The Crucible Bay Area Industrial Art School Announces Family Weekends to Warm Up the Holidays

Oakland, CA (PRWEB) September 28, 2011

The Crucible is gearing up for the holidays with the announcement of two special Bay Area family activities. The first, a celebration of all that is spooky, is Halloween Family Fun Weekend, which will be held Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23 from 10 am to 6 pm. Families can also learn new ?stuff? at Crucible?s Thanksgiving Family Fun Weekend planned for Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20 from 10 am to 6 pm.

?Most of the time I see teenagers paired with one of their parents in my classes,? said Joey Gottbrath, Crucible Studio Operations Director and Woodturning Instructor. ?I know it?s a struggle for most parents to find an activity they can do with their teen that is exciting to both. It?s pretty awesome to see the dynamic that develops as the experience and environment create an even playing field. You can watch family members? personal growth bring them closer together and strengthen their relationship.?

Families can chose from courses in blacksmithing, jewelry making and metalworking, sculpture welding, MIG welding, TIG welding, woodturning and creating with neon. All family fun weekend classes are entry level, and the price of each class includes tuition for two that covers the cost of all materials and safety gear.

The price covers the tuition for two family members, and is less than the price of tuition for two students who sign up separately. Children need to be at least 12 years old and accompanied by an adult family member. Family members are often a parent and a child, two siblings (sisters and brothers), a couple or any pair from a non-traditional family. The Crucible does not decide what makes a family?they leave that up to the families.

?People are drawn to sharing experiences and taking classes with someone they know,? said Jonaya Leek, Crucible Programs Associate. ?Family Fun Weekends allow students to share the creative excitement of Crucible classes with a guest at a nice discount. Everybody loves a bargain, and this is a great way for families and friends to enjoy industrial arts education and create something remarkable together without having to reach too deep into their pocketbooks.?

The two family fun weekends announced today have the added flare of festive holidays. Families can make something to go with a Halloween costume, decorate the home or Thanksgiving table, or give to someone special as a gift.

Classes take place at The Crucible?s 56,000 square foot Bay Area metal fabrication and industrial arts education facility in Oakland located at 1260 7th Street, just two blocks from the West Oakland BART station.

About The Crucible

The Crucible is an educational facility that offers Bay Area art classes in the fine and industrial arts to people at all skill levels and original Bay Area team building events. What started in 1999 in an empty 6,000 square-foot warehouse in Berkeley has now grown to a 56,000 square-foot building in the heart of West Oakland. The school offers imaginative and constructive Bay Area kids activities.

The Crucible offers instruction in industrial and fine art for every level from beginning and intermediate to advanced levels in formats ranging from three-hour tasters to ten-week programs. Prices vary by course and duration. Class fees include tuition, studio fees, materials, tool access and safety training. There are no shopping lists for supplies or hidden costs.

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PC Pandora Computer Monitoring Software Will Help Parents Keep Kids Safe From Internet Predators as They Head Back to School

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) September 01, 2011

It is official: schools across the United States are back in session. Over the past month, retailers have slashed prices on new PCs in hopes of enticing parents to make a big purchase for the new school year. James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp., is urging parents to protect those new machines with a proper monitoring tool. Right now until Labor Day, the company is offering their flagship computer monitoring software at 50-percent off and extending the free trial period of their subscription-based add-on LIVE! service as a back-to-school promotion.

?The computer has become a necessary tool for school,? says Leasure. ?But parents must understand this very powerful technology they are placing in very young hands. It is essential to have tools in place that monitor how your child is utilizing their new connection to the world.?

Pandora Corp. is the maker of PC Pandora computer monitoring software. The program records all activity, both on and offline, through detailed screen captures and data logs. Parents are able to get full details on who their kids are talking to, how they are spending their time online, what programs they are using, what websites they are visiting, and much more. Rather than relying on programs that scan social network profiles and search only for select words and phrases, PC Pandora gives parents full knowledge of what their kids are doing so they can be absolutely certain they are safe.

PROTECTION FROM ANYWHERE

While PC Pandora?s built-in IRIS feature sends email updates and alerts on PC activity to busy parents at work, it?s the PC Pandora LIVE! service that really gives parents an edge. The subscription-based add-on lets parents view their child?s activity and make changes to parental controls from anywhere they can access the Internet, including most smartphones.

?The LIVE! service lets you view screenshots of recorded activity, something that is not featured in the IRIS updates,? says Leasure. ?It also allows you to make changes to the parental controls. For example, if your child has found a new pornography website that slips through the filters you have set up, you will see them visiting the site and can make immediate changes to blacklist the site.?

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SPECIAL OFFER

As a special back-to-school promotion, Pandora Corp. is offering the PC Pandora software at 50% off the regularly discounted price, plus a free month of the PC Pandora LIVE! service.

?In this rough economy, we don?t want parents to forgo their child?s safety online because of family finance issues,? says Leasure. ?We want to give parents the best tools available to keep their kids safe online, so we?re offering a huge discount on PC Pandora and extending the LIVE! service free trial period. It?s going to give parents a major jump on keeping up with the new computer and Internet activity that their kids are sure to dive into.?

Leasure says the PC Pandora computer monitoring software can be used to keep kids safe from one of the biggest threats they face online: Internet predators.

STOP INTERNET PREDATORS

Ask any officer of the law and they will tell you that Internet predators are real. Since school was last in session, the weekly Wednesday Internet predator series on Pandora?s Blog has relayed coverage of over 70 Internet predators caught, either busted in sting operations or discovered after their victims (or their families) came forward.

Says Leasure: ?In just the last couple of months, we?ve seen a lot of guys get busted all over the country for attempting to lure minors for sex, including online sting operations in Florida, Alabama, Virginia and Pennsylvania. But there were also many cases of predators achieving their goals and having sex with kids as young as 13 and 14. These are facts and real cases; every parent should be aware of these horrifying realities.?

Monitoring software can play a huge role in preventing Internet predators from sparking a relationship with your kids. When a child has made a new ?friend? online, parents are able to see first-hand how their children are interacting with them. If the friendship starts to turn into a relationship, parents will have the knowledge they need to sit down and talk to their kids and prevent disaster. In some situations, it may save a child?s life.

?Since PC Pandora records all communication, parents will have actual documents they can turn over to police to aid in an arrest,? explains Leasure. ?In the event that a child has gone missing, a parent will have communication records and access to possible secret accounts their child had set up. This information could literally be a lifesaver if used to aid in the search of a missing child. You won?t need to wait for police to request records from social networking sites or Internet service providers while the trail goes cold; you?ll have everything you need right there.?

Leasure tells parents they must know who their kids are talking to online, and also, who is trying to talk to them: ?The bottom line is these guys are real. They do exist. And they are trying to solicit young kids for sex. But as a parent, there are tools at your disposal that will help you make sure they don?t succeed in luring your child.?

For more information on how PC Pandora can help parents keep their kids safe from online predators, visit http://www.pcpandora.com. Parents can use the code HALFOFF at checkout to get PC Pandora at half price and get a free month of the LIVE! service. The promotion runs through Labor Day (September 5, 2011).

About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal ? to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents by providing them with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora?s Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. In addition, the Pandora Corp. has made the PD Pandora Internet Safety Symposium available to schools and law enforcement as a free resource for spreading internet safety awareness to parents. Over the past few years, PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position for parental control software by boasting a combination of features that are unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In 2010, Version 6.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. Concurrently released with 6.0, the web-based PC Pandora LIVE! service affords parents the ability to keep their kids safe from anywhere at anytime. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.

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