Lifelong learning classes, trips set for this summer

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Eighteen courses and four day trips are being offered this summer by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Western Michigan University.

Registration for the summer 2016 term opened May 10 for Osher Institute members and will open Tuesday, May 24, for nonmembers. Now in its sixth year, the Osher Institute provides intellectual and cultural learning experiences for mature adults—without papers or tests.

Upcoming courses

The Osher Institute's short-term, noncredit summer courses run one to four weeks and take place on the WMU campus and at other sites in the local community. They encompasses a variety of subjects, with some classes beginning in early June and the later ones concluding near the end of July.

Among the offerings are courses that will allow participants to:

• Hike local trails.
• Experience the latest in organic gardening.
• Learn more about their Apple MacBook or iPhone and iPad.
• Delve into the eating-local-foods movement.
• View Italianate architecture in Kalamazoo.
• Gain a better understanding of the military experience of African Americans from the War for Independence to the Vietnam War.

Upcoming trips

Institute trips usually must be booked 21 to 30 days in advance or earlier.

On the docket are daylong excursions:

• Wednesday, June 29, to the Lerner Theatre and Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana.
• Friday, July 15, to two museums and the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Tuesday, Aug. 9, to backroad Amish and Mennonite cultural sites in Indiana.
• Thursday, Aug. 18, to the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center and historic landmarks in Saint Joseph, Michigan.

Additional information

Osher Institute members also may sign up at no cost for special interest groups this summer focusing on new models of alternative housing, German conversation and reading aloud.

For more information about Osher Institute offerings, including registration details and how to obtain the summer courses and trips catalog, visit wmich.edu/olli or call the Extended University Programs office at (269) 387-4200.