MARIETTA — Seven classes have been added to the Winter 2024 lineup at the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Marietta College.

The classes are: Stress R Us; Chemistry in Our National Parks; Beginners Hand Sewing; Money Matters; Vikings, Saint Brendan and Other Earlier Possible Explorers of North America; Wines of West Virginia; and Music of the 70s.

Stress R Us is an eight-week course meeting Mondays beginning Jan. 15. Dr. Greeley Miklashek will discuss his lifelong learning and experience tracing the roots of all human diseases to one common source, overactive stress responses and the triggers driving it. The class explores what stress is, what triggers it, its role in health and disease causation, stress management and disease prevention.

The eight-week Chemistry in Our National Parks meets Wednesdays beginning Jan. 17. Marietta College Professor Kevin Pate will teach the basics of chemistry using the country’s national parks and monuments as illustrations of chemical phenomena. Topics include atomic and molecular structure, states of matter, acids and bases, chemical reactions, thermodynamics and kinetics.

Beginners Hand sewing is a four-week class on Thursdays beginning Feb. 18. Caroline Frey Mounier-vehier, a life-long fabric artist, will offer an introduction to hand sewing, patchwork, and quilting. The class will create a lavender sachet/mini cushion using a piecing technique and an applique technique. A complete kit will be available for $28 purchase on the first day of class.

Money Matters, a four-week course, will meet Fridays beginning Feb. 19. Neil Parsons, financial adviser at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, will explore finances in retirement and provide a broad discussion of the challenges of how to handle finances in retirement years and financial challenges unique to the senior years. The course also will be offered via Zoom.

A second series of four-week classes will begin on Feb. 13.

Vikings, Saint Brendan and Other Earlier Possible Explorers of North America will be led by Jim Moon. chair of the program, on Tuesdays with a Zoom option.

Wines of West Virginia, led by grape farmer and winemaker Craig Bandy, will meet on Thursdays.

Music of the 70s, presented by retired Marietta College professor Ed Osborne, is scheduled Fridays.

The cost of courses is from $15 for a four-week course to $30 for an eight-week course. Classes are held in Thomas Hall Room 124. To register online and for schedules, course materials, instructor biographies, discussion boards, announcements and other information, go to the Marietta College Learning in Retirement website www.marietta.edu/ilr. More information also is available on Facebook, by email to mariettacollegeilr@gmail.com or by contacting Moon at 740-434-5309 or jbmoonman@aol.com.

The Institute for Learning in Retirement is a community-based organization of people with a love of learning. At its heart is an academic program designed by its members to suit their interest and taught by knowledgeable instructors.