy catalog at Palo Alto recreation centers and libraries. Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Call 650-463-4900.

Parents Place
200 Channing Ave., Palo Alto. A program of Jewish Family and Children's Services, offers a wide array of services to help parents guide their children to adulthood. Services include a diverse curriculum of parent-support groups, classes and workshops, as well as Parents Place Community Education Center, a mobile program that brings support groups and workshops to work sites. Parents Place houses a drop-in playroom, parenting library, a child-care community bulletin board, and comprehensive mental-health services for children, teens and families. Parents Place also provide parent coaching and consultation and staff training to Early Childhood programs. Director: Beth Schecter.
E-mail: parentsplacepeninsula@jfcs.org. Call 650-688-3040; fax 650-330-0866.

Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA
12 Airport Blvd., San Mateo . Weekday tours inform visitors about shelter animals and available services, for groups of 20 or less, all ages. Summer day camps teach 9-12-year-olds about the humane society and responsible pet care. After-school service-learning program for ages 10-12 runs September-May; themes vary. Vet Shadow program for high school students held in December and June.
E-mail: amyd@peninsulahumanesociety.org. Call 650-340-7022 ext. 369.

Peninsula Youth Theatre
2500 Old Middlefield Way, Mtn. View . Peninsula Youth Theatre, a home company of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, operates a school of performing arts for children ages 3 1/2-18. Call or check website for classes and camps. Director: Karen Simpson.
E-mail: info@pytnet.org. Call 650-988-8798.

Portola Valley Town Center
765 Portola Road, Portola Valley . Various classes such as art, soccer, Hapkido/Tae Kwon Do, music, science and nature.
E-mail: towncenter@portolavalley.net. Call 650-851-1700.

San Mateo County History Museum
See entry in Arts (Museums) section.

Teen Center
298 Escuela Ave., Mtn. View. The Teen Center provides a safe, respectful, enriching environment for local middle and high school students only. Teens can enjoy free, supervised barbecues, craft and cooking projects, DJ nights, and air hockey, foosball and pool tournaments. Those who attend must register and abide by behavior guidelines; no violence, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gang colors/symbols will be tolerated. Hours: Fri-Sat 6:30-9 p.m. during the school year, excluding holidays. Call 650-526-7005 .

Violin and Music Studio of Mid-town Palo Alto
2862 Bryant St., Palo Alto . Offers private and group violin instructions to children aged 7 and up, and adults for all levels. Group music classes for children aged 4 to 7 to provide a solid foundation when they're ready to learn any music instrument later. Year-round enrollment. Taught by professionally trained violinist and experienced violin teacher. Director: Lingling Yang.
E-mail: linglingy@gmail.com. Call 650-456-7648.

Violin-Viola Studios of Palo Alto
528 Hilbar Lane, Palo Alto. Affiliated with Music Studios of Palo Alto. Offers year-round private music lessons for violin and viola. Beginners to Advanced. Children 7 years and up, and adults. Director: Dr. Denise Chevalier.
E-mail: denisechevalier@gmail.com. Call 650-328-1520.