Science & Math   

This class is for both beginning and experienced birders. Through observation and the use of your binoculars, field guides, and birding apps, class participants learn to identify birds in their natural habitat. We will meet once a month at different birding locations for field trips that may involve up to 2 miles of walking.

The North State is home to rich, diverse public lands: refuges, parks, forests, and reserves. Your public lands provide vital wildlife habitat and protect our natural resources. On this field trip, we'll explore Gray Lodge with guidance from a California Department of Fish and Wildlife naturalist and enjoy an easy 2-mile nature walk on level paths. We will identify birds, enjoy stunning views of the Sutter Buttes, and learn about this haven for over 300 species of wildlife. Come explore your public lands with us!

History. Art. Bees. Orland has plenty of each. Spend a couple of hours exploring all three in one afternoon. The Alta Schmidt House Museum houses many historical artifacts, documents, and photos. The Orland Arts Center and Gallery has a new exhibit every three months, plus other events almost monthly. The Honeybee Discovery Center is a great learning experience for schoolchildren, but also for all other age groups. Check out the Story Walk in Library Park when walking between the venues.

Are you wondering if some of your friends are part Neanderthal? Was Herb Caen correct when he intimated that Chico is the cradle of civilization? We'll address these questions after a brief introduction to such topics as DNA, natural and artificial selection, and genetics. We can even discuss the question of whether or not we're still evolving and where our species might be heading regardless of the outcome of the next election.

The Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area, Llano Seco Unit hosts massive numbers of Pacific Flyway migratory birds in November. Taking our sketchbooks, binoculars, field guides, and cameras, we'll meander along the 1/2-mile walking trail and stop at two observation platforms allowing us to observe and quickly sketch bird poses and behaviors. We'll identify key species: green-winged teal, American wigeon, northern shoveler, mallard, pintail, bufflehead, snow geese, white-fronted geese, swans, ring-necked ducks, sandhill cranes, and raptor species.

While some people might consider "recreational mathematics" an oxymoron, this class will pursue the enjoyable aspects of math. Be prepared to be an engaged participant in this class with interactive demonstrations and exploration through drawing, cutting things with scissors, and other activities. Most activities will have a historical context. This class will show you how to find interest, enjoyment, and appreciation of mathematics in the world surrounding you.

This class, the second in a sequence based on Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, focuses on the Agricultural Revolution, one of the most consequential and most debated transformations in human history. The class traces the emergence of villages, cities, kingdoms, and empires, examining what farming made possible and what it cost the people who adopted it. Along the way we consider how hierarchies, laws, and religions emerged as tools for holding complex societies together, how writing transformed human memory and administration, and how Harari builds his case that the Agricultural Revolution was not a liberation but a trap. Throughout the class, particular attention is given to separating well-established evidence from interpretation and informed speculation.

Throughout history scientific progress has often advanced in dramatic bursts following long periods of dormancy. This class examines the revolutionary discoveries that transformed our understanding across the major branches of science: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and geology. Topics include the rise of the Copernican universe, atomic theory, plate tectonics, Darwin's theory of evolution, and Newton's laws of motion and gravity. The emphasis is on historical perspective: why did these breakthroughs happen when and where they did? This class is for scientists and non-scientists alike.

In this class we will look at what research in neuroscience is teaching us about how the brain and mind work. We will also learn about using that knowledge to provide better care for patients. The role of AI, brain imaging, immunology, and genetics will be included. Selected topics on health, medicine and biotechnology may also be discussed.