PLATO Weekly Update

March 18, 2025

CURRICULUM

SPRING COURSES
Find everything you need to know about Spring Courses on the Courses webpage. The Curriculum Committee hopes you are enjoying the opportunity to participate in one or more Spring courses!

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The PLATO Travel Group's Spring Syllabus has had a few updates – find the revised syllabus posted on the Course Description webpage.

SUMMER COURSES
Spread your wings and offer a course this summer! Summertime is a great time to offer a new course, maybe even for the first time, because courses typically run just 4-6 weeks. Most Summer Courses begin the week of June 2. If you're wondering how to start planning a new course, PLATO's Curriculum Committee is here to help – find what you need in the Coordinator Toolkit. 

SPECIAL EVENTS

FIELD TRIPS

NEW! East Troy Railroad and Yerkes Observatory Tour on Monday, May 12, 2025. The first half features a tour of the historic Yerkes Observatory with pre-tour remarks by Jim Lattis, who holds a Ph.D. in History of Science from UW–Madison and helped create UW Space Place. The second half includes a group lunch aboard a two-hour train ride on the East Troy Electric Railroad with guide and conductor, Evan Richards. The registration deadline is Tuesday, March 25 and seats are going fast, so register today! Learn more and register here.

Spring into Spring Tour in the Janesville area on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Flower and nature enthusiasts will enjoy the expansive Rotary Botanical Gardens and the K&W Greenery and their gift shops! We'll also tour the Milton House – Wisconsin's only certified Underground Railroad site. And there will be a group lunch at an Italian restaurant and a surprise stop. The registration deadline is this Friday, March 21, 2025! Learn more and register here.

NEXT MONTH! Join us for the Linden Cohousing Tour on Saturday April 5, 2025, at 10:00am. There are about 200 cohousing communities across the United States and Madison is home to four of them! Come learn how cooperative living can facilitate interaction among neighbors to provide social, practical, economic, and environmental benefits.This is a complimentary two-hour tour for PLATO members and their guests and registration is required. Learn more and register here.

LECTURES

Slavery in "Free" Wisconsin Territory, 1800-1850 on Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 1:30-3:00pm. Using documentation gathered in the writing of her latest book Enslaved, Indentured, Free: Five Black Women on the Upper Mississippi 1800-1850, historian and author Mary Elise Antoine will discuss the history of slavery in Wisconsin. Registration is not required for this lecture, parking is free, and guests are welcome. Learn more here.

A Conversation with Chloe Benjamin on Thursday, April 17, 2025, from 1:30-3:00pm. The Alt-Pinney Book Club will interview the award-winning author of The Immortalists and The Anatomy of Dreams. Registration is not required, parking is free, and guests are welcome. Learn more here.

Enjoy recorded PLATO Lectures on important and interesting topics.

BREAKFAST GATHERINGS

NEXT WEEK! Fourth Friday Coffee on March 28 from 9:30-11:30am at the Rotunda Café on Atwood Ave. Connect with fellow PLATO members over a cup of your favorite morning beverage. Feel free to bring a friend or family member who might be interested in PLATO! Learn more and RSVP here.

NEXT MONTH! The very first First Friday Breakfast on the West Side! Join fellow PLATO members and guests for breakfast and conversation at the Pancake Café on Gammon Road. Held the first Friday of each month from 9:00-11:00am, the first event will be on Friday, April 4, 2025. This venue provides the comfort of a private dining room and the convenience of a large parking lot. Bring a friend! Like all Breakfast and Coffee Gatherings, everyone is responsible for their own tab. Learn more and RSVP here.

WEBINAR

The Benefits of Strength Training for Life's Journey by Vivo on Friday, April 4 at 2:00pm. This one-hour webinar features a presentation by Dr. Katie Starr, PhD, RD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, followed by an interactive demo and Q&A session. This complimentary event requires registration to receive the Zoom link – the deadline is Thursday, April 3. Learn more and register here. 

THE AGORA
The Agora, PLATO’s literary and arts journal, 
celebrates members’ creativity and diversity of thought.

Big thanks to the many PLATO members who submitted their work for consideration for inclusion in The Agora, Volume 9, which will be published in Fall 2025. With more than 70 high-quality entries, this edition is sure to please!

To view highlights from this past season, visit The Agora Features.

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Select from a range of topics and formats for your winter viewing or listening pleasure, curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee. 

DID YOU KNOW? for March 11 – 24, 2025

Charles Richard Drew (June 3, 1904 – April 1, 1950) was an American physician who pioneered the storage of blood plasma in blood banks in the United States and Great Britain during the early years of World War II. Drew resigned his posts in 1942 as an act of protest of the decision of the armed forces who ruled that African American blood would be accepted but would need to be stored separately from the blood of whites.