The Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center is open to the public at large as well as senior citizens. Register for any of the following programs at the Senior Center Reception Desk or by calling 319-356-5220.

• Persian Tile Exhibit- Artist: Jafar Mogadam. Through Sunday, August 8. Senior Center Assembly Room. May be viewed Monday through Friday, 8-5.

• Trips & Tours- Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays. 10-1:30. Office located on the Mezzanine Level of the Senior Center, 28 S. Linn St., Iowa City. Learn about various trips and tours sponsored by the Senior Center. Stop by during office hours or call 356-5229 during office hours. Upcoming trips include: July 7: Circa 21-Swingtime Canteen. August 11: Mississippi Bell/Clinton Showboat. September 22-29: Niagara Falls. September 28: Spirit of Green on Shell Rick River. October 13: Fall Foliage Day. November 28: Old Creamery Theater Matinee and Ox Yoke Inn.

• Genealogy Consultation- Friday, July 2. 12:30-2. Host: Betty McKray. Free. Open to the public. Stop by and discuss genealogical challenges or questions with whoever shows up. The group meets the first Friday of each month— rain or shine!

• A Star Spangled Fourth on the Second! Presented by Senior Standing Room Only (SSRO). Friday, July 2. 2-3:30. Director: Patti Mott. Location: Assembly Room. SSRO’s annual Independence Day celebration will include salutes to some of the true “stars” of our country’s battles for independence. Free. Open to the public. Refreshments.

• Creative Writing Workshop- Mondays and Wednesdays. 10-noon. July 7-28. Instructor: Laura Young. Open to all area seniors. Fee: $15 (includes materials). Registration required and enrollment limited. Call 356-5220 to register. Designed to help you tell that story you always wanted to tell or to begin or improve a poem you’ve been toying with. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Each session will help you become a writer— or a better writer. Instructor is UI graduate and graduate of the UI Undergraduate Writers Workshop.

• Using the Internet and Web in Genealogy- Wednesday, July 7. 10:30-noon. Instructors: B. McKray and J. Williams. Second floor, room 202. Free. Registration required and enrollment limited. Call 356-5220 to register. Visit the most popular and productive web sites dealing with genealogy. A computer will be projected large and clear on a “movie screen” so that everyone can see what can be found related to genealogy on the internet and web. Lists of web sites will be provided to participants. Access to the web and internet in the Center’s computer lab will be arranged.

• BINGO- Thursday, July 8. 2-4. Assembly Room. Open to area seniors. Free. Refreshments. Reservations required. Call 341-2105 to register. Sponsored by The University of Iowa Community Credit Union.

• There’s No Business Like Show Business- Friday, July 9. 2-3:30. Assembly Room. Free and open to the public. Refreshments. Join the City Circle Acting Company or Coralville for a sneak preview of QUILTERS, the opening production of the theatre’s 1999-2000 season. Receive a special discount on tickets to the Sunday, July 18 matinee of QUILTERS.

• Nature Walks- Mondays. 8:45-11. Guide: Dean Andersen. Free. Open to the public. Call 356-5220 on day of walk to confirm. $1 gas donation to driver. No walk on July 6. July 12: Sherwood Forest. July 19: Veterans Trail and Cottonwood. July 26: Lake Macbride Spillway.

• Historic Iowa City Post Cards- Monday, July 12. 2-3. Presenter: Bob Hibbs. Assemble Room. Free and open to the public. A fast-moving 45-minute slide lecture using historic post card views from what is believe to be the most extensive collection of its kind in existence. The colorful post cards feature Iowa City in its many varied activities, and include stops on the University of Iowa campus and around University Hospital. The entire collection of more than 1,200 post cards displayed in 11 bound volumes will be available for examination.

• Orientation to Computers- July 13-16 and 20-23. Eight class sessions. Noon to 1. Instructors: L. Friday, O. Johnson. Fee: $25. Registration required and enrollment limited. Open to Johnson County seniors. Call 356-5220 to register. Will cover basic operating system, word processing, spreadsheet, the web, and e-mail.

• Medicine, Change & You- Section 1: Wednesday, July 14. 1:30-3, 2nd Floor, Room 202. Section 2: Wednesday, July 21. 5:30-7. Ground Floor, Room G08. Presenter: Bill Asenjo, MS, CRC. Free and open to the public. Learn about alternative and complementary medicine- used more and more by the public as well as medical practitioners. Learn about the federal Office of Alternative Medicine created by Senator Tom Harkin. Other supporters include retired Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell, and renowned surgeon Dr. Bill Fair.

• Cooking in the 1800s with Sunday Antrim- Friday, July 23. 2-3:30. Presenter: Sunday Antrim. Location: Ground Floor, Room G08. Free and open to the public. A discussion and presentation of cooking in the 1800s. Will focus on the methods used to preserve and cook food such as drying, pickling and smoking. Demonstration of the types of tools and supplies used to preserve and cook during the 1800s. Heritage recipes and cooked food items of the 1800s will be shared with the audience.

• Communication After Stroke- Monday, July 26. 1:30-2:30. Presenter: Dawn Reinschmidt, MA SLP. Location: Ground Floor, Room G08. Free and open to the public. A speech and language specialist will be defining stroke and discussing the risk factors and warning signs associated with strokes. Will also discuss the effect strokes have on communication and how to best communicate with someone who has Aphasia, a communication impairment.