The Full Course Catalog
Every course below is offered as a single standalone class or the full six-week series — whichever fits your schedule. Most classes culminate in a tangible, take-home artifact — something to show off to family and friends.
This Is Your Brain on... Learning
Your brain doesn't decline with age by default — it adapts to what you ask of it. The real (and fun) neuroscience of lifelong learning!
Shipwrecked!
Storms, mysteries, and lost vessels beneath the Great Lakes — Wisconsin's maritime past, brought to the surface.
The Good, the Bad, and the AI
The real benefits and risks of today's technology, and how to navigate AI with confidence instead of fear.
Chalkboards to Chatbots
A firsthand journey through the evolution of American education — we all lived it and some even worked in it.
Legacy in Your Own Words
A guided memoir workshop that turns your story into something your family keeps forever.
It's Written in Our Genes
From Mendel's peas to modern gene editing — the discovery that changed everything, and what it means for how we understand ourselves.
Kitchen Alchemy
The real science behind everyday cooking — fermentation, browning, and the transformations occurring in your kitchen.
The Lost Art of the Letter
A celebration of handwriting as a means of creative expression, identity, and information.
The Wright Stuff
From early flight to the space age — the history and science of how humans learned to fly.
Treehouses
Whether you built one as a kid, lost yourself in Swiss Family Robinson, or can't stop watching DIY treehouse shows — you're never too old to love a treehouse. Literature, engineering, and imagination, built one branch at a time.
Holiday Humbug!
Bah, humbug — or is it? Rediscover Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the ghost story that became the greatest redemption tale ever told, just in time for the holidays.
To the Moon and Back
What's really floating out there, how does it all work, and could we ever call it home? A journey through the cosmos — from our own backyard solar system to the outer edges of what we know.
Marble & Memory: A Walk Through Washington, D.C.
From swampland to monumental city — explore the architecture, hidden corners, and remarkable stories behind America's capital. The city, not the politics.
Canopy to Coral
Two of Earth's most dazzling, endangered ecosystems, side by side. Explore the staggering biodiversity of rainforests and coral reefs — the "rainforests of the sea" — in a virtual journey from treetop canopy to ocean floor.
The Secret Lives of Famous Paintings
Behind every masterpiece is a story — a scandal, a mystery, a rivalry, a secret hidden in plain sight. From Renaissance chapels to modern galleries, explore the true stories behind the world's most famous works of art.
Brewed & Built: Milwaukee's Industrial Story
From beer barons to machine shops, discover how Milwaukee became a manufacturing powerhouse — the families, the factories, and the industries that built a city (and quenched a nation's thirst).
America's Inland Seas
They're big enough to vanish ships and create their own weather — welcome to the Great Lakes, America's inland seas. Explore the science, storms, and surprising vastness of the freshwater giants next door.
Don't Get Fooled: Spotting Scams in the Digital Age
Phone scams, phishing emails, fake tech support calls — today's cons are smarter than ever. Learn to recognize the red flags and protect yourself (and your loved ones) with confidence.
Grandkid Fluent
Emojis, slang, TikTok, texting shorthand — the younger generation speaks a language all its own. Learn to understand it (and use a little of it yourself) so you can connect with the kids and grandkids in your life like never before.
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Why does a song from 1965 bring back a memory more vividly than something from last week? Explore the powerful science of music and memory, and revisit the songs that shaped a generation.