Ice skate this month

Monday nights are Family Night from 7-9 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.

Groups of two or more receive a discounted rate of $5, and more discounts are available for residents with appropriate IDs. Call (530) 542-6262 or (530) 542-0277 for more information. The South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena is at 1176 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

Semiconductors, electronics and computer networks at WNCC

Students interested in electronics and computer networks can learn the basics or become fully certified in several Western Nevada Community College classes this fall. The classes offer live instruction, hands-on experimentation and real-world insight on topics from circuits to semiconductor devices.

The base for an electronics education and career starts with electronics I and II, four-credit classes that are offered consecutively in the fall semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-10 p.m.

WNCC electronics instructor Emily White, a technology consultant and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, says that a foundation in the fundamentals of electronics is a springboard to unlimited opportunities with all things technical.

"Anyone currently working in a technology field, or someone who wants to, or even a hobbyist looking to understand a little more, will benefit from these short, energetic, hands-on classes," she said.

The class meets Aug. 30-Oct. 20 and covers the fundamentals of DC and AC electronics with students using oscilloscopes, multimeters, powers supplies and signal generators in lab sessions. Electronics II runs from Oct. 24-Dec. 15, and continues the fundamentals track, familiarizing students with basic semiconductor devices and circuits.

Both classes are prerequisites for many electronics technology classes and fulfill requirements for WNCC associate degrees in Convergence Technology and Electronics Technology.

The fall semester begins Friday. Register at www.wncc.edu. For more information, call Emily White at 445-3292, whitee@wncc.edu.

Learn About world cultures in WNCC anthropology class

Anthropologist Dr. Hal Starratt is teaching his popular Peoples and Cultures of the World class this fall at Western Nevada Community College.

The three-credit cultural anthropology course offers a comparative study of human societies, past and present, and their institutions. It is transferable to any college or university in Nevada and fulfills the social sciences requirement for WNCC degree and certificate programs. It also satisfies the cultural diversity requirement at the University of Nevada, Reno, and counts toward the anthropology major at UNR and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The class is on Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-12:45 p.m. at the Carson City campus and is broadcast by interactive video to Douglas, Hawthorne and Lovelock .

According to Starratt, one of the highlights of the course, and the aspect students find most interesting and rewarding, is an independent-research project comparing two different cultural systems and presenting their findings to the class.

"Also, we usually have lively and animated class discussions on various cultural topics," says Starratt. "By doing this, I hope to broaden students' horizons and expose them to other cultures."

Starratt's experience includes an ongoing Peruvian archaeological research project funded by National Geographic and the Peruvian government, to linguistic studies of the Mayan culture, to excavation of Mississippi River antebellum slave quarters and plantation households.

WNCC fall semester classes begin Friday. Register online at www.wncc.edu. For more information, call 445-3000.