Things to Do in East Palo Alto

Helicopter pioneer Stanley Hiller Jr. founded the Hiller Aviation Museum with the future in mind, using history to inspire future generations to explore and create. He had firsthand proof of the innovative abilities of youth—his design for the first successful coaxial helicopter landed at age 15.

In the museum he established in 1998, 53,000 square feet of exhibits let visitors of all ages discover more than 40 aircraft without the dangers of encountering them in the wild. A narrated walking tour leads the way through them, tracing the history of flight from its humble beginnings in village jumping contests to today's supersonic jets. Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft designed by Hiller and others rest throughout the huge, bright space, while weekends beckon would-be pilots into a flight simulator equipped with huge monitors of bay views and realistic yokes, throttles, and pedals.

The FAA-certified flight instructors at California Airways offer something for aspiring fliers of all ages with pilot certification programs, high-school summer camps, and birthday parties for smaller children. No matter what their experience level is, guests of legal age can handle the rudders of not only the business’s simulators but also its Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes. Joining the California Airways club allows license-carrying pilots to rent these aircraft, provided they know the proper levitation incantations.

For more than a decade, Team Bay Tennis's founder and director Igor Savanovic has fine-tuned the swings of athletes ranging from beginners to pros. Savanovic and two other instructors tailor their instruction to varying levels of play. They work with graduated court and racket sizes while forming a personal rapport and motivational relationship with students. Adults hone strokes in clinics or one-on-one lessons that focus on technical aspects of the game, such as how to deal with hecklers.

420 pounds of butter. 900 eggplants. 210 gallons of honey. This isn’t a recipe for a record-breaking dish, but rather, a portion of the ingredients that go into making this festival delicious. A crew of chefs and bakers spend the three-day event whipping these products and more into Greek dishes and pastries, employing the same recipes and culinary techniques that their forefathers used. This celebration of cultural history and traditions is the foundation on which the Belmont Greek Festival is built.

Hellenic enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds descend upon the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross to enjoy food and festivities. A calendar of engaging events includes cooking demonstrations, performances by folk-dancing groups, and tours of the church’s Byzantine-style interior. The outdoor amphitheater hosts live plays, evoking the feel of an ancient theatre thanks to its open-air design and centaur ushers. Kids can take to the Fun Zone for games, rides, and bouncy castles, and shoppers visit the agora flea market to find Mediterranean books, artwork, jewelry, and clothing. The Church of the Holy Cross spreads cheer after the weekend is done by donating part of the festival’s proceeds to local charities, which in the past have included the Children’s Advocacy Council and Samaritan House.

Underneath the stately stained-glass dome of the 1910 Old County Courthouse, tourists, locals, and history buffs stuff their brains with knowledge from interactive kiosks and thousands of books and primary sources about San Mateo County. Hands-on school programs and a wealth of exhibits educate visitors on particular aspects of the region's heritage, including the natural resources that enrich the shores and forests, and the waves of pioneers who turned local raw materials into ax handles, salted hams, and maple candy. The museum’s curators and archivists pride themselves on their professionalism, nabbing a coveted accreditation by the American Association of Museums, an honor claimed by only a small percentage of the nation’s museums and none of the nation’s dry cleaners.

AeroDynamic Aviation owner and chief pilot Zdravko took his first flight at the ripe old age of 2 months. As his baby eyes looked out the window of the DC-3 airliner, watching the houses grow smaller and smaller and the clouds become his companions, the idea of flight bored itself into his mind. Zdravko has now racked up more than 7,000 flight hours—most of them as a flight instructor—and completed taildragger and acrobatics training with Amelia Reid, a pioneer of female flying and the 1960 founder of the location's original flight school.

Together with his fellow FAA-certified instructors, Zdravko shares his passion for flight via sport, private, commercial, and aerobatics training. The staff is dedicated to educating pilots on tailwheel aircraft and teaching true stick-and-rudder flying, which is much more reliable than using leather reins attached to each wing.