Things to Do in San Mateo

AquanFest brings together environmental agencies, adventure sports companies, and outdoor groups for an open-air and water festival that teaches interested people about healthy, environmentally conscious activities. You'll have the opportunity to demo hundreds of kayaks and stand-up paddle boards and learn about the new hybrid sport of stand-up paddle surfing. Industry experts and manufacturers will also provide clinics for the newest products and trends in scuba, snorkeling, paddling, surfing, swimming, triathlons, kayak fishing, and more. Hosted by northern Cal's largest water-sports center, AquanFest is an adventure-filled festival of demos, clinics, films, and significantly discounted products at the AquanFest super sale.

With the help of her kids, certified personal trainer Jodi Hamilton-Eichensehr designed a family-friendly playspace celebrating the fun of fitness with games and obstacle courses centered on a giant animal-themed jungle gym. Guarded by a toucan and gorilla, the gym's labyrinthine interior conceals bridges, tunnels, ladders and slides, as well as a trapdoor to the Fountain of Youth. As kids traverse the gym, their bodies covertly enjoy a full cardio workout while building balance, hand-eye coordination, and confidence. Small-group fitness classes teach children about nutrition before building up their appetites with activities such as dashes through the jungle gym or sprints across a running track peppered with hurdles. Jodi also hosts adult classes, which emphasize fun, varied fitness, from cardio to strength training, to build parents' stamina during capture-the-flag tournaments at the office. Staffers also host unforgettable soirees for birthdays, which split guests' time between the jungle gym, party room, and video arcade.

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.

With a Masters Degree in Education and teaching credentials from Notre Dame de Namur, many years of classroom experience, and four years of tutoring under her belt, Christina Stenstrom is driven to inspire young girls to achieve their dreams. Established in 2008, her annual summer camps center on artistic expression with a healthy dose of business savvy. Girls not only learn to work with arts and crafts, they learn about branding and making commercials, and pitch ideas to their instructor over the course of the week. By the end of the week, the girls get a chance to paint, draw, sing, and play with a greenscreen without risking an encounter with one of Spielberg's dinosaurs.

Over the course of 50 years, the family that runs Helm of Sun Valley has amassed an inventory of top-shelf gear for wintry recreation and summertime watersports. Before stocking their shelves, the shop's athletic staffers take skis from Alpina, kiteboards from Cabrinha, and water skis from Connelly for test spins to appraise their performance. Standout sports gear snags a spot inside the store, along with apparel and accessories. Employees also rent out and tune up equipment. They specialize in fitting snowboard boots to feet, sometimes fashioning custom ZipFit liners by molding foam around arches. New kiteboard owners can master the sport by attending lessons, during which instructors teach basics on land before waving pupils onward into frothy crests.