School’s back in session, but learning isn’t limited to the under-25 crowd. As featured in Evansville Living’s January/February 2023 cover story, new interests can be explored at any age. The advantage of higher education institutions is continued learning opportunities for the public. Here are five diverse courses available during the fall 2024 semester.
Georgia O’Keeffe Painting Style & Techniques
For people at or approaching retirement age, the University of Evansville’s Center for the Advancement of Learning has curated a program — aptly nicknamed “CLUE,” for Continued Learning at UE — to help them explore new interests. Perhaps one of yours is to explore the techniques behind Georgia O’Keeffe’s modernist work. Visual artist Michelle Peterlin walks participants through O’Keeffe’s use of vivid color, shape, and light to produce her well-known landscape paintings. Then, they can apply those techniques to their O’Keeffe-inspired works. Classes meet for 150 minutes at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23. (Class is skipped on Oct. 16.) Students are required to bring materials.
Discover Sign Language
This course is a regular fixture in the University of Southern Indiana’s Lifelong Learning program and offers participants flexibility by being conducted online. For $115, students learn fingerspelling, themes, and general conversation key points in a six-week course moderated by an instructor (the next begins Oct. 16) or via self-guided instruction over three months.
Mycology: The Mystery and Magic of Molds and Mushrooms
If you have ever wondered if that mushroom sprouting in your backyard is safe to eat, this class may interest you. Retired UE biology professor James Brenneman shares his expertise with plant fungi and demystifies their impact on humans and the environment. Offered at 9 a.m. Wednesdays from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23, this course includes one session with an instructor-led walk through Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve. (The $60-course fee does not cover park admission.)
Tai Chi
Stretch your muscles during this $50 weekly fitness course guided by Ron Weatherford, who has practiced tai chi since the late 1970s. One-hour sessions walk participants through the technique’s signature slow movements and rhythmic deep breathing to achieve a calm, stress-relieving result.
