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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 10/3/06 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
July 14, 2006 Grandparents, kids enroll in college fun UWGB program gives families time together to learn By Corinthia McCoy
"It smells good," 9-year-old Norton said about the hot Black Cherry Kool-Aid aroma drifting in the room as University of Wisconsin-Green Bay art professor Alison Gates demonstrated a portion of their new assignment Thursday.
It was just day one of Grandparents University, a new program at UWGB that connects grandparents with their grandchildren while both learn and experience the university. About 70 people — making up 38 families — participated in the program's first year.
"The whole idea is to appeal to both generations," said Mona Christensen, event coordinator and university director of youth opportunities for outreach and exchange.
Both grandparents and grandchildren were able to select classes based on majors.
During the two-day program, the grandparents and the grandchildren will attend four 90-minute classes. Both will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
"We are just as pleased as we want to be," Christensen said about the program's progress so far. "We got 70 people. This is awesome."
Families also participated in tours of the university, a cookout, and a free Jazz Faculty Concert in University Theatre.
The program was open to alumni, alumni's parents, Friends of the University, participants in the UWGB's learning and retirement program and children ages 7 to 14.
Christensen got the idea for the program from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which had 400 people participate in its version last summer.
The structure is the same, but the classes are different, emphasizing the university's arts and science programs, Christensen said. Classes included Fiber Arts, Art Enameling, Natural History and Ecology: Biodiversity, and Forensic Science.
"Kayla, this is awesome," Berth told her granddaughter during their art session. "You made a good choice."
Berth, from Oconto, said she heard about the program through her daughter who works at the university. The twosome paid $277 which included classes, meals and stay at the Ed Thompson Hall, "just so I can spend some quality time with my granddaughter," Berth said. "She has a 3-year-old sister and a 1-year-old brother. It's a nice getaway."
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