QUICK LINKS — OLLI home page | Spring Schedule by Day | OLLI digital catalog home | Questions? Email olli-online@udel.edu
UD OLLI Summer Selections: June 22 – July 23, 2026
Five weeks of fun topics, short courses and field trips
Detailed course listing coming soon — click here for a preview of Summer Selections 2026
Use the dropdowns below to view available offerings by day of the week, category, or other filters.
View all updated or canceled courses | Clear form/view all courses
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 1, 2026 to April 29, 2026
Wednesday at 1:00 PM
Additional fee: Materials. A hands-on class for experienced weavers to work independently creating baskets of their choosing while learning new techniques and chatting with other weavers. The instructors are available to help with the weaving process and questions. Students may bring their own basket and supplies to class, or the instructors can guide the students in selecting and purchasing basket kits and/or supplies to be made in class. Weavers pay for ordered supplies at cost. There is an additional fee to cover materials.
Taught by: Harriett Smith, Maurice McGrath, Christina Rocke
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 12:30 PM
Students learn the ‘Tiffany’ method of stained glass creations. They design a pattern, cut glass, grind, foil and solder a project. This course is open to beginners and advanced artists. The instructor must approve all projects. Closed-toe shoes are required. No sandals or flip-flops should be worn. Please note additional fee: $25 lab fee to cover the cost of materials. Sign up for either the Tuesday or Thursday section, both meeting in Lewes.
Taught by: Paul Puch, Rodney Lau
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 2, 2026 to April 30, 2026
Thursday at 12:30 PM
Students learn the ‘Tiffany’ method of stained glass creations. They design a pattern, cut glass, grind, foil and solder a project. This course is open to beginners and advanced artists. The instructor must approve all projects. Closed-toe shoes are required. No sandals or flip-flops should be worn. Please note additional fee: $25 lab fee to cover the cost of materials. Sign up for either the Tuesday or Thursday section, both meeting in Lewes.
Taught by: Paul Puch, Rodney Lau
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 2, 2026 to April 30, 2026
Thursday at 1:00 PM
Prerequisite: Beginner’s Acrylic, part one. A comprehensive beginner’s landscape acrylic painting class designed for students to build on the fundamental skills learned in the Beginner’s Acrylic painting class (part one), covering the techniques necessary for creating expressive landscape artwork. The class provides a supportive and inspiring environment for students to explore their creativity and continue to develop their painting skills.
Taught by: Joseph Vescio, Barry Moshinski
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 1, 2026 to April 29, 2026
Wednesday at 12:45 PM
This class offers students the option of knitting one of three small patterns: a classic infant cardigan, a chevron scarf, or a shawlette with beginning lace techniques. Knitters should be comfortable with basic knit and purl stitches and pattern reading. Help with picking which pattern to choose will include discussion of yarn considerations and needle requirements. Patterns will be provided; students must provide their own yarn and needles.
Taught by: Helen Hines
This course has been added since catalog publication.
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 10:00 AM
This studio is open to advanced stained glass students to work on individual projects. An instructor will be present to aid and assist with the projects. Students will be expected to work as independently as possible. For any project larger than 9″ x 12″, participants must provide their own glass. Local glass resource information is available by the instructors. Materials fee will cover solder, foil, zinc framing and use of the classroom equipment (grinders, foiling machine, cutters, framing saw etc.).
There is a materials fee of $25 for this class.
Taught by: Bette Kaupa, Paul Puch, Rodney Lau
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 1, 2026 to April 29, 2026
Wednesday at 12:45 PM
This course covers the history of activism in America and what it has achieved, from the abolitionist movement to Moms Demand Action.
Taught by: Bonnie Tamres-Moore
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 2, 2026 to April 30, 2026
Thursday at 12:45 PM
This presentation provides interesting details related to the challenges of meeting President Kennedy’s goal of getting to the moon by the end of the decade in the 1960s. It focuses on ILC Industries, a Dover, Delaware, company that was a true underdog in the competition to develop the ideal space suit to provide our astronauts the safety and freedom needed to move about on the lunar surface. It all came down to great engineering and the skills of the seamstresses that stitched the materials together.
Taught by: William Ayrey
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 9:00 AM
Two minutes was the time allowed for a pony express rider to switch mounts at a relay station. The iconic Pony Express would be the first “fast” mail between the settled East and the developing West of America. This step forward, in speeding up communications, would be a factor in holding California in the Union. This course covers the Pony Express from the beginning to its end, 19 months later, with its amazing history and impact upon America.
Taught by: Ray Glick
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 30, 2026 to April 27, 2026
Monday at 9:00 AM
Since ancient times, humans have chronicled the world: from inscribed bones of our earliest ancestors to today’s Google Maps. See how geography shapes our view of the planet and how maps have fashioned the world we know today. Visit some of Earth’s most isolated locales and places where conflicts still arise due to disputed borders and contested national boundary claims. Finally, explore our maps of other worlds and even the entire cosmos.
Taught by: Jim O’Leary
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 30, 2026 to April 27, 2026
Monday at 10:45 AM
After his Waterloo defeat, Napoleon knew he was in danger. He quickly abdicated and appealed to Great Britain for protection. Britain accommodated Napoleon’s request although not at the “hearth of the British people” in England as he had envisioned, but on the remote British-owned South Atlantic Ocean island of St. Helena, a natural fortress. From his arrival in 1815 to his death in 1821 Napoleon impacted the British citizens, while life on the island became Napoleon’s “last battle.”
Taught by: Katherine Henn
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 12:45 PM
Led by a language enthusiast who has studied English, German, French, Korean, Spanish and Russian. Come learn American Sign Language as together we take on a new challenge!
Taught by: Trudie Thompson
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): April 2, 2026 to April 30, 2026
Thursday at 10:45 AM
This course examines the history, current status and potential future of five diseases representative of major categories of illness (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, infectious disease, and neurologic disease). This is intended to be an engaging and interactive discussion.
Taught by: Sheldon Scheinert
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 10:00 AM
All levels are welcome to this gentle introduction to the fundamentals of qigong and tai chi. These ancient Chinese practices combine slow, mindful movements with coordinated breathing, energy flow and meditation to promote balance, flexibility, relaxation and enhanced focus and coordination. Students are introduced to popular qigong forms such as Eight Pieces of Brocade (Ba Duan Jin), Shibashi Set 1 and animal forms. The course may also include basic movements from the widely practiced tai chi 24-form, yang style. Join us for this gentle practice designed to improve overall health and wellbeing. No prior experience is necessary!
Taught by: Bette Kaupa
A request for regular attendance has been added to this course description.
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 31, 2026 to April 28, 2026
Tuesday at 9:30 AM
Prerequisite: Beginner bridge class or basic bridge knowledge. The intermediate class builds off the skills learned in the beginner bridge class. Students learn three conventions: Jacoby transfer and Stayman for no-trump bids along with “weak twos.” We also cover scorekeeping for party bridge (contract bridge) to include under tricks, over tricks and vulnerable. If time allows, we cover “double” as a bid strategy.
Request for regular attendance — Bridge is a partnership game; therefore the success of the class depends on regular attendance, which ensures that all participants have a bridge partner each time we hold class. If participants are not able to commit to regular attendance for 5 weeks, they may want to consider attending bridge class during another semester.
Taught by: Catherine Kennedy
Lewes (Trinity Faith Education Building): March 11, 2026 to April 15, 2026
Wednesday at 2:30 PM
We review and explain various standard chess openings. King pawn openings will include the Ruy Lopez, Sicilian defense, French defense, and Caro-Kann defense. Queen pawn openings will include the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Nimzo-Indian defense, and King’s Indian defense. Emphasis will be on understanding the reasoning behind standard chess opening moves.
Taught by: Jim Rizzitano
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Delaware
OLLI is an academic cooperative for adults 50 and over to enjoy classes, teach, exchange ideas and socialize together, with no exams or educational requirements for participation. OLLI welcomes you.
Kent/Sussex | Wilmington