Afternoon: CHECK-IN: You may check in between 2:00 - 5:00 pm at the front desk in the white farmhouse. You'll receive your room assignment, room key and arrival packet with the most up-to-date schedule that we'll review during orientation this evening. You're free to explore the grounds and facilities until dinner.

Dinner: Dinner is a catered buffet of home-cooked dishes served family style in our rustic dining hall. Hot entrées with a vegetarian option, salad bar, fresh fruit and dessert are offered every evening. Every effort is made to source locally grown and organic foods and products.

Evening: ORIENTATION:.We'll have our orientation session in the Tamarack classroom following dinner. You'll meet the course instructor and review the content of the arrival packet that contains the updated schedule of activities and meals for the program, a map of the Craft bury Outdoor Center, information about the facility and roster of the participants. INTRODUCTION to ASTRONOMY:Participants will learn the fundamentals of astronomy, with an emphasis on some of the more exciting and interesting aspects. We will explore the scale of the universe and it;s contents - galaxies, dark matter, stars and planets and the story of the Big Bang.

Lodging: Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: A hearty breakfast buffet with hot entrée, fruit, and cereal options.

Morning: STRETCHING CLASS: Learn good stretching technique for before and after skiing. SKI LESSONS: Chose a ski group to fit your ability. Novice to expert technique will be taught with plenty of time to practice your new skills.

Lunch: A hearty lunch buffet with hot entrees, homemade bread, soups , salad , fresh fruit and dessert.

Afternoon: Astronomy course: The Scale of the Universe: How big and how far? Appreciating the scale of the universe requires both a language to communicate and a series of exercises to build a mental model of the nearly inconceivably huge. For most non- Scientists, this is also an exercise in frustration. Yet that very nature of the visible Universe( and beyond!)_ generates a deep fascination for us all because the size and age of the Universe is , in fact, describable. How big is the visible Universe? How old is it? How is it changing?

Afternoon: SKI TOUR: Join our ski instructors on our cross-country trails which are wide, expertly maintained, and groomed daily. Taste Vermont cheeses at the Wine, Cider, and Cheese Social. This is a great way mingle with other Road Scholar participants.

Dinner: Self-serve buffet in family style dining hall.

Evening: Social time / Games

Lodging: Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: A hearty breakfast buffet with hot entrée, fruit, and cereal options.

Morning: STRETCHING CLASS then SKI LESSONS: Chose a ski group to fit your ability. Novice to expert technique will be taught with plenty of time to practice your new skills.

Lunch: A hearty lunch buffet with hot entrée, homemade bread, soup, and salad.

Afternoon: Ski Tour. Join our ski instructors on our cross-country trails which are wide, expertly maintained, and groomed daily for your enjoyment. Astronomy course: The contents of the universe: galaxies, dark matter, stars, planets. The fact that we occupy only one small planet is obvious. The fact that we orbit a star called the Sun, which provides us with heat and light is understood by even small children. But as astronomers developed better methods of gazing out into the cosmos, and better methods of understanding the science of deep space, our little corner of the Universe was found to be just one small sample of the great zoo of objects forming, burning, expanding, collapsing, orbiting and exploding across the heavens.

Dinner: Self-serve buffet in family style dining hall.

Lodging: Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: A hearty breakfast buffet with hot entrée, fruit and cereal options.

Morning: GROUP SKI TOUR: to the classic New England village of Craftsbury. The option of a tour to Craftsbury Village is dependant upon the weather and snow conditions and requires stamina.. .

Lunch: A hearty lunch buffet with hot entrée, homemade bread, soup and salad.

Afternoon: SNOW-SHOE TOUR: Explore our snowshoe trails for lead by our resident naturalist. SKATE SKI LESSON: This option is provided for participants who are interested in learning the technique of skate skiing. Skate equipment can be borrowed from the touring center at no cost to Road Scholar. ASTRONOMY COURSE: STARS: how they form and burn and die. Stars form naturally, like raindrops, from great clouds of gas. But because they constitute the only source of light in the cosmos, their variety, forms and evolution are the most studied subject beyond our solar system. Furthermore, the demise of stars often results in the spectacular explosions called Supernovae that shine with the light of billions of stars and leave fragments behind that form the most exotic objects known.

Dinner: Self-serve buffet in family style dining hall.

Evening: Movie night

Lodging: Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: A hearty breakfast buffet with hot entrée, fruit, and cereal options.

Morning: Free Ski

Lunch: A hearty lunch buffet with hot entrée, homemade bread, soup, and salad or a bag lunch for travel.

Lodging: Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch