Free Public Lands Day

If you're not sure what to do on Saturday, it's Public Lands Day and you can get in free to some National Parks. See the list here. The closest is Muir Woods.

See Your Own Backyard: Movies, Ducks, Boat Tours, Wax Museum, Hornet, Air Tour

If you're been meaning to check out some of the local attractions that mostly the tourists seem to visit, you're in luck. On Groupon today, there's a slew of offers for local family fun at discount prices - links at the bottom:

Movies
Okay, this isn't actually a tourist thing, but I had to mention it. Regal Movie Theaters (including United Artists theaters) are offering ticket deals at half off. For $13 get two movie tickets. Read the fine print. No expiration date.

Red and White Fleet

$29 for a holiday twilight cruise (normally $58), includes food, drink, live music. Good November 4 through March 31.

Wax Museum
$16 for TWO tickets (value $32) for this Fisherman's Wharf favorite.

USS Hornet
This Alameda aircraft carrier is awesome. $16 buys you admission for two (normally $32), or $29 buys you admission for 4

Bay Voyager
This Oakland company takes you on two hour boat tours (a rigid inflatable motor boat) to see various historic buildings, island and ships in day or at night. $69 allows two passengers or $139 for four.

Wildlife and Eco Tour
These 90 minute California coast and tributaries tour run $19 for one person, $38 for two, or rent the whole boat and bring 46 friends for $699. (half off)

San Carlos Flight Center
Enough with the boats already. Take an aerial tour for $199 instead of the usual $400, and you'll get a one hour Bay Area tour for up to three people.

To Frisco Kids' Jewish Readers

Wishing you and your family a G'mar Hatimah Tovah, an inscription in the book of life and a good year! May you have an easy and meaningful fast.

Coming Up: Autogiro Day at Hiller

Never heard of an autogiro? Me either! Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos is featuring these flying machines on Saturday, September 29 in a special day of activities featuring the earliest rotary-winged aircraft. These were the leading aircraft designs from the 1920s into the 30s. And Amelia Earhart set an altitude record flying one at 18,000 feet. They look like funky helicopters.

Schedule:
10-11 Autogiros arrive - weather permitting
10:30-1:30 - rotor roundup exhibition and kids' activities
11-12 - soar with books (preschool reading program - $1.50/child fee for nonmembers)
11-2 - flight simulators, open-helicopter missions available (extra fee)
11 - presentation on autogiros and helicopters by Jean-Pierre Harrison
12 - another presentation by Harrison on James Weir and the development of the autogiro
12 - autogiros depart - weather permitting
1:30-4:30 - whirlybirds away program (advanced registration required; hands-on workshop for grades 1-5; you'll take home a remote controlled helicopter; program fee of $50 for nonmembers, $45/member, includes admission as well)

What: Autogiro Day
When: Saturday, September 29 from 10-4:30
Where: Hiller Aviation Museum

Coming Up: Preschool Science Program - Free

Here's a fun preschool program. Bring your preschoolers for a morning of hands-on science while exploring the wonders of magnetism with the Wornick Day School teachers.  

Where: Wornick Jewish Day School (800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City)
When: Sunday, September 30 from 10-11 a.m.
RSVP: to Judy Thalheimer at admissions@wornickjds.org or call (650) 378-2635

7-11 Presidential Coffee Poll

Buy some coffee, choose your candidate! 7-"election" is holding a fun new promo (see my Instagram photo). Choose either a red Romney cup or a blue Obama cup, and the store tallies the sales daily.

Not sure how they're doing this, because where I bought my Slurpee, there were very few Romney cups left and tons of Obama, though I'm sure Obama is going to win in this area. So either they're stocking fewer loser Romney cups in that store, or someone is trying to make a statement, or those who shop at 7-11 are Romney fans (though yeterday's tally slip showed them just about even at the store).

Fun stuff.

Get FREE coffee at 7-11 on September 28, from 6-10 a.m.

Research Study: Girls and Breast Cancer

I'm posting this because a friend I trust is participating in the study, and her daughter has found it interesting. If it's of interest to you, please contact the researcher. We've done medical studies with our kids before, and it's a good learning process for them, to help them understand how the research helps us discover new treatments, new medications and how the body works.

The pitch:

I work on breast cancer-related research studies at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, a non-profit organization in Fremont, CA.  The new study I am working on is currently recruiting girls ages 6-13 to participate in a 5-year study aimed to look at things we can do to prevent breast cancer starting from a young age.  This is truly cutting-edge research, especially if there are indeed things that children (and their parents) can do to reduce their risk of getting cancer as adults. 

The study is funded by the National Cancer Institute and is called the LEGACY Girls Study.  We are trying to recruit 270 girls here in the Bay Area as apart of a national cohort study where researchers are aiming to follow them throughout all stages of the pubescent and prepubescent life.  We have already recruited 100 girls!  If you or your friends/family members have a daughter who is 6-13 years old living in the Bay Area, we would absolutely LOVE for her to participate in our study.   

Some details: If you and your daughter agree to participate, there will be a female interviewer who will come to your home and 1) ask your daughter general questions about habits and exercise 2) measure your daughter's waist, hips, height, weight, and foot size and 3) if your daughter is willing, collect a urine and a small blood sample.  Although a blood sample is not necessary to participate in the study, it is a very powerful tool that helps us link biology to behavior and cancer risk.  Both you and your daughter will receive gift cards to fun places like TARGET at each visit as an appreciation for your contribution to the study. More importantly -- everything is strictly confidential! 

I've attached a 2-page brochure about the LEGACY Girls Study (Frisco Kids note: obviously that's not attached here, nor do I have a copy) and here is the link to our website: www.legacygirlsstudy.org.  The folks leading this study, as well as the interviewers, are AMAZING and they have done a great job making everyone who participates feel comfortable and well-informed about the whole process.  If you are interested, feel free email or call me (my work contact info is below).  I would love to speak to you more about it.  Alternatively, if you know others who would be interested, please pass this message along to them.

Thanks so much for helping out!

                     Meera Sangaramoorthy, M.P.H.

                     Epidemiologist III

                     Cancer Prevention Institute of California

                     2201 Walnut Avenue, Suite 300    |    Fremont, CA 94538     tel  (510) 608-5020  fax (510) 608-5085   www.cpic.org