Evening Courses

The Wagner's evening courses are the oldest, free adult education program in the country! Courses are held off-site at a variety of locations throughout Philly, making them accessible to a wider audience.

Registration for all Wagner courses is through Eventbrite. Visit our page to see all upcoming and previous programs and follow us to be notified when we post new ones!

Current Offerings - Winter/Spring 2024

WINTER 2024 COURSE:
BIOLOGY SERIES

Beyond Darwin: Evolution in the Modern World (View Syllabus)
with Jason Downs

While the scientific understanding of evolution has advanced tremendously since Darwin, when evolution is taught today, the focus has remained on natural selection as the primary force. This course is intended to reveal the theory in its entirety and from the grandest perspectives. The course will explore all of evolution’s mechanisms, how they interact across species and ecosystems, and finally, how a firm understanding of evolution becomes a powerful tool in addressing modern biological questions.

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student.

6 Saturdays from February 17 - March 23, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Location: Parkway Central Library

SPRING 2024 COURSE:
CHEMISTRY SERIES

The Science of Cosmetics: What’s in the Bottle (and why)? (View Syllabus)
with Thomas Twardowski

This class will explore the composition of cosmetics, which are used by everybody. Moisturizers, sun blocks, haircare products, medicated ointments, beauty aids and topically applied materials are all important consumer products. From ancient times to the modern day, cosmetics have a rich history of effective use. Learn more about these fascinating products and what they do and why. Each week will explore the chemistry and physics of a different type of cosmetic.

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student.

6 Thursdays from March 21 - April 25, 6:30-8:00 PM

Location: Parkway Central Library

SPRING 2024 COURSE:
ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM SERIES

History and Architecture of West Philadelphia (View Syllabus)
with Bruce Laverty

Elizabeth Willing Powell and Paul Robeson, Anthony J. Drexel and Billie Holiday, Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Cret, John Penn and Horace Trumbauer; all called it home. Their neighborhood gave us the nation’s first botanic garden; its first zoo, and its first computer, not to mention Breyers Ice Cream and American Bandstand. Join this six -week course with Bruce Laverty for a trip through West Philadelphia history and architecture and find out what made (and continues to make) Philadelphia’s “left bank” such a successful incubator of innovation.

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student.

6 Mondays from March 25 - April 29, 6:30-8:00 PM

Location: Parkway Central Library

SPRING 2024 COURSE:
BOTANY SERIES

Back by Popular Demand! - All About Trees (View Syllabus)
with Karen Snetselaar

This course will explore several fundamental properties of trees and their importance in our world. Each week the class will consider what science can tell us about one of these properties and apply that knowledge to answer popular questions such as: How are trees able to grow so large? Do they really communicate with one another underground? Why are trees so vital to ameliorating storm water problems in urban areas?

This course requires pre-registration. Separate registration is required for each student.

6 Tuesdays from April 2 - May 7, 6:30-7:30 PM

Location: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

SPRING 2024 COURSE:
DREXEL UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION

Environmental Activism and Film (View Syllabus)
with Professors Ben Kalina and Elizabeth Watson

Can a film change the world? In Environmental Activism and Film we will discover how filmmakers and activists use the medium of the moving image to explore and create change with their work. During class we'll watch films including documentaries, scripted features and shorts that cover local and global environmental issues. Each week a guest will join us to talk about the film we've viewed and the subject it covers. Students will help to moderate these weekly discussions, design and implement survey instruments to assess each film's impact, and participate in a class-wide engagement project by the end of the term. The course is co-taught by a film professor and a climate scientist.

Because this is not a Wagner course, it unfortunately cannot be offered for free. The course is available to Wagner students for a registration fee of $100. The typical cost of auditing this course through Drexel University is $3,000.

Enrollment is limited to 15 students from the Wagner. Advance registration is required to attend the course.

10 Tuesdays from April 2 - June 4, 6:30-9:20 PM

Location: Drexel University's Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia.

Previous Courses

Winter 2024

  • BOTANY SERIES

    This course will explore several fundamental properties of trees and their importance in our world. Each week the class will consider what science can tell us about one of these properties and apply that knowledge to answer popular questions such as: How are trees able to grow so large? Do they really communicate with one another underground? Why are trees so vital to ameliorating storm water problems in urban areas?

    6 Tuesdays from January 16 - February 20, 6:30-7:30 PM

    Location: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Fall 2023

  • ZOOLOGY SERIES

    This course is an introduction to general Entomology, the study of insects. Insects are the most successful organisms on Earth. Their triumph will set the stage for discussion of life on Earth, evolution, morphology, development, behavior & classification. Twenty-seven insect orders will be considered and a remarkable insect group will be highlighted each class. An appreciation of the diversity of insects and their importance in our lives is the underlying theme of the course.

    6 Wednesdays from Oct 4 - Nov 8, 6:30 - 8pm

    Location: Parkway Central Library

  • HISTORY OF SCIENCES SERIES

    The concept of madness presents a challenge. What sorts of perceived deviant behavior indicated that a person was mad? How have societies understood the assumed underlying conditions that caused that behavior? How have societies responded to — tried to control or treat or help or ostracize — those thought to be mad? This course will examine some of the ways past societies identified, explained, and reacted to behavior they considered deviant and evidence of madness. It will focus on how madness has been defined and viewed from antiquity through the 19th century in Europe and North America.

    6 Tuesdays from Oct 17 - Nov 21, 6:30 - 8pm

    Location: Parkway Central Library

  • CHEMISTRY SERIES

    The advancement of humanity is closely-tied to the ability to harness energy. Harnessing fire fueled by wood or peat enabled modern human’s evolution. As civilizations developed, so too did technologies that would employ energy from the sun, wind, and water. By the 18th Century, coal (and coke) displaced wood charcoal, fueling the early industrial revolution. Petroleum further propelled the industrial revolution from the mid-19th Century onwards, and today humanity relies primarily on coal and petroleum to meet our energy needs. However, given that fossil fuels are non-renewable and will eventually be depleted, which technologies can be employed to meet the ever-increasing demand for energy?

    This course will survey current energy generation technologies. The survey will include the science associated with these technologies, along with the advantages and disadvantages each technology specifically offers.

    6 Mondays from Oct 2 - Nov 6, 6:30 - 8:00pm

    Location: Online, via Zoom

Spring 2023

  • ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM SERIES

    North Philadelphia has been home to the city’s wealthiest citizens and its poorest. Its factories gave us everything—including the Baldwin Locomotive, the Stetson Hat, the Flexible Flyer Sled, and the Oreo cookie. By the 1890s the typical North Philadelphia rowhouse was considered nothing short of a modern miracle, and even made an appearance at the Chicago World’s Fair.  It was the neighborhood where a preacher named Russell Conwell would found a University and become best friends with Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf, whose Keneseth Israel synagogue was just steps away from the Baptist Temple. It was the location of Philadelphia’s two most devastating riots—in 1844 and in 1964.  It was home to Dox Thrash and John Coltrane. It was where Cecil B. Moore and Rev. Leon Sullivan led the struggle for civil rights and economic freedom. How North Philadelphia succeeds or fails in the 21st century will determine how the entire city succeeds or fails. North Philadelphia is Philadelphia.

    This course requires pre-registration & each person MUST individually sign up for the course.

    6 Mondays from March 27 - May 8, 6:30 - 8pm

    Location: Athenaeum of Philadelphia

  • BOTANY SERIES

    For many years some gardeners have been interested in yards and gardens that are more similar to natural habitats than rows of crops. This course will begin by exploring why we have the kinds of lawns and gardens we do and then consider alternatives. While there will be some practical information about specific plants that could be used for a more naturally sustainable landscape, the focus of the course will be on helping students assemble the knowledge and resources to design and manage their own yards and gardens.

    This course requires pre-registration & each person MUST individually sign up for the course.

    6 Tuesdays from January 17 - February 21, 6:30 - 7:30pm

    Location: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society