OLLI at BCC to Hold Series of Workshops on 'Big Change'

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI at BCC) will hold a workshop titled "What Now? Taking Small Steps After BIG Change" on three consecutive Fridays: May 29, June 5 and June 12, from 9:30-11:00 a.m. 
 
The workshop is ideal for people who have recently retired or relocated and are feeling overwhelmed. 
 
The charge to attend the workshop series, which will be held at BCC, is $35 for OLLI members and $45 for non-members. To register, visit https://berkshireolli.org/event-6632258. 
 
According to a press release: 
 
Are you on the other side of a big change and feeling adrift? A major life transition can be stressful and scary, but it's also an opportunity to build a new life with intention and thoughtfulness. 
 
In this three-part workshop, life coach Janet Forest leads exercises in self-reflection, group conversation, and goal setting, so that participants can start taking small action steps. Each session will provide accountability and support as participants practice self-honesty and open their hearts and minds to new possibilities. At the end of the three weeks, each person will have a customized toolkit to create new habits and routines as they settle into their new life.  
 
Janet Forest is a Certified Professional Life Coach and an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner. She specializes in working with seasoned professionals who want to leverage their experience to find a career with meaning and impact and recent retirees who need support and accountability to settle into their next chapter. Forest is also the director of the Dalton Free Public Library.  

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Berkshire Museum Explores Ancient Egypt With ‘Soulful Creatures’

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Following its multimillion-dollar renovation, the Berkshire Museum is welcoming an exhibition unlike any it has been able to host before.
 
Marking the museum's first major exhibition since its renovation, "Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt," opening Saturday, Oct. 10, thins the veil between the ever-evolving history of Egyptian culture and society and modern day people. 
 
"The most important thing about history is recognizing people from the past as actual people. Ancient Egyptians are no different than us," said William Dore, the museum's chief curator. "They have different cultures and beliefs and different viewpoints, but you can say the same thing about people today."
 
When audiences experience the exhibit, they will see the humanity in the people of the past, which in turn helps them connect with different views and perspectives around the world today, he said. 
 
Combining archeology with modern scientific imaging, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Museum curators Yekaterina Barbash and Edward Bleiberg designed an exhibit that works to uncover the mysteries behind these objects and the beliefs and rituals that surround them. 
 
"I think something that people kind of misunderstand about history is none of it's ever settled. ... History is a science that is constantly questioned,” Dore said. "It only works if everyone's constantly rethinking things, learning new things ... which is for me super exciting because as much as we know a lot about the ancient Egyptians, there's a lot we don't know.”
 
The installation features dozens of artifacts on loan from the Brooklyn Museum that explores the practice of animal mummification and the role animals played in ancient Egyptian religion. 
 
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