PLATO Weekly Update

September 9, 2025

CURRICULUM

FALL COURSES
REMINDER! Most Fall Courses begin next week – it's not too late to register for courses that still have space, such as these three new courses: 

1.    Prose and Cons Book Discussion Group with Barb Drake

2.    Two Major Art Centers in Europe: Paris and Vienna with Mary Em Kirn 

3.    Learning the Language and Logics of Autism with Douglas Maynard

Also, these popular PLATO repeat courses offer unlimited participation:

· Drawing as a Sacred Activity

· Money Skills for Retirees

· Biography

· History of the Hollywood Musical

· Jazz

· Gentle Chair Yoga for Stress Reduction

· Mindfulness of Mind: Emotion & Thinking

· Global Affairs and the Media

· Discussions in Philosophy

· Film History

· What in the World Happened

· PLATO Travel Group

Visit the Courses webpage to find the link to the Fall Course Schedule and contact the course coordinator to register.

To renew or to become a member, visit the Join PLATO webpage.

SPECIAL EVENTS

BREAKFAST & COFFEE GATHERINGS
These social events offer members and their guests opportunities to share conversation over coffee and breakfast or breakfast snacks.

THIS WEEK! Second Friday Breakfast Gathering at the Lakeside Street Coffee House on September 12 from 9:30-11:30am. Learn more and RSVP here.

Fourth Friday Coffee at the Rotunda Café on September 26 from 9:30-11:30am. Learn more and RSVP here.

LECTURES
Save the Dates – review this flyer for lecture dates through December 2025!

TODAY! Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad on Tuesday, September 9 from 1:30-3pm at Oakwood Village University Woods Arts and Education Center. In her lecture, Connie Martin tells the history of the Underground Railroad and how quilt codes were used to communicate. Registration is not required, guests are welcome, and parking is free. Learn more here.

THIS MONTH! Healing the Heart through Forgiveness on Thursday, September 25 from 1:30-3pm at Oakwood Village University Woods Arts and Education Center. In her lecture, Lisa Rickert will reflect on her last two decades of working with defense teams on death penalty cases and the awe she has experienced in witnessing people who chose mercy in response to unspeakable pain, and the power of forgives in the healing process. Registration is not required, guests are welcome, and parking is free. Learn more here.

NEXT MONTH! Beyond Politics: The Content of Wisconsin's Character, Past & Present by award-winning journalist and whistleblower Mike McCabe on Thursday, October 9 from 1:30-3pm at Oakwood Village University Woods Arts and Education Center. Registration for this lecture is not required, guests are welcome, and parking is free. Learn more here.

Expand your horizons with recorded PLATO Lectures presented by PLATO members and local, national, and international special guest presenters.

FIELD TRIPS

NEW! Tour of the Overture Center on Tuesday, September 30 from 1:00-2:30pm. Step inside Madison’s premier performing arts center for a special free guided tour designed just for our group. Registration is required and members may bring a guest. Learn more and register here.

THEATER TRIPS
Save the Dates – review this flyer for theater trips through June 2026!

Only three spots remain! Join us for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at The Fireside Dinner Theater in Fort Atkinson. Note that PLATO is partnering with the Verona Senior Center and UW Retirement Association on this travel opportunity so pick-up locations are different from PLATO's usual trips. Registration deadline is next Monday, September 15. Learn more and register here.