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- Astronomy SIG In Person
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Maximum Enrollment: 25
Members of the OLLI Astronomy SIG will work together to plan meeting topics, skill-building workshops, speakers and topics, field trips, observing sessions, and calendar of events. They will help each other learn how to use their cell phones and telescopes to view and photograph the night sky. Participants will learn how to utilize astronomy apps to determine what objects are visible each week and where they are located. Practice opportunities to use cell phone editing tools to improve their photos to reveal additional stars, planets, constellations, satellites, and space oddities.
Sept. 16, 30, Oct. 14, 28 and Nov. 11
Class meets every other Wednesday
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- Dinosaurs
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ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. Please contact the OLLI Office for assistance.
Examines dinosaurs’ interactions with their environment, their indirect influence on mammals, and implications for humankind. Traces the history of dinosaurs to their extinction, and surveys the evolutionary, paleogeographic, environmental, and possible extraterrestrial causes for their rise to dominance and sudden fall.
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- Forget Me Not: Understanding Cognitive Aging and Dementia In Person
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Maximum Enrollment: 35
This course will give participants information related to the most common diseases that cause dementia (Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body/Parkinson’s Disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and LATE). We will describe brain changes that occur in normal aging and contrast these with disease changes. We’ll discuss some early symptoms of each disease that other people might observe and describe the diagnostic process and current treatment options. We will discuss the importance of maintaining social connections for people with dementia and provide tips on communication and dealing with behavior issues. Information about resources for caregivers will be included.
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- Gettin' Old Sux! (or does it??)
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ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. Please contact the OLLI Office for assistance.
We are all in the process of “getting older” (no matter how old we are). This course will begin by talking about our attitudes related to aging. Then we’ll discuss the biological basis of the normal changes that occur with age, ways we can adapt to these changes, and when to be concerned that they are outside the norm. We’ll definitely take time to talk (and laugh!) with each other about our experiences. (We even have a class song . . .) Are you old enough to participate?
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- Keep Calm and Enrich On: History of Atomic Bomb Development
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ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. Please contact the OLLI Office for assistance.
This class will discuss the history of atomic bomb development from the discoveries of the 1930s to the dawn of the nuclear arms race. (There will be an emphasis on the work done at Oak Ridge, Tn., since OLLI might be doing a trip to Oak Ridge in the fall). We’ll briefly explain how atomic bombs work and discuss the Manhattan project in light of the pressures of WWII, followed by the post-war decisions related to future development of nuclear weapons. Then we’ll transition to today, and discuss what’s being called “Manhattan Project 2.0” – the resurgence of nuclear energy-related activity to help supply power-hungry data centers. We’ll emphasize the effects of this on Kentucky, where two companies have announced billion-dollar investments to resume uranium enrichment at the Paducah Department of Energy site. We’ll also discuss the activities of the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority which seeks to develop nuclear energy-related projects in the Commonwealth.
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- Science Matters (Zoom)
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ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. Please contact the OLLI Office for assistance.
To expand students' view of science in all its glory. To understand how science plays an important part in our lives. To be fascinated with all the variety of ways the cosmos affects us.
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- The Purposes of Plants? Reading Zoe Schlanger's "The Light Eaters" SIG
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THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
The last decade has seen the publication of a number of books examining the prospect of plant cognition and behavior. Zoe Schlanger's recent contribution, "The Light Eaters: How The Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers A New Understanding of Life on Earth", comes to us beautifully written, scientifically responsible, and intellectually provocative. That last trait shows itself in how she frames the wild territory of plant cognition research, claiming that "how to get our minds around all of that complexity is the shared professional problem of science and philosophy, but also of every person who has stopped to wonder." Reading this book with each other should encourage all of us to "stop to wonder”.
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