STEM   

Do you know the difference between a sparrow, a robin, or a finch? Would you like to learn to identify individual birds? If so, then join Cindy and Curt in this 6-week class that will provide beginning and intermediate birders with the tools of bird identification and understanding. It will include information about supplies including binoculars and field guides, the basics of bird identification, bird habitats, conservation, effects of climate change, birding ethics, places to bird. We will focus on common Denver area birds. You will learn about the fine feathered friends in your neighborhood.

The course will include 3 zoom classes and 3 field trips, all taught by Denver Audubon Master birders. A visit to the Denver Audubon bird banding center will be included.

Class fee: $40 donation to Denver Audubon

No Class April 25

This class is for anyone interested in “Birding” or “Bird Watching” to enjoy being outdoors, walking 1-2 miles, and interacting with each other while watching birds. The classroom sessions will consist of birding etiquette and appearance of birds: size, shape, color and identifying field marks. They will highlight bird behaviors and habitats and other interesting aspects of these living dinosaurs and how they reflect the health of our planet.

In the 4 classroom sessions, George will share his photos of birds on PowerPoint, knowledge and experience in birding, and being a citizen scientist. The other 4 sessions will be field trips. Locations include Bluff Lake Nature Center, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, and other locations. These field trip sessions may be longer than 2 hours and scheduled depending on the weather.

Regular news headlines focus on global climate change and the detrimental environmental impacts of continuing an economy based on fossil fuel energy production. The best approach to dealing with global-scale environmental issues is to examine 50 years of scientific research and the impact of international agreements. This 4-week presentation/discussion course on Zoom focuses on global air pollution issues of acid rain, stratosphere ozone holes, global cooling/warming, and global climate change. The course will provide a science foundation for understanding the causes, environmental impacts, and mitigation options of global scale environmental issues. Successful international agreements covering acid rain and stratospheric ozone holes will be compared to less successful agreements for carbon-based global warming. The course is designed for individuals with an interest in the environment and how atmospheric emissions impact the planet Earth. No science background is required or assumed.

The advancement of science is normally a gradual process. But every now and then in our past, there were innovative, and frankly brave, individuals who took science in entirely new directions. They were willing to speak out against the accepted theories of their time even at great professional risk. Their radical new ideas totally shifted the trajectory of our understanding of the natural world.

This class will look at some of those discoveries which we now take for granted. We will look at the scientists involved, the challenges they faced, and where their ideas took science afterward. You will recognize some of the names, such as Galileo, Darwin, Pasteur, and Hubble. Others may be new to you. But between them, they reshaped such fields as the origins of disease, the nature of the universe, the formation of mountains, and a general understanding for the natural world that we see today.

This course focuses on water as a major natural resource. It includes the study of the hydrologic cycle, and related weather concepts, competing water uses, current and future water issues, and approaches to water management.

The relationship of water to human use is examined in terms of history, policy, infrastructure, and technology. Topics introduced in this class include hydrology, hydrogeology, basic meteorology, water quality, water/wastewater treatment, wastewater, and water resources management. Additional topics discussed will be the Denver Metro Area water resources, water law, ethics of water use and management, and the “wicked” issues that we face presently and in the future.

Instructor will provide PowerPoints and reading material.  

Recommended: Principles of Water Resources – Tom Cech

This course is an introductory, non-mathematical overview of those areas of theoretical physics that you have heard of but never fully explored. Peter has expanded his successful 6-week course into 8 weeks without adding any new material. This will allow more time to cover the following topics:

1. Gravity from Isaac Newton to Albert Einstein.
2. Quantum Theory and the search for the “Theory of Everything.”
3. Radioactivity from Marie Curie to the atomic bomb.
4. Particle physics from the ancient Greeks to the latest information on the quest for the “God Particle.”
5. Astrophysics from the Big Bang to the universe’s ultimate fate.

Many of us shy away from Theoretical Physics because we think it is way over our heads, but Peter will make it very clear and straightforward so that we can all understand at least the basics and be able to discuss them with friends or grandchildren in a confident manner!