Columbine United Church, Littleton   

This course teaches Hermeneutic Prompt Engineering and Advanced NotebookLM to help users overcome AI's limitations—avoiding generic responses and hallucinations. Drawing on Andrej Karpathy's insight that "English is the hottest programming language," participants learn structured prompting techniques rather than random commands.

Advanced NotebookLM supports up to 50 trusted source documents per notebook (up to 100 different notebooks), eliminating unreliable web searches. Users can explore personalized topics like dementia research, retirement planning, novel writing, etc. The platform offers nine key capabilities: deep research, customizable videos, audio overviews (podcasts), mind maps, chat interaction, reports (blog posts, study guides, briefing documents), flashcards, quizzes, infographics, and slide decks.

This interactive, hands-on course transforms participants' laptops into practical laboratories. Students select capabilities to explore, gaining real-world experience in advanced AI prompting and NotebookLM skills during class or afterward, unlocking AI's full potential through masterful prompt engineering. Participants must have their personal laptop with NotebookLM access previously setup. NotebookLM can found by searching Google.com

A visit to the past helps us to see both the bruises and the blessings of our lives. Reviewing our memories can help identify and evaluate the experiences we have had. It can lead to discovery of those revealing moments along the way. Using a workbook of life story questions, participants will journal, share experiences in small groups, and participate in interactive exercises.

Materials: Participants will need a journal notebook. The Life Story Workbook will be provided.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has insinuated itself into just about everything. It already has an outsized impact on our purchases, communications, finance, investments, software development, travel, workflows, and even our culture and politics. AI has been a long time coming but it is here now. It is imposing a new cultural paradigm, defining behaviors and setting out a new world order. We can only dimly see this next evolutionary era, an age that began with a steep decline of the industrial age from the middle of the last century.

This class will look at the current state of AI, its promises and pitfalls, and what is on the immediate horizon (2028-2030). It will include a deeper dive into where AI has been applied successfully (or not), what the big players are doing, and of course, all the new jargon. Discussion of related social and economic changes coming will also be included.

Ever notice players calling out tiles with unusual names while studying colorful cards? That's American Mahjongg—a captivating game of skill and luck where players race to complete hands using tiles.

This class teaches everything needed to confidently join experienced players. The objective is simple: be the first to create a matching hand from the card using all your tiles.

Weeks 1-4: Learn tile names and suits, game setup, dealing procedures, card reading, hand selection, tile passing, and the pick-and-discard process.

Weeks 5-8: Practice games with classmates while developing skills.

Throughout the course, we'll cover basic strategy and proper mahjongg etiquette, transforming that "interesting but hard to learn" impression into genuine competence and enjoyment at the table.

Students will need to order the 2026 card through The National Mahjongg League at https://nationalmahjonggleague.org/. The card can be ordered as early as January 01, 2026, but will not be available until April.

Long before England had monarchs, the island of Britain experienced the arrival of a succession of new peoples and traditions, one after another. Despite being cut off from the Continent, or perhaps because of it, the arrival of each new group changed the way the inhabitants lived, worked, and interacted with one another. These changes lasted until the next new group arrived.

In this class we will explore the impact of such early diverse cultures as the Neolithic farmers who built Stonehenge, the Beaker People with their bronze technology, and the famous Celtic culture. From there we will look at the Roman occupation, England’s unification by the Anglo-Saxons, and the Viking invaders. We will finish with the Norman Conquest.

While battles and war were part of this history, our class will downplay those elements. We will focus more on the way that peoples’ lives changed through this progression of cultures. This class will be a combination of lecture and discussion.

All of the tradeoffs in competing economic systems - capitalism, socialism, and communism are controversial. These systems and ideologies have shaped the way people view both the world today and modern history. But where does capitalism begin and socialism end? It's about choice and compromise.

Understanding and endeavoring to solve these dilemmas is the job of comparative economics. This course will show you the many ways the most influential modern economic theories were developed, how they function (or don't), and how they manage to cooperate, both together and in opposition to each other.

This class will consist of videos, lecture, and discussion.

Sue Bramley & Natalie Conklin will take you on a musical journey! Step back in time and rediscover the soundtrack of four unforgettable decades, the 1940s-1970s.

In this lively, engaging class, we will explore the swing and big-band brilliance of the 1940s; the birth of rock ’n’ roll in the 50s; music of the 60s crackled with rebellion changing culture forever; then on to the funky, feel-good vibes of the ’70s and lots in between. Get ready to share memories, learn some fun musical history, and celebrate the songs that defined our generation!

Are you ready for America's 250th birthday? Get acquainted with our little-known patriotic, colonial women and the roles they played moving us from a colony to a country all within the contexts of religion, history and politics.

You’ll meet poets and printers, essayists and satirists and one very successful, hard-working, literate midwife. These disobedient wives and spirited spinsters made our founding fathers anxious patriarchs. Nevertheless, they persisted! In this course, you will discover those feminine voices from the kidnapped Mary Rowlandson, the Annes both Hutchinson and Bradstreet. You may know their writings, but do you know Susannah Wright, Coonaponkessa or Martha Daniell Logan? Did you know that Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved, educated woman, moved General George Washington with her poetry?

Through reading, discussing, and watching videos, participants will identify important colonial and revolutionary women, describe their daily domestic lives and hardships, and elucidate how they became activists for freedom.

Required Reading: A Narrative of the Captivity, Sufferings, and Removes of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. 

This course explores both the aesthetics of joy--different categories of stimuli and events that prompt the joy response, and happiness. Examples of aesthetics (Fetell-Lee, I.) include renewal (think baby chicks, spring flowers), freedom (think of riding in a convertible, or the start of summer vacation), and transcendence (imagine floating clouds or tree houses). Both “joy” and “happiness” refer to positive emotional states that motivate and energize people. “Happiness” also refers to the satisfaction humans experience from living well, specifically, living virtuously, meaningfully, and fully engaged. We’ll examine why happiness varies, how biology and culture shape our capacity for joy, and ways to make joyful living more common. Facilitators will rely on video clips, pictures, and music to help make both joy and happiness resonate. Discussions based on participants’ insights, experiences, curiosity, and questions should prompt a deeper understanding of joy and a greater commitment to living well.

During the Middle Ages seafaring merchants plied their trade at ports primarily along the coasts of northern Europe, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Their focus was the trade of many goods and materials in demand in that region. They concentrated on trade; how to develop trade; how to promote trade; and how to protect trade in their sphere of influence and operation. Known as the Hanseatic League, their influence extends to today. The first half of this class will concentrate on the Hansa’s rise and fall. Many believe that the historical roots of the European Union may be found in this organization. Therefore, the last half of the class will examine those connections and contrasts including why the EU was formed, how it is formed, how it is organized and how it operates today.

Presentation will include power point, lecture, graphics, video, and discussion.

“Yada, yada, yada.”

“Stifle it.”

“I hate spunk.”

“Lucy, I’m home.”

Do you recognize these catch phrases? Can you identify the sitcom? This course will examine eight great American sitcoms: I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, M*A*S*H*, Cheers, The Golden Girls, and Seinfeld. Each week we will tackle a sitcom, view a full episode, and analyze and discuss how these sitcoms impacted American culture. We will review the creative minds and environment that helped develop these memorable programs. Why were we ready for an Archie Bunker or a bedroom setting or the humor of a war? Join me as we take an informative look at the role these TV sitcoms played in shaping our society, while we laugh and have fun with the memories.

Discover the joy and freedom of loose watercolor painting - a playful style that favors suggestion over precision and lets color glide and flow. In this class, we’ll happily wander outside the lines to create expressive, airy pieces that focus on feeling rather than perfect form.

Each session centers on a specific subject, with a little guidance up front and plenty of relaxed time to paint together. You’ll create pieces that can turn into cards, bookmarks, or frame-worthy art, and all the materials and support you need will be right there.

Along the way, enjoy the easy conversation and camaraderie that comes from making art in good company. This class is about connecting as much as painting.

A quality watercolor set and paper will be provided for class use and is yours to keep. A $30 materials fee is due at the first class. Whether you're brand-new or just new to this loose style, come ready to loosen up and explore.

Required: $30 materials fee to be paid directly to facilitators during the first class

This course is for anyone who wants to add more energy, movement, interaction, and fun to their day.  Line-dancing is one of the easiest dances to learn. Line dancing is versatile; you will be able to dance to multiple music genres, including Country, Rock, Pop, Bluegrass, R&B, and Blues.  You will learn new steps by observing the facilitators, Ellen and Chris, and will practice first without music and then with music.  We will demonstrate the steps from different locations in the room to boost visual cues.  We recommend practicing between classes to enhance skills, confidence, and fun. You will receive video links to assist with your practice sessions at home.  So, if you’d like to meet new folks, enjoy upbeat music, exercise lightly, and engage both your body and mind, come dance with us. No experience is necessary, just comfortable footwear.

A deep dive into a shallow pond—Wham!—to explore the creation of the greatest cartoon characters in American history (Pow!). Not even Mickey Mouse could hold a candle to the loud, rough, rude, scatter-shot, machine-gun humor of Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky, Taz, Yosemite Sam, Road-Runner, Coyote, Tweety, Sylvester, Speedy, Witch Hazel, Foghorn Leghorn, and more. The most extraordinary talents in the business (Need Proof? Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin – ALL CERTIFIABLY MAD AS HATTERS!!!!!!) developed the most fantastic characters in animation. They changed the very face of American comedy ** Crash! ** from vaudeville patter to rapid-fire machine-gun action, wisecracks, biting sarcasm, and outrageous fun. Join the Wascally Wabbit on Michigan J. Frog's eight-week wild ride!

If you have ever marveled at the buildings, bridges, roads and water distribution systems of the Greco-Roman world, this is the class for you. Ancient technology is incredibly interesting and even astonishing. How did they do it 2500 years ago? Classical-era technology often reflects the social, political, and cultural context of these civilizations and has influenced our modern world in substantive ways. Lacking modern engineering tools and expertise, ancient engineers were exceptionally clever in designing their systems which often displayed the ingenuity of their creators with great clarity. The course will span a 1300 year period from 800 BC to 476 AD when the last Roman emperor was deposed. Join us in this fascination discovery as we ask the big questions: “How and why was it built? How did it work? How did it fit in that distant culture?”

Human populations have grown ceaselessly since the last ice age. We now dominate almost every ecosystem on this planet. At first, the rate of growth was modest, but with each passing era the rate increased. Population growth has been accompanied by an even greater growth in both consumption and insatiable demands for energy. Ingenuity and innovation have up to now created new ways to sustain, protect and grow human populations. For thousands of years human ingenuity found ways to ease the burdens of labor, create surpluses, make room for more people, kept innovating, met demands for more energy, but also unleashed the disruptive forces of change, such as migration, war, and genocide. We don't seem to be done.

This course is the first of a two-part series. Part II will follow as a separate class. It will deal with the social, economic and political aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Since the birth of the documentary (Nanook of the North, 1922), filmmakers have invited us to witness the world’s uncomfortable truths — exposing injustice, inspiring reform, and reframing our view of reality.

In this course, you will explore powerful films that reveal the cracks in our environment, politics, and economies. Select documentaries, including An Inconvenient Truth, The Fog of War, Paris Is Burning, and Inside Job challenge what we think we know — and what we may choose to ignore.

Each week, short readings, film screenings*, and guided discussion introduce us to storytellers who dared to speak truth to power. Together, we’ll ask: what did these documentaries change — and what still needs changing today?

We’ll also identify the documentary style each film used – was that effective or not? Would you use another technique?

Why do so many Americans love their guns? How do we reconcile the proliferation of firearms and their use with the trauma and death they cause? How did a nation built on muskets and expanding frontiers become a country awash in modern firearms? Why do efforts to enact gun control laws spark such emotional and political division? How did the one-sentence Second Amendment become a defining flashpoint of American identity?

These questions lead to the central one this course will explore: Should regulation of gun possession and use be more stringent? What might such a path forward look like?

This eight-week course draws heavily from Robert J. Spitzer’s The Politics of Gun Control (9th ed.), not required. Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser and a gun safety advocate, will be a guest speaker. We will use lecture, video, guided discussion, and interactive learning to examine legal, historical, and cultural forces shaping America’s gun debate.

Why do so many Americans love their guns? How do we reconcile the proliferation of firearms and their use with the trauma and death they cause? How did a nation built on muskets and expanding frontiers become a country awash in modern firearms? Why do efforts to enact gun control laws spark such emotional and political division? How did the one-sentence Second Amendment become a defining flashpoint of American identity?

These questions lead to the central one this course will explore: Should regulation of gun possession and use be more stringent? What might such a path forward look like?

This eight-week course draws heavily from Robert J. Spitzer’s The Politics of Gun Control (9th ed.), not required. Tom Mauser, father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser and a gun safety advocate, will be a guest speaker. We will use lecture, video, guided discussion, and interactive learning to examine legal, historical, and cultural forces shaping America’s gun debate.