PLATO Weekly Update

June 29, 2021

CURRICULUM

Read about the history of courses over PLATO's 35 years!

Find out how coordinators and members have adapted to changing times.

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Upcoming Walks! 

Tuesday, July 6, 9-11:30 a.m. A Walk Along Table Bluff in Cross Plains. Comeexplore an Ice Age Trail overlooking two wooded valleys and hillsides. We will travel with two naturalists who have led us on other popular walks. Space is still available! Unvaccinated individuals who participate will need to wear masks as there will not be social distancing.

Tuesday, July 20, 8:30-11:30 a.m. A Morning Walk in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve with Amy Rosebrough. Come explore the UW-Lakeshore Preserve and discuss the 13,000-year history of De Jope (Madison). Dr. Rosebrough will describe the various archaeological and historic sites found along this scenic route and will provide trivia both entertaining and hair-raising. Registration is full, but you may join the waitlist. Unvaccinated individuals who participate will need to wear masks as there will not be social distancing.

PLATO's Lecture series will return this fall. In the meantime, members can access Past Recordings.

THEATER

Continue to "attend" theater performances from your home through the variety of options listed on the PLATO Virtual Theater Trips page.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL UPDATE

It’s time to renew your PLATO membership!

Current memberships will expire on July 31. Renew online to continue to take advantage of summer activities and the mix of virtual and in-person activities anticipated for this fall.

We are pleased to announce that dues will remain at the pre-pandemic level of $60 per person.

Renew online or mail your renewal form and a check for $60 to PLATO, 21 N. Park St., 7th Floor, Madison, WI 53715‐1218. Please let us know if your contact information has changed since June, 2019, and email any further questions to Stephanie Steigerwaldt, PLATO's office coordinator, at info@platomadison.org.

Thank you for your membership and continued support of PLATO! We look forward to seeing you at the many courses and events lined up for the coming year. 

FEATURED AGORA WORKS

Each week, we offer for your enjoyment, a featured piece from contributors to PLATO's Agora arts and ideas journal. This week, join us in celebration of the season with a poem titled Summer by Mary DeWolf.

SOCIAL GATHERINGS

Social Gatherings will resume this fall with in-person breakfasts. 

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Suggested readings, films, activities, and podcasts.

Select from a range of topics and formats for your reading, viewing, or listening, curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee. 

Just launched last week is our new biweekly feature called DID YOU KNOW? -  which is intended to increase awareness of the many contributions in all areas of our community by individuals outside of our mainstream white world. Suggestions for inclusion are welcome (send to ksmichaelis@gmail.com).

DID YOU KNOW? Marcellus Gilmore Edson, who patented peanut butter, (US Patent # 306727) was an African-American chemist from Canada. Edson developed the idea of peanut paste as a delicious and nutritious food for people who had difficulty chewing solid food, a common issue in those days.