Hobbs
Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area will host Eric Fuselier, environmental scientist, and math enthusiast, for a Numbers in Nature program at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at the park's visitor center, 20201 East Highway 12 in Rogers. The program is free and open to the public.
Patterns can be found all around us, especially in nature. From the shapes of galaxies and seashells to the growth patterns of trees and blood vessels, math is a language that can be used to describe these patterns. Fuselier will discuss the concepts that mathematicians have developed over the centuries to understand the patterns in our world. He will cover a broad range of science disciplines, including botany, astronomy, entomology, and meteorology.
Some topics that will be discussed include:
Fractal geometry and where we see this in nature (the shapes of tree branches or fern leaves)
The Fibonacci number series and where these numbers show up in the natural world (the number of petals on a flower)
The Golden Ratio and where it occurs in nature (seashells or Saturn's rings)
Prime numbers and why the number of years in periodic cicadas' life cycles occur in prime numbers (13- and 17-year cycles)
Voronoi patterns and where they appear in nature (honeycombs, corn cobs, cork wood, cracks in dry mud)
Symmetry and where its different forms are seen in nature (snowflakes, leaf arrangements of plants)
For more than a decade, Fuselier has been studying plants found growing wild in the Ozarks. While working as an environmental scientist for a local civil engineering firm, he has been able to put his knowledge of native plants to use in a professional capacity. Fuselier has been involved in the planting and development of several native plant gardens in northwest Arkansas and serves as the president of the Ozark Chapter of the Arkansas Native Plant Society.
Information: (501) 682-1925 or email noah.delashaw@arkansas.gov.
OLLI
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Arkansas has announced the following classes:
Nov. 6 & 8: Interpreting the Second Amendment. Join Dr. Malcolm Cleaveland as he presents data related to guns and gun violence in the U.S. compared to other nations. He will also discuss mass shootings and gun related suicides compared to homicides, 10 a.m. to noon. OLLI office, $29 members, $44 nonmembers
Nov. 6, 13, 20, 27, Dec. 4, 11: Following the recent scholarship of Phillip Nelson, discover that really happened in Dallas in November 1963. Zoom & OLLI office, 2 to 4 p.m. $65 members, $80 nonmembers
Nov. 8: Learn About the History and Practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 10 a.m. to noon. LDSWard, 1225 Zion Road, $19 members, $34 nonmembers; Clean Your Closet by the Weekend: Sort, Share, Sell, Store. 3 to 4 p.m. Zoom, $25 members, $40 nonmembers
Nov. 9: Let's Make Wreaths! OLLI Office, 10 a.m. to noon. $39 members, $54 nonmembers
Nov. 10: The Deadly Beauty of Antarctica: A Photographic Discovery. 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. OLLI office, $19 members, $ 34 non-members
Information: (479) 575-4545 or olli.uark.edu.
Writers' Colony
The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow will present a reading by the poets of Wild Muse: Ozark Nature Poetry, taking place at 2 p.m. Nov. 18 at 515 Spring St. in Eureka Springs.
WCDH is proud to bring this reading of Wild Muses to WCDH for the first time. This poetry reading will feature Wild Muse poets Agnes Vojta, Wendy Taylor Carlise, Gerald H. Sloan, Phillip Howerton, Amy Wright Vollmar, and John J. Han.
"Wild Muse" is a collection of contemporary poetry engaging Ozark nature and environment. Some topics and themes explored here are nature's beauty, sense of place, loss of place, environmental diminishment, and human dependence on nature and its sublime indifference to our existence. Combining the best aspects of chapbooks and anthologies, this "chapthology" features the work of nine Ozarks poets, C. D. Albin, Wendy Taylor Carlisle, Paulette Guerin, John J. Han, Phillip Howerton, Gerry Sloan, Mark Spitzer, Agnes Vojta, and Amy Wright Vollmar to provide readers with a generous introduction to the voice, style, and perspectives of each writer.
Information: (479)253-7444 or writerscolony.org/events.