One OLLI Summer Open House, Three Styles

At a library, aboard a harbor cruise, or online: What’s your OLLI open house style?

It can be difficult to sum up the OLLI experience. OLLI—Osher Lifelong Learning Institute—at UMass Boston means different things for different members. For one member, it may be taking a class in American history over Zoom from the comfort of their home. For another, it may be meeting friends for a night at the theatre. For others, it’s a walking group or photography club. Each year, the group hosts more than 200 learning opportunities across a range of subjects and styles. That’s why OLLI hosts an open house each summer: It doesn’t just tell people about what OLLI does, but it also shows them what an OLLI membership feels like.

This year, OLLI at UMass Boston will offer a special open house: Spotlight on OLLI. Just as OLLI personalizes programs to different experiences – online, in person, classroom, and travel – so will the OLLI open house. On July 17, 2025, OLLI at UMass Boston invites people over age 50 in the Boston area to attend one of three open house experiences:

OPTION 1: The Harbor Cruise Experience

This event, held on the UMass Boston campus, culminates in a free harbor cruise. Before boarding the cruise, however, guests have two classroom experience options:

1: “Exploring the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.” Did you know there are 34 islands and peninsulas that make up the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park? OLLI presenter Suzanne Gall Marsh will share insights about this urban oasis right here in Boston.

2: “Mind Games: The Behavioral Tricks Behind Everyday Design.” Why does $3.99 feel cheaper than $4? Why do some online forms feel impossible to navigate? In this hands-on mini-class, former OLLI scholar, Lilo Altali, will explore how designers use behavioral psychology to shape the choices we make.

OPTION 2: The Library Gathering

At the Thayer Public Library in Braintree, the classroom experience will be, “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable” with OLLI facilitator Myrna Finn. In this session, Finn uses a TED Talk by Luvvie Ajayi Jones to get you talking about getting out of our comfort zones to be heard and create change in our own lives and in the lives of others.

OPTION 3: The Online Event

Here, the classroom experience will be, “Building Resilience” by OLLI facilitator Katherine Robinson. While our brains are naturally resilient, we can develop unhelpful patterns over time that become ingrained. This presentation will share tools to help you flow with life’s challenges based on insights from neuroscience, intuitive medicine, and psychology.

In addition to these separate experiences, all open house attendees—online and in-person—will attend a session on “Rose Iron Works and Art Deco” by Arielle Levine of the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA). It’s a unique opportunity to hear from a master teacher from the CMA about this current art exhibit.

This open house is free and open to all OLLI at UMass Boston members, as well as anyone who’s curious about joining the group. OLLI members can register through their OLLI account, and prospective members can email the OLLI at UMass Boston office to attend.