Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Maryland has a rich and storied history—and so do its ghosts and witches! Learn about
the spookier side of Maryland as we step back into history and hear true tales and
folklore from across the state. Find out what Maryland was really like for those accused
of witchcraft as Amanda Hughes takes us on a wild ride through Maryland’s witchy past.
Meg Fielding will tell us the story behind Marcia Crocker Noyes, the resident ghost
living in the Maryland State Medical Society’s building in Baltimore’s Midtown-Belvedere
neighborhood. The creepiness continues as Jennifer Liles unwraps the mystique surrounding
the funerary sculpture known as Black Aggie.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Osher’s SPARK evening programming is back with an edutainment event that promises
both levity and learning as the conversation hones in on what makes us laugh and why.
Noted professor of philosophy Steven Gimbel joins Michelle Faulkner-Forson, director
of Baltimore Improv Group, to share how improv isn’t just funny, but how improv skills
can help everyone in their everyday life. Get insight into the tenets, the philosophy,
and the history of improv comedy while also having a good laugh.
Also, enjoy a special performance by TU’s very own improv group—ImprompTU.
Instructor: Jack Burkert, senior museum educator, Baltimore Museum of Industry
Change has come frequently throughout Baltimore’s history, affecting its people and
their lives and work. At no time was change more dynamic than in the hundred-fifty-year
period that first made Baltimore an industrial giant. Learn about the rise and fall
of industry and the prosperity that came with it. Examine Baltimore from the Industrial
Age through its time as a thriving metropolis and reflect on where the city is today.
Jack Burkert is a Baltimore native who lectures at Osher and at the Baltimore Museum
of Industry, following a long career as an educator and consultant.
Instructor: Dana Kollmann, clinical associate professor of anthropology
Ever wondered how realistic those true crime dramas are when it comes to the forensic
crime scene processing? Gain insight into typical real world forensic science principles—and
some that are not so typical. Learn how pacemaker data, rubber bands, seed pods, and
atmospheric carbon-14 have solved crimes and how forensic science applications impact
other disciplines including art, history, and archaeology.
Instructor: Jennifer Scott, professor of physics and astronomy
From its ancient roots to today’s modern developments including the launch of the
James Webb Space Telescope, this course will have you seeing stars—and other astronomical
wonders. Topics include: the history of human understanding of the cosmos; the formation
and evolution of stars and planets inside and outside the solar system; the structure
and properties of galaxies; and the origin of the universe. Students will engage in
telescope observing and other hands-on activities, and a visit to TU’s planetarium.