Upcoming Events

Event Date: April 1, 2024, at 9:30am

Let's meet on the west side of Lake Nokomis by the main beach and shelter for a 5 to 5.5 mile hike.  We will go around the north end of the lake and on to Minnehaha Falls by way of Minnehaha Parkway, returning to the start by a different route through neighborhoods around the lake.  This is an easy hike on paved walkways.  Pace will accommodate all hikers.  


Event Date: April 2, 2024, at 9am

The Retiree Association at Winona State is inviting UMRA members to join them a trip to Portugal in 2024. The final date to register is October 2, 2023. You're encouraged to register some time in August as spaces will fill up.


Event Date: April 3, 2024, at 10am

UMRA members Vicki Gaylord and Craig Swan will share stories of their ancestors’ participation in social change movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—and how they discovered those stories—when UMRA’s Family History Interest Group meets via Zoom on Wednesday, April 3.


Event Date: April 4, 2024, at 1pm

The UMRA Cabinets of Curiosity tour will be at the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Conservatory & Botanical Collection on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. The amazing glass-walled greenhouse features four biomes with distinct climates, landscapes, and floras, with particular emphasis on plants of the southern hemisphere. Please plan to join us in this special opportunity to visit spaces not normally open to the public. 


Event Date: April 9, 2024, at 12:30pm

“Mountains” is the theme for April 9 meeting of the UMRA Photo Club. Newcomers are always welcome.

 


 


Event Date: April 10, 2024, at 12pm

Enroll by June 30, 2023, and receive a $100 discount.


Event Date: April 15, 2024, at 9:30am

Join us for a 4 to 5 mile hike at one of the most popular parks in the West Metro, Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington.  It is located at the north end of Hyland Lake Park Reserve at 8737 East Bush Lake Road in Bloomington.  This trail is mostly dirt and grass with some paved areas.  Enjoy the park's wildlife and celebrate Tax Day with your UMRA hiking friends!


Event Date: April 15, 2024, at 10am

UMN Technology Commercialization facilitates the transfer of UMN innovation beyond the research lab by helping our diverse researchers in development of new products and services that benefit the public good, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to support the University's mission.


Event Date: April 16, 2024, at 11am

How did children’s mental health become a public health crisis? How can you tell the difference between developmentally appropriate misbehavior and behavior that needs professional intervention? For answers to these and other questions, we invited Sarah Jerstad, clinical director of psychological services at Children's Minnesota, to be our guest speaker for UMRA’s April 16 workshop. 


Event Date: April 19, 2024, at 2pm

Joni Mitchell will lead the discussion of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 19.


Event Date: April 23, 2024, at 11am

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted substantial debate recently because it can be used in many contexts, including educational settings to do things such as answer exam questions and write papers. But what is generative AI? And how can we know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing? Law School Professor Daniel Schwarcz will enlighten us during UMRA’s Luncheon Forum on April 23.


Event Date: April 24, 2024, at 10am

UMRA’s spring Armchair Traveler Program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, will take us to South Korea with Marilyn DeLong and to Germany with Lynn C. Anderson. Please mark your calendars and save the date. 


Event Date: April 26, 2024, at 2pm

Silk Parachute, an anthology of essays and the 40th of 44 published books by author John McPhee, will be the topic of discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT on April 26.


Event Date: May 6, 2024, at 9:30am

We are so lucky to have former Arboretum Director and UMRA member, Peter Moe lead this approx 3.7 mile hike at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum!  We will meet on the welcoming terrace and travel through the Arboretum's Display Gardens, Sensory Garden, Woodland Wildflower Garden,  Shade Tree Exhibit, Tall Grass Prairie, Rhododendron Garden, 1920 Red Barn and the Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center, Sphagnum Bog and Green Heron Pond, Display Gardens and many other gardens and plant collections. 


Event Date: May 6, 2024, at 12:45pm

This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session.  See that article for details.


Event Date: June 14, 2024, at 7:05pm

UMRA will be celebrating U of M Days with the Alumni Association.  The Minnesota Twins will be playing the Kansas City Royals on Friday evening, June 14, 7:05 PM.  


Event Date: June 17, 2024, at 11am

Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!


EVENT SUMMARY: | ARMCHAIR TRAVELER
The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.

Korea and Japan: September 2022 Armchair Traveler

September 28, 2022, at 10am
 

UMRA member Marilyn DeLong has experienced South Korea's rich history through research and outreach with multiple trips over 30 years that began with mentoring a Korean postdoctoral scholar who became a long-time colleague.

Kathy Jensen and Gary Engstrand traveled to Japan with their three adult children in August 2012. 

Event recording
Click on , then    to view recording in full screen.

 


 


ARMCHAIR TRAVELER

Travel to South Korea and Japan

Wed, Sep 28 2022, 10am

Location
Event to be held via Zoom.
 

Our next Armchair Traveler program will be on Wednesday, September 28, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. An invitation will be emailed to UMRA members a month before the meeting.

Marilyn DeLong, second from right, wore Korean traditional dress to celebrate Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving, in Seoul in 1991.
Marilyn DeLong, second from right, and other Earthwatch participants from the U.S. wore Korean traditional dress to celebrate Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving, in Seoul in 1991.

UMRA member Marilyn DeLong has experienced South Korea's rich history through research and outreach with multiple trips over 30 years that began with mentoring a Korean postdoctoral scholar who became a long-time colleague. As a professor in the College of Human Ecology and then in the College of Design, Marilyn conducted continuous Korean projects, from the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. She will share her knowledge of Korean culture gained through her numerous trips and continuous relationship with her colleague's family of three generations. Marilyn stayed with the family for extended periods and experienced the festivals and ceremonies of traditional Korea.

Kathy Jensen and Gary Engstrand traveled to Japan with their three adult children in August 2012. They will share family photos, stories about culture shock on what was their first (and, so far, only) trip to the Far East, and highlights from the places they visited including Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Kathy worked at the U for 28 years and retired in September 2020 as the director of digital communications for University Relations. Gary worked in administrative positions at the U for 43 years and retired in June 2016.

—Lynn C. Anderson, Armchair Traveler chair