Adult Education
Course Schedule

Spring 2012 Courses

Tropical Botany and Ecology, Professor Karen Snetselaar. 1 Tuesday and 5 Mondays, January 17 - February 20, 2012, 6:30 - 8:00 PM. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street (20th and Arch Streets). This course will provide an introduction to the diversity and ecological role of plants in tropical ecosystems.

Registration is now open.

You may register online here or call (215) 763-6529, ext. 23.

The Dog and Its DNA, Professor Mary Beth Davis. 6 Wednesdays, January 18 - February 22, 2012, 6:30 - 7:45 PM. Independence Branch of the Free Library, 18 S. 7th Street (between Market and Chestnut). This course will discuss the evolution and domestication of the dog, including recent genetic studies that shed light on the morphological and behavioral diversity of dog breeds.

No preregistration required.

Topics in the History of Life, Professor Jason Downs. 8 Saturdays, January 28 - March 17, 2012, 10:30 AM - Noon. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 33rd and Spruce Streets. This course will look at the history of life on earth using the types of questions paleontologists ask and the sources of data from which they draw.

Registration is now open.

You may register online here or call (215) 763-6529, ext. 23.

Introduction to Pollination Biology, Professor Tatyana Livshultz. 6 Wednesdays, March 21 - April 25, 2012, 6:30 - 7:45 PM. Independence Branch of the Free Library, 18 S. 7th Street (between Market and Chestnut). This course will survey the science of pollination biology and the importance of pollination to human society.

No preregistration required.

Agricultural Science and Policy, Professor David Hewitt. 6 Mondays, March 26 - April 30, 2012, 6:30 - 8:00 PM. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 100 N. 20th Street (20th and Arch Streets). This course will provide scientific background to understand selected current issues in agricultural and food policy.

Registration is now open.

You may register online here or call (215) 763-6529, ext. 23.

Fall 2011 Courses

Adventures with our Ancestors: The Relationship of Neandertals to Modern Humans, Professor Janet Monge. 7 Mondays, October 3 - November 14, 2011, 6:30 to 8:00 PM. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 33rd and Spruce Streets. This course will explore human evolution and the evidence for a relationship between Neandertals and modern humans. The class includes a visit to the newly installed human evolution exhibit at the Penn Museum.

No preregistration required.

Science, Art, and Culture during the Golden Age of French Natural History, 1790-1830, Professors Sylwester Ratowt and Jane E. Boyd. 7 Wednesdays, October 5 - November 16, 2011, 6:30 to 8:00 PM. American Philosophical Society Museum, 104 S. 5th Street (next to Independence Hall). This course is based on the ideas explored in the exhibit "Of Elephants & Roses: Encounters with French Natural History, 1790-1830," currently on display at the American Philosophical Society Museum. The exhibit will be open for viewing prior to each class.

No preregistration required.

Birds and Birding in the Delaware Valley, Professor Clifford Hence. 6 Wednesdays, October 5 - November 9, 2011, 6:30 to 7:45 PM. Independence Branch of the Free Library, 18 S. 7th Street (between Market and Chestnut). This course will look at the unique anatomy of birds and provide a framework for recognizing bird species through visual identification and by their songs and calls.

No preregistration required.

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To receive information by mail, please call 215-763-6529, ext. 21 or email info@wagnerfreeinstitute.org.