Web Address: www.grinnell.edu/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dann Hayes, director of media relations, 641-269-4834

May 8, 2007

Adult community courses offered by Grinnell College

GRINNELL, Iowa - Grinnell College's popular Adult Community Exploration Series (ACES) returns for a second year, offering courses about contemporary museums, mourning during the Civil War, and teaching science.

The courses, to be held on Wednesday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, will be taught by Grinnell College faculty who are expert in their fields.

There are no tuition fees for the classes, but registration is requested to assist the instructors in anticipating class size. Each course consists of three sessions with each session conducted by the same professor.

"The Grinnell community was so enthused last year with the program that we had to move to a different building with larger classrooms," said Joanne Bunge, organizer of ACES. "The community really took advantage and reacted very positively to the entire program."

The past organizer of similar adult education courses with Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Bunge, who is now retired, believes the courses will continue to attract a wide variety of adult participation.

Courses include "Collecting, Curating, and Controversy," taught by Lesley Wright, director of the Faulconer Gallery; "Civil War Mourning and Memory," with Sarah Purcell, associate professor of history and a 1992 graduate of the College; and "Educating Tomorrow's Scientists: What, How, Who, and Why?" taught by Mark Schneider, associate professor of physics.

"I think the courses this year are especially exciting. For example, we have all seen the importance of the Faulconer Gallery with bringing in visitors to the area who might otherwise not have visited," said Rachel Bly, director of conference operations and events. "And with the upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011-2015), that period is beginning to be reexamined and researched. Also, the soon-to-be completed science centers at both Grinnell High School and Grinnell College show us that the sciences are considered very important to our community."

To register for any course, contact the Office of Conference Operations at Grinnell College at 641-269-3178.

Adult Community Exploration Series (ACES) Schedule of Classes

June 13, 18, and 25 "Collecting, Curating, and Controversy" Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 101

This three-week series will explore the contemporary museum and art gallery world. The first lecture will focus on shaping a collection, the Faulconer Gallery's particular collection, and the issues raised by collecting art and artifacts. Discussion will include why museums do (or don't) collect, the joys and challenges of collections, and the problems that come when collections no longer fit the mission.

The second week will center on how exhibitions are created by looking at the process of defining a topic and finding art, the complexities of shipping and loans from other institutions and individuals, working with artists, and creating an exhibition schedule for Grinnell.

The final session will feature some recent controversies in the museum world. As more and more people become museum visitors, and more and more ideas qualify as "art," clashes of cultures and standards are inevitable and are often played out in the art museum. The class will explore the question, "Who owns culture?"

July 11, 18, and 25 "Civil War Mourning and Memory" Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 101

This course will examine the political and social effects of mourning during and after the U.S. Civil War. How did a public culture of grief help to shape the political contests that grew out of the war and to reconfigure American nationalism? The course will focus on the consequences of public and private military mourning, and participants will also consider larger aspects of Civil War commemoration, such as monuments and the use of the Confederate flag.

August 1, 8, and 15 "Educating Tomorrow's Scientists: What, How, Who, and Why?" Joe Rosenfield Center, Multicultural Room 209 NOTE: Enrollment for this course will be limited to 35 people.

"Discovery-based learning, learning by inquiry, collaborative learning." These phrases are catchwords in science education these days. What do they mean? Is this just another fad, or can these techniques make a difference in science education? This course will examine some of these ideas "hands-on" in the context of Grinnell's discovery-based physics curriculum. In addition to examining the "how" of teaching, we'll also discuss:

" The What - can we make the topics contemporary while still being basic? " The Who - can we address the under-representation of women and minorities in physics? " The Why - what a dwindling number of domestic scientists and a scientifically literate society could spell for the future of the United States?

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