Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy’s
Einstein’s Circle: “Big History: 13.8 Billion Years of It!”
With Jeff Rodgers, Director of Bishop Planetarium
Wednesday, March 22, at Temple Beth Sholom
These open forums, moderated by knowledgeable experts on a variety of timely topics, provide an opportunity for participants to engage in a thoughtful exchange of ideas, opinions and information.
(Sarasota-Manatee) Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy (RCLLA) announces its spring 2017 Einstein’s Circle “Big History: 13.8 Billion Years of It!” with moderator Jeff Rodgers, provost and COO of the South Florida Museum and director of the Bishop Planetarium. The forum is Wednesday, March 22, 3-4:30 p.m., in the auditorium at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Cost is $6 general admission; $5 for RCLLA paid members. Registration is recommended and can be done online at www.rclla.org or by calling 941-309-5111. Tickets are transferrable, but are not refundable after purchase. For additional information on Ringling College Lifelong Learning Academy, visit www.rclla.org or call 941-309-5111.
In “Big History: 13.8 Billion Years of It,” Jeff Rodgers examines human history in the context of a much larger story—the history of the universe. Beginning with major thresholds that brought about the changes that propelled us toward our present condition, Rodgers looks at the Big Bang, the formation of stars, the creation of elements, the building of solar systems, and the origin and evolution of life. He also explores the distinctive adaptations that allowed humans to develop the tools, complex forms of communication, agriculture, and the industrial revolutions that led to our current condition.
Before joining the South Florida Museum in 2004, Rodgers spent nine years at the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Since then, his lectures, classes, “Stelliferous Live” talks, and other community intergalactic explorations have earned him recognition as “Southwest Florida’s own Neil deGrasse Tyson.”
According to Bev Harms, producer of Einstein’s Circle, these open forums moderated by knowledgeable and noted experts, provide participants with an opportunity to engage in open and thoughtful discussion of a wide variety of topical matters. “If it’s relevant, timely and interesting there’s a good chance we’ll be talking about it at Einstein’s Circle,” says Harms.
About Ringling Lifelong Learning Academy
Ringling Lifelong Learning Academy offers educational opportunities for adults to pursue new interests, expand intellectual horizons and enrich their lives. Courses cover a wide range of stimulating topics and are taught by scholars, retired faculty members and professional practitioners. Courses are taught in an engaging, collaborative manner where learning results in the development of civic awareness, ongoing learning communities of peers and intellectual and cultural connections to our communities. As a private, not-for-profit, LLA has served the Sarasota- Manatee region for the past 18 years growing lifelong learning program offerings in number and variety as the demand for services has grown. The Academy is funded by donations and registration fees and led by an executive director and volunteer advisory board. Visit www.rclla.org.
About Ringling College of Art and Design
For nearly 85 years, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit fully accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in eleven disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College’s rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, first-year program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers.
