Adult Learners Institute Announces Oct. 2025 Classes

ALI Michigan continues its fall 2025 term with six more adult learners’ classes in the 5HealthyTowns area of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge.

Oct. 2025 Classes:

Carol Brodbeck, a Master Gardener, be hosting the class Attract Amazing Hummingbirds, which will not only explain to students why these pollinators like certain shapes and colors, but also about hummingbird migration, nest building, and chick raising. This in-person and ZOOM class is offered in cooperation with WCC on Oct. 1, at the Chelsea Retirement Community-Crippen Building.

The modern road system has made many accustomed to travelling long or short distances with ease, but at the end of the 19th century, the U.S. road system was primitive, serving only local communities. By the mid-1920s, this had changed dramatically. On Oct. 7, Jim Craft, a historian specializing in 19th century America, will present Michigan’s Good Roads Movement. He will explain why the early roads were so bad, and what brought about the changes we see in today’s road system. This in-person class will be held at the Chelsea State Bank (Downtown Office).

The Art of Storytelling, a four-session interactive workshop, will led by Beverly Black and Laura Lee Hayes. These Master Storytellers will allow students to give and get feedback as they try different techniques to find what works best. Both beginners and more experienced storytellers are welcome. These in-person classes will meet on four Thursdays, on Oct. 9, 16, 23, and 30 at the Chelsea Retirement Community-Crippen Building.

Students are invited to take a three-week whirlwind tour of the human brain in the in-person or ZOOM class How Does My Brain Work?  Neuroscientist Charlie Taylor, PhD. will explain the complex workings of our brains, which function only with atoms, chemistry, and biology. These In-person and ZOOM classes will be held on three Tuesdays, on Oct. 16, 21, and 28, at the Chelsea Retirement Center, Dancey Building.

Learn the story behind the seventy-year career of one of America’s most popular comedians at The Bob Hope Story, presented on Monday, October 20 by long-time favorite John Hauger. Famous for his one-liners, America’s King of Comedy’s origins in Vaudeville and Broadway are often overshadowed by his later successes in radio, movies, and TV. This in-person class will be held at the Manchester District Library.

On Oct. 27, Dr. Henry Aldridge will present Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. A native of Russia, this promoter and entrepreneur founded the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909, and commissioned three groundbreaking scores from Stravinsky: The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. Attendees will discover why some works were so controversial as they watch complete performances of The Firebird and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, with Nijinsky’s original choreography. This In-person class will be held at the Chelsea Senior Center.

Online registration is available through ALI-Michigan’s website, www.alimichigan.org, along with complete class information, registration and payment options. For further information, email [email protected], or write to ALI Michigan, PO Box 134, Chelsea, MI 48118.