Zero Genie

Bruce Ward, a frequent OWLL instructor, is offering a four-week class titled “Looking For Life in All the Right Places” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays starting April 16.

His course will draw upon findings that have emerged from recent missions to other planets and to their moons, and will compare conditions that led to life on Earth to those in these other settings. Using discovery-based activities, the class will investigate the possibilities of life existing in the solar system. In the end, this course may reshape how people see life on Earth.

Ward is a retired astronomy educator from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. For nearly three decades he directed National Science Foundation projects in astronomy and astronomy education. He has a strong commitment to making the nature of science accessible to the general public. This course is for anyone, particularly “non-science folks” who are curious about the possibility of life existing elsewhere. OWLL is an acronym for Older, Wiser, Lifelong Learners. Its courses are open to all, for a fee of $25 for residents and $50 for nonresidents. All classes are held in the Lexington Community Center.