OLLI First Friday winter lectures

December 5, 2019

UAF's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute sponsors free public lectures the first Fridays of December, January and February every winter. Lectures are held at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, 101 Dunkel St., from 3-4:30 p.m. For more information, contact OLLI at uaf-olli@alaska.edu or 474-6607.

Dec. 6, 2019
Digging Dinosaurs in Alaska: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Fossil Collecting in the Far North
by Patrick Druckenmiller

Alaska is home to amazing fossils, including the northernmost dinosaurs that ever lived. Safely accessing and collecting those fossils in Alaska presents unique challenges, but also opportunities. In this talk, paleontologist Patrick Druckenmiller describes what it takes to reach remote field sites and dig up those fossils, and how these hard-earned finds contribute amazing new information about life in ancient Alaska.

Jan. 3, 2020
Transformed by Reindeer
by Jane Atkinson

One never knows what life will throw at you! When my daughter insisted on getting reindeer and did all the work to make that happen I had no idea what was in store for my life. A little side business during the midst of a career change completely transformed my life and allowed me to reach many dreams I never knew were possible. Come listen to my story about how reindeer transformed my life. As a friend told me, “See what happens when you won’t let your daughter have a pony!”

Feb. 7, 2020
An Interdependent People: Community, Conflict and Change in Alaska
by Leslie Ahuvah Fails

Alaskans are a people with an independent streak like none other. Hundreds of thousands of Americans tune into reality programs showcasing our ability to “do it ourselves,” off the grid, in spite of extreme cold and isolation. Yet—as anyone who has ever stood in front of an eerily vacant dairy case at the store after a delayed grocery shipment can testify—to live in Alaska means to be uniquely dependent upon the functioning of infrastructure and the well-being of one’s community. What does it mean to be an interdependent people? What wisdom do we have to offer ourselves that will strengthen our minds and hearts in the years ahead?