Class is held on ZOOM

There are almost 40 museums and historical societies here in Aroostook County and they are all different and have many terrific stories to tell.  We will take a PowerPoint journey to visit these amazing places. 

Host: Dennis Koch, a returning SAGE instructor and former Board member.

At the “planning meeting” last Fall, members requested a look into the history of the towns and cities of Aroostook County.  In partnership with the Sargent Family Community Center, we will take a trip to as many historical societies, museums, and historical sites as possible in 2026.  Those interested are invited to this next three weeks to help layout a plan for visiting these sites.

This is an overview of my 2024 trip out west to hike and hunt bumble bees, with stops in Ohio, Illinois, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It examines the state parks and wilderness areas visited and some biology of the bumble bees found. Instructor: Dave Hobbins is a retired UMFK forestry professor who got involved as a citizen scientist for the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas in 2017.  He has been hooked on Bumble bees ever since. He lives with his wife in Fort Kent and is a board member of the St. John Valley Senior College.

Will be at the Mi’kmaq Administration Building 7 Northern Street, Presque Isle

           Jenny Gaenzle, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, will show us the artifacts the museum has and talk to us about the history, life, and importance of the Mi’kmaq Nation to America throughout history. The museum display includes 44 artifacts returned home from the Ralph T. Coe Center, New Mexico. Amazing. Amust see and hear for everyone interested in Native history.

Instructor: Jenny Gaenzle, Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

SAGE membership is not required.  This is a ZOOM class and the public is welcome.                           

 This talk examines the Penobscot Expedition of 1779, which is the worst naval disaster in American history except for Pearl Harbor. The story centers on Bagaduce (present day Castine), the establishment of British Fort George, and the ill-fated American effort to capture the fort. 

Instructor: Dr. Patrick Callaway is an Assistant Professor of History and Political Science at UMPI. He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maine in 2019 and was a Fulbright student to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His primary research is on late colonial/early republic era agricultural trade and smuggling between the US and Canada.

SAGE membership is not required.  This is a ZOOM class and the public is welcome.                           

 This focuses on the War of 1812 in Maine, and the de facto truce Maine enjoyed with the British for the first two years of the war. This changed in 1814 as a British force re-captures Castine, and plots to incorporate all of eastern Maine into British North America. This is of local interest as one of the reasons for this campaign was to provide security for a new transportation route for the British army that started in Fredericton, traveled up the St. Croix through the county, and on to Canada.

 Instructor: Dr. Patrick Callaway is an Assistant Professor of History and Political Science at UMPI. He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Maine in 2019 and was a Fulbright student to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His primary research is on late colonial/early era agricultural trade and smuggling between the US and Canada.

This is a basic class for those individuals who are interested in astronomy.  During this class we will look at the history of astronomy, the creation and the end of the universe, the solar system, and space flight.  We will also look at how to read a sky chart, and how to use various apps to help you view astronomical events. Instructor: Jim Stepp is an educator at Job Corp and one of the projectionist/educators at the Francis Malcolm Science Center Planetarium. He has been a popular instructor for many years at SAGE