Online-Zoom Courses   

Africa, home to 54 countries and more than a billion people, has a troubled heritage. Arid conditions and high temperatures have long acted as a cauldron for drought and starvation, with millions dying in recent decades. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described the African continent as the one that will be most affected. Already tens of millions of Africans are feeling the negative health impacts of climate change that will have a disturbing effect on the entire planet.

Nearly half of American adults suffer from cardiovascular and chronic diseases. While many commercial diets promise quick weight loss, research shows they succeed only 5% of the time, often leading to weight gain. The solution? Consistent good nutrition. In this course, you'll learn to align your daily nutrition with the principles of Mediterranean, MIND, DASH, and plant-based diets for a healthier life. Prior to class, students are encouraged to complete the anonymous EatSHARP personal nutrition assessment at https://eatsharp.org/. Individuals can stay anonymous. 

September 19 – Ann Van Hine – Pieces Falling – A 9/11 Survivor Memoir

Book: As a wife and mom, church volunteer, and small business owner, Ann Van Hine prided herself on being in control of her life. Until 9/11. Pieces Falling is Ann’s story of navigating the very personal loss of her husband, Bruce—a New York City firefighter who died on 9/11—amid the very public tragedy that shocked the world. Her poignant reflections help answer the questions:

• How do you cope when life lies in pieces around you?

• How do you begin to rebuild in the face of all that has been lost?

• How do you commemorate the past while creating space for your future?

October 3 – Kelly Lardner – Family History Month – Rose Beads

August 22 – Meade Fischer – Summer Vacation – With the Sea Beside Me

November 7 – Patricia Puentes – International Showbiz Mysteries – Cluelessly Unscripted

December 5 – Sidney Niemeyer – Atomic Peril: A Nuclear Forensics Thriller

New energy sources provide hopeful alternatives to fossil fuels for a pollution free future. Synhelion is a new process that uses the sun to produce solar fuels. Another promising process turns humid air into energy. The first fusion power plant (SPARC) in under construction in the US. Gravity batteries are being developed. Lithium is being produced from old oil wells in Pennsylvania. Solid state batteries are a promising source of energy, but they will need more work to be a viable for automobiles.

Drawing from a variety of time-tested disciplines, this class offers effective, results-producing movements designed specifically for the OLLI student at whatever your level is. These exercises will add strength and elasticity to your muscles and frame while protecting and strengthening your back. You will also work your heart in a very gentle way and achieve freedom in movement and less pain. Best of all, we're doing all this to the music we know and love: '50s, '60s and '70s. It is not too late to rejuvenate your body! Wear comfortable clothing.

Drawing from a variety of time-tested disciplines, this class offers effective, results-producing movements designed specifically for the OLLI student at whatever your level is. These exercises will add strength and elasticity to your muscles and frame while protecting and strengthening your back. You will also work your heart in a very gentle way and achieve freedom in movement and less pain. Best of all, we're doing all this to the music we know and love: '50s, '60s and '70s. It is not too late to rejuvenate your body! Wear comfortable clothing.

This one and a half hour course will focus on the beauty and Geology of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River has cut into the earth here leaving an open book of geologic information from the oldest rocks nearly two billion years old to its erosional history still going on today. Professor Hilton learned about the canyon from his experience hiking into the Canyon with students and later as geology river guide with eleven trips along the 250 mile length of the canyon.

The geology, use and value of gold are important aspects of this mineral, but there is also a wealth of history, fun and exploration added to the finding and mining of gold. This lecture has “golden” facts about the world’s most cherished mineral, including how to find and pan for gold, and where some of the world’s richest deposits are located.

Find more genealogy records and clues for your ancestors, faster, when you use special Google search techniques. Learn how to find your ancestors’ surnames in uploaded documents, books and PDF files; how to find books on specific places, and more. We will also discuss Google Books, Alerts, Images and possibly Google Earth. Be sure to print the handout ahead of class so you can follow along as the instructor demonstrates — live online — the techniques listed.

Come get an infusion of joy and purpose. Through work-shopping, journaling, and lectures we will investigate the creative impulses that can lead to a new creative passion or unearth a long buried one. This is a workshop and participatory class.

Imagination and creativity produce inventions. We’ll look at the people and stories behind 26 inventions, one for each letter of the alphabet, A to Z!

In fall of 1986, the covert and illegal enterprise of supplying arms to a “freedom fighting” insurgency in Central America and to the “terrorist” Iranian government in its war with Iraq burst out of its classified vaults on to the headlines of global media. The Reagan administration went into full cover-up mode to protect the president, who had been ardently directing these policies. The president narrowly escaped impeachment and quietly transitioned out of office. In this course, you will journey from the early events that laid the groundwork for this criminal endeavor through to the ignominious conclusion six years later when another president, himself a participant, pardoned the conspirators.

While FindAGrave.com is not a “records” database like the major genealogy sites, the website has many less-known features that can be powerful tools for your genealogy work. Learn how to maximize this powerful database of names and places to improve your genealogy research. Includes 6-page handout.

When Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) saw her first airshow as a fiesty11 year old, there was little evidence then that that airplanes would develop into a full-throttled passion. But later she captured the hearts of America after becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928. We'll learn about her work as a nurse and a social worker as well as her record-setting aviation career as well as about her family, love affairs, and accomplishments. She is certainly one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century!

We’ll read six young adult books and discuss their variety of themes of the most banned youth books in this country in the last few years. Week one: Discussion of book banning and readings; Week two: “Speak” by Laurie Anderson and “George” by Alex Gino. Week three: “The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas and “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. Week four: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky and “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez. Join Terry McAteer for this unique and unfortunate literary trail of recent American book banning.
Students are responsible for purchasing their own books. 

An introductory course for individuals to learn and practice writing personal life stories as narratives or creating a memory book. Features story starter techniques, sharing meaningful objects, questions as memory prompts, and option to create a themed story collection. NEW "Life Reflections Booklet" includes handouts, sample stories, questions and resources.

This two-part lecture series explores the fascinating and often intimate relationships between two iconic artist pairs—Georgia O'Keeffe & Alfred Stieglitz, and Gustav Klimt & Emilie Flöge. Far from the traditional muse narrative, these four highlight how inspiration can flow in both directions—revealing complex dynamics of love, power, creativity, and influence.

Octopuses are the subject of myth and mystery. They are beautiful and remarkably intelligent. In this class we will explore the anatomy and physiology, reproduction and lifespan, behavior, intelligence and ecology of octopuses in deep and shallow water. We will explore their close aquatic relatives and learn about the history of the mystery and myths of these strange creatures.

The arrival and evolution of the first peoples in the Americas is a story that continues to reveal itself from mystery to majesty. From the time hominins began traversing the earth until they arrived at Turtle Island, one theory after another is undone by new discoveries. This class looks at the pathways to and through the Americas, the Indigenous Peoples who populated those lands, the diverse cultures they created, their encounters with each other and eventually with an alien race that tried to subjugate or exterminate them. It's a remarkable story that they survived and are yet persevering.

Up to 1.8 million people of Mexican descent—most of them American-born—were rounded up in informal raids and deported in an effort to reserve jobs for white people. These were the “repatriation drives,” a series of informal raids that took place around the United States during the Great Depression.

Some of the earliest and rarest views of California and San Francisco came from the brush of French artists, many of whom came to the United States with their 30,000 compatriots fleeing political turmoil in France and hoping for a better life in Gold Rush California. Art historian Claudine Chalmers will tell the stories of an exciting range of French and Franco-Californian artists and she will show their California works. Claudine is the author of eight books and her work has inspired exhibits at the California Historical Society in San Francisco, at the Crocker Art Museum and at the Monterey Museum of Art. Her first session will cover the bulk of French depictions of California in the 19th century. Her second session will focus more specifically on French depictions of the gold country and of gold miners.

According to Jewish legend, in 1700BC a man named Abraham put his faith in a god named YHVH, and in return was instructed to "look up now at the sky and count the stars if you can. So uncountable will your descendants be." Those words, as it turns out, were prophetic. This course surveys the history, literature, beliefs and practices of the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - religions which taken together comprise over half of the world's population.

Put some music fans in the same room and sooner or later, they will ask each other ‘what's your favorite song?’. If we talk about Rock fans, there will be some choosing Smoke on the Water, others Bohemian Rhapsody, some Stairway to Heaven and many will have other choices. With audiovisuals, stories and anecdotes, let’s discuss what makes these songs great, the context when they became classics, the songwriters, the performers, their cultural significance and their resonance across time. The focus here will be on Rock from the 60s and 70s, a period with plenty of great music to enjoy.

Put some music fans in the same room and sooner or later, they will ask each other ‘what's your favorite song?’. If we talk about Rock fans, there will be some choosing Smoke on the Water, others Bohemian Rhapsody, some Stairway to Heaven and many will have other choices. With audiovisuals, stories and anecdotes, let’s discuss what makes these songs great, the context when they became classics, the songwriters, the performers, their cultural significance and their resonance across time. The focus here will be on Rock from the 80s on, a period of great diversity.

This lecture describes the history of how the Missions began in Mexico and what is now Southern California, then focuses on interesting histories of each of the Missions along and near the coast of California.

The United States federal census, which started in 1790, is a key records collection for anyone doing genealogy research. While the accuracy of the information can sometimes vary (for reasons explained in this presentation, with many examples), censuses are a must-use resource where you can count on finding valuable information on your ancestors. Includes 10-page handout.

Learn how the Nevada County Superior Court's civil grand juries serve their communities by investigating citizen complaints, reviewing how governments conduct business, and report to the public. You'll also learn how this body of 19 county residents works, how and who it benefits, and how to become a civil grand juror. 

The ancient world was fearful of slave rebellions and designed as a deterrent various means of death by torture, one of which was crucifixion. The execution of Jesus by this means was an embarrassment to the Christian community for centuries. But eventually they adopted the cross as their most famous symbol.

Here, we learn about the migration of the Mormon pioneers under the leadership of Brigham Young, and how they established the West’s major, two-way trail that brought not only Mormons to Utah, but also fostered the opening of vast areas of what are now the central and western portions of the United States.

Between 44 and 55% of Americans pray every day. These prayers take many forms. People around the world know the words of the Lord's Prayer but know little about its origins and historical impact. This class will offer new insights about this famous prayer.

I recently returned from an amazing adventure on a small boat sailing up the Mekong River and its many tributaries, visiting Vietnam & Cambodia: Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat. I am eager to share my photos and stories.

Only 6,000 tourists a year gain entry into this well-funded autocracy. We will visit the capital, Ashgabat, and witness their Independence Day celebrations along with experiencing desert travel to the Gates of Hell. You may never travel there but the zoom class will be an eye-opener. Taught by Terry McAteer

In this Travel Tuesday, we will explore the wild and wonderful national parks of Western Texas. At Guadalupe National Park we will explore trails, vistas and vast human history. We’ll cross the border into New Mexico for a fun lunch in Carlsbad. We’ll travel to Big Bend National Park and explore the flora and fauna and look across to Mexico. With a passport, you can even wade across the river to shop. Then we'll visit some outlying towns of Terlingua and Alpine. This beautiful country is as big as Texas itself.

North of the Himalayas lies the second highest range in the world, the Tien Shen Mountains. These two unknown countries are outdoor wonderlands. We will take you off the beaten path, as we live in a yurt and travel into this mountainous region full of glaciers, lakes, and rivers galore. Taught by Terry McAteer

Marco Polo and Genghis Khan created this route to bring the treasures of the East to the consumers of the West. We will visit the trading station cities of Shiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent and Almaty to experience the cultural, religious and epicurean delights of these magical lands. Taught by Terry McAteer

There is a lot of sex in the Bible. The good book celebrates the fact that bodies are good. Many people think they know what the Bible teaches about sexuality. They believe that the Bible teaches that sex is only for procreation and that masturbation, abortion, and contraception are wrong. Actually, the Bible is silent on each of these issues. We'll explore what the Bible says and doesn't say about gender and sexuality.

FamilySearch.org is the largest free genealogy records archive on the internet, a goldmine with more than 7 billion name-searchable records from around the world: vital records, census, military, land, probate, and more. Learn why you need to search Records, Books, the Catalog AND Historical Images. We will discuss the new “All Categories Search” feature. Includes 10-page handout.

Across recorded history, countless brilliant women have been heroines, fearless patriots, innovators, inventors, and investigative journalists. Some were acknowledged, even honored, many forgotten, but history moves on, and these women too often become lost in the male-dominated march of time. We will look at three remarkable women – Nellie Bly, Madam C. J. Walker, and Julia Morgan.

If you think today is filled with divisiveness between red and blue then you should have lived in America the latter part of the 19th Century. The end of the Civil War with 700,000 American dead began this era of angst. The post-war era coupled with the acrimony between a growing divide between the haves and have-nots led to labor unrest and a complete revisioning of democracy in this country. The parallels are amazing! Taught by Terry McAteer