Fun Facts   

Solving Cryptograms, like the ones in the Daily Sun newspaper Monday through Saturday, is a fun way of keeping the brain cells active, while at the same time giving a sense of accomplishment at their decoding. As part of the tuition, a new, only one-of-its-kind Cryptogram Deciphering Handbook will be given to each attendee, along with a Certificate of Achievement conferring an honorary degree. A new, one-of-a-kind "Pattern Words: Crown Jewels of Cryptography" reference handbook will be available.

On the 50th Anniversary of the park, join Mike Miller and hear his insider story about the design and construction of Walt Disney World. Before Walt Disney died in 1966, he assembled a dedicated team to create Walt Disney World made up of people who had worked with him since the 1950s in California. After Walt's death, team members would ask each other, what would Walt do? This question was asked countless times during the design and construction of the park. It was asked about issues involving quality, creativity, safety, and the guest experience. The answer was always - do the right thing. Speaker and Author Mike Miller was the engineer who served the team during construction from 1968 to 1971.

The islands of the Azores began with volcanoes. Their power to destroy and their power to create. Was Plato right in claiming that the lost City of Atlantis was in the Azores? Take a visual tour of all 9 islands and discover the history, culture, and the traditions of the islands in the middle of nowhere.

The history, traditions, music and mayhem of Mardi Gras from Ancient Rome's naughty carnivals to present day Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Discover the evolution of Mardi Gras from hedonistic feast to religious ritual to the wild celebrations in New Orleans.

All of us have heard of the Rosetta Stone, if only from all the TV ads. We are not alone, for it is the most popular exhibit in the British Museum. Most of us also know that it was the key to unlocking the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics, which in turn unlocked the history of ancient Egypt. This potential was realized at the time of its discovery in 1799, but it still took a quarter of a century and the intense effort on the part of two special geniuses, Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion. The purpose of this course is to tell the fascinating story of these geniuses and how they used the Stone to read hieroglyphics, which had last been read two thousand years earlier.

Two ancient languages were deciphered in the last half of the twentieth century.  The first was Linear B, which was first found in 1900 on clay tablets during the excavation of the magnificent palace of King Minos at Knossos on the island of Crete.  It resisted all the efforts of experts until it yielded its surprising answer in 1953 to a flash of genius by a British architect, Michael Ventris.  The second is the decipherment of the inscriptions written with the intricate, ornate Mayan glyphs, which were found in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico and in Guatemala.  In contrast to Linear B, it yielded gradually to the decades long cumulative effort of many scholars, and its decipherment completely changed our understanding of the Mayan civilization.  This class tells these two very different, but equally interesting, stories of decipherment.

A small island off the coast of Nova Scotia has been the site of treasure hunting since 1795 and it is still going on. You may have seen the program, "The Mystery of Oak Island" on the History Channel. We will explore Oak Island itself up on the big screen, look at the findings thus far, and then decide the mystery for ourselves.

Come hear about famous crimes and evidence that led to the evolution of criminal forensic sciences such as the 1st mug shots, fingerprints, toxicology, trace evidence and 1st conviction using DNA.

This course will take you through the origins of the great game of Basketball, with the use of original films and photographs.

This continuation course will cover more famous and bizarre murders and how they were solved "back in the day."

Rick Baker will speak on the rich history of Florida and his newest book, Beyond the Sunshine, A Timeline of Florida's Past. As mayor of St. Petersburg from 2001-2010, Baker learned that knowledge of our past is critical to ensuring that we make good decisions now. He opens the book with his view of lessons learned from Florida's past- lessons that should shape the decisions we make now. This is a powerful message for those involved in our incredible state. It includes over 500 pictures that make Florida's past come to life and covers from the first humans arriving to hurricane Irma.

Rick Baker has been a Business Acquisition lawyer, a Law Firm President, a University Vice President and President of a St. Petersburg-based development and entertainment company. Presently he is an advisor and investor in companies involved in urban development and autonomous vehicle technology. From 2001 to 2010, he served as mayor of St. Petersburg - Florida's fourth largest city.

Under Mayor Baker's leadership, St. Petersburg experienced a renaissance unmatched in city history. In 2008, he was named America's Mayor/Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine. In 2011, Daily Beast Editor in Chief John Avlon named him "America's greatest mayor of the decade." Baker chaired the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, Chaired the Florida Statewide Water Congress, chaired the Florida Governor’s Municipal Mentoring Initiative, vice chaired the Florida Governor’s Energy Action Team, and led in transition teams for the Florida Governor, Attorney General and Chief Financial Officer. Baker holds a B.S., MBA, and a Juris Doctor (with honors) from Florida State University where he was Senior Class President. He studied comparative law at Oxford University. He served as legal intern to Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton, and law clerk to Governor Bob Graham’s special counsel.