Iowa
University of Iowa debuts summer ‘Grandparents University’
Single day experience offers learning for grandparents and grandkids
IOWA CITY — Grandparents can be major players in the network of child care options for working parents over summer break — cycling through activities and “field trips” to the pool, playground, pond, library, museum and zoo.
With the seasonal break again upcoming, the University of Iowa’s Center for Advancement is throwing another option into the mix — at least for one day — in the form of a pilot “Grandparents University.”
Taking that trademarked term and idea from the University of Wisconsin — which is offering three two-day Grandparents University sessions this July — UI is starting with a single day of learning for grandparents and grandchildren on July 13.
Any grandparent can sign up with their 8- to 14-year-old grandchildren to take three courses together on the UI campus. Organizers are limiting registrants to groups of three, but that could include two grandparents and a grandchild or one grandparent and two grandkids, according to UI Center for Advancement spokeswoman Dana Larson.
The day will start at 8 a.m., wrap at 4:30 p.m. and include a “dining ticket” to be used at one of the UI campus marketplaces for lunch. All the courses will be taught by UI faculty and staff and take place on campus, with buses available to get participants to each session.
The two morning sessions will last one hour and 15 minutes each, and the single afternoon session will last two hours.
Costing $75 for one grandparent and one grandchild or $100 for any group of three, participants can choose from a list of course options for each session — like “Introduction to Fly Fishing,” “Nature and Wellness,” and “Intergenerational Jam Session.”
A summary of the afternoon session “Introduction to Falconry,” invites participants to “Join us at historic Kinnick Stadium to learn about the ancient art and sport of falconry.”
“We will introduce participants to falconry equipment, training techniques, and the hawks that we train for flights,” according to the course description. “We will provide hands-on activities such as showing how to tie a falconer’s knot and provide up-close experiences with live birds-of-prey.”
The Wisconsin Grandparents University that UI is emulating offers field trips to Lake Mendota, theaters, recreation centers, and a geology museum — among other things.
Given that program offers two-day experiences, families can stay overnight in residence halls.
“We heartily recommend staying on campus during your GPU session,” according to the Wisconsin program website.
Although the UI version is beginning this year as a one-day “pilot,” Larson said the Center for Advancement hopes to keep it going in the future.
“We are welcoming feedback,” she said, “and will learn and adjust from this year.”
For more information visit: foriowa.org/grandparentsu/
Course options:
Session No. 1
— Introduction to Bird Banding
— Back in My Day: An Exploration of the Past and the Future at the Library — Earthquakes and Engineering Challenge
— Beatrix Potter and “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”
— How Does Your Memory Work? Tips to Learn Just About Anything
— Introduction to Fly Fishing
Session No. 2 — Introduction to Bird Banding
— Back in My Day: An Exploration of the Past and the Future at the Library
— Earthquakes and Engineering Challenge
— Beatrix Potter and “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”
— What’s That Tree? How to Identify Trees on the University of Iowa Campus — Looking Back and Forging Ahead: The UI Campus its Architecture and its History
— What Makes a Picture a Portrait?
Session No. 3
— Introduction to Falconry
— Nature and Wellness — Intergenerational Jam Session
— Playground Physics
— Start Me Up: Hands on Entrepreneurial Challenges
Source: University of Iowa Center for Advancement
Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com