Register for these programs: by phone (507-664-3700), in person at FiftyNorth, or by clicking on the title of the class
Senior Learning Network
SLN – Federal Hall National Monument
Tuesday, January 31
1:00-2:00pm
When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, New York remained the national capital. Pierre L’Enfant was commissioned to remodel the City Hall for the new federal government. The First Congress met in the now Federal Hall and wrote the Bill of Rights. George Washington was inaugurated here as the country’s first President on April 30, 1789. When the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the building again housed city government until 1812, when Federal Hall was demolished. The current structure on the site was built as a Customs House, opening in 1842. In 1862, Customs moved to 55 Wall Street, and the building became the US Sub-Treasury. Millions of dollars of gold and silver were kept in the basement vaults, until the Federal Reserve Bank replaced the Sub-Treasury system in 1920.
Presenter: Senior Learning Network
Capacity: 10
Cost: $9 nonmbr, $7 mbr, $0 platinum
Space: 103

SLN – Polynesian Wayfinders: Mystic Seaport Museum
Tuesday, February 7
1:00-2:00pm
It’s time to join of our favorite presenters- Brian from the Planetarium at Mystic! Brian traveled to the Pacific recently and did his own research of the Polynesian skies! This show offers a unique perspective on star lore as well as navigation.
We will view the night sky as seen from Honolulu, Hawaii while learning about how the people of Polynesia could find their way across vast distances of ocean without any tools of technology. We will explore how clues from the natural world not only helped Polynesians with direction-finding, but also formed the stories that created their very own constellations.
Presenter: Senior Learning Network
Capacity: 10
Cost: $9 nonmbr, $7 mbr, $0 platinum
Space: 103

SLN – Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail
Tuesday, February 14
1:00-2:00pm
The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail was established by Congress in 1996 to commemorate the events, people, and route of the 1965 Voting Rights March in Alabama.
The 54-mile-long national historic trail begins at the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Selma and then follows the 1965 historic routes of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches through the city and eastward along US Highway 80 through Dallas County and Lowndes County. Crossing into Montgomery County, the Trail continues into the city of Montgomery and ends at the Alabama State Capitol. Join us as we visit this site which stands as an enduring testament to the long struggle and sacrifices made by many individuals to preserve the right to vote as a fundamental cornerstone of American democracy.
Presenter: Senior Learning Network
Capacity: 10
Cost: $9 nonmbr, $7 mbr, $0 platinum
Space: 103

SLN – Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Tuesday, February 21
1:00-2:00pm
Born on January 9,1913, on his parents’ citrus farm in Yorba, Linda, California, Richard Milhous Nixon’s life spanned eight decades.
Join us for a virtual tour of the library and museum from a presenter who will share the stories from the museum that cover much of President Nixon’s life and his extraordinary accomplishments prior to becoming the 37th President of the United States. The journey ends with Richard Nixon’s post- presidency period and his contributions as elder statesman, and his impact on American culture.
(there may be an update to this program description)
Presenter: Senior Learning Network
Capacity: 10
Cost: $9 nonmbr, $7 mbr, $0 platinum
Space: 103

SLN – New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia
Tuesday, February 28
1:00-2:00pm
We’re off to see America’s Newest National Park in “Wild Wonderful” West Virginia! In December 2020, this 73,000-acre slice of paradise, encompassing a whitewater river, limestone cliffs and deep canyons, became the country’s newest national park. The lifeblood of the park is the New River, and despite its name it is believed to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. For more than 260 million years, it has run northeasterly from the Blue Ridge Mountains near Boone, North Carolina, through southwest Virginia and into West Virginia, cutting through the Appalachian Plateau and joining with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River in south-central West Virginia. Join us as discover the breathtaking beauty of this park, and see for yourself why it is referred to as “Almost Heaven”!
Presenter: Senior Learning Network
Capacity: 10
Cost: $9 nonmbr, $7 mbr, $0 platinum
Space: 103
