Ed Johnson has had his fair share of fun through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He's taught a couple of classes and he's taken even more.
Known as OLLI, the institute is sponsored by the Bernard Osher Foundation. OLLI is a nationwide program that offers educational experiences designed for people aged 50 and older. Participants in the program can learn about almost anything: what it's like to work backstage Disney World, common church organs in Morgantown and top 40 hits from the 1930s.
They might even take an in-depth look at the movie "Cool Hand Luke."
"You've got to keep your brain working," said Johnson, 65, of Morgantown. "Just like your body, you have to use it or you'll lose it."
Johnson and others working with OLLI, which in the Mountain State is hosted by West Virginia University, hope to expand its services to Charleston after about a year of small-scale success in Morgantown. The program offered classes in Charleston throughout the fall and winter, but organizers want to revamp this satellite campus and bring in a larger crowd.
People in the greater Kanawha Valley interested taking classes or teaching them are invited to attend a town hall meeting from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Charleston Area Medical Center Research and Training Center to discuss how to best expand the program.
Jascenna Haislet, director of OLLI at WVU, said the program is a way for people to keep learning late into life without the hassle of going back to school.
"All of these classes are taught by volunteers, many of whom are members," Haislett said. "There are also retired professors from (WVU) and anyone in the community who has an interest or an expertise they would like to shared."
Haislett said the participants in the program often walk away from classes having found a new friend who shares a common interest with them.
Some of the more common classes OLLI at WVU teaches revolve around music, art, literature, health and economics.
Although the program is designed for people 50 and older, it is open to anyone willing to pay a $100 yearly fee. This fee allows participants to take as many or as few classes as they want to during the year.
"There are a number of folks who have a higher education backgrounds, but more and more, it's people who don't have a background in higher education," Johnson said of the instructors. "We have a few former professors who just love to teach - this way they don't have to grade papers."
With no grades, no report cards and no pressure to ace an exam, Johnson and his friends have found a place where they can enjoy the love of learning.
Reach Jake Jarvis at jake.jarvis@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @NewsroomJake on Twitter.