Around Town: Dawson lectures

ATWATER -- Professor Michael Dawson will be this month's speaker in the Frontiers of Science and Engineering lecture series at 10 a.m. Sept. 20 at the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. The subject will be "In it for the long haul: An evolutionist's perspective on agriculture, environment, fisheries and medicine." Admission is free. For more information, call (209) 726-0296.

ATWATER

Manage time wisely

Connie Hodges -

The Atwater Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Merced College Customer Service Academy will host a two-day workshop on time management from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Atwater Community Center, 760 E. Bellevue Road.

Students can earn a half-unit of college credit for a fee of $10. For more information, call (209) 386-6736 or go to customerserviceacademy.org.

MERCED

Preschool registration

Morning and afternoon classes for children ages 3-5 are now enrolling at Merced Child Development, 720 S. Highway 59, (209) 723-1046; Stevinson State Preschool, 19977 W. Third Ave., (209) 669-8884; and Delhi School Preschool, 16249 Delhi Ave., (209) 668-6125. The classes are free or low cost to qualified families.

MERCED

UC summer programs

UC Merced and Yosemite National Park will host a public symposium from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in the Search and Rescue Training Room in Yosemite Valley. The symposium deals with the students' experiences in two programs they were invloved in during the summer at Yosemite National Park. For more information, call (209) 228-4406 or (209) 205-8561.

MERCED

Shakespeare in the park

Merced Open Air Theater in Applegate Park is the location for "The Taming of the Shrew" at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Come early and enjoy the pre-show of Renaissance music and dance. For more information, call (209) 723-3265 or go to mercedshakespearefest.org.

MERCED

Cook Dutch dish

Merced Hostel Society will host its quarterly international potluck at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, featuring Holland, at the Merced Home Hostel. Participants are asked to bring a dish that would be served in Holland and enjoy some interesting foods.

Activities will include a DVD sent from someone in Holland, World Travel 101 using hostels and planning the next overnight "visit a hostel" trip. Anyone interested in budget travel is invited to attend. For more information, call (209) 769-1884.

ATWATER

NAUS Meeting

Shane Ferriera of the California Highway Patrol will be the guest speaker at Saturday's meeting of the San Joaquin Valley Chapter, National Association For Uniformed Services.

The 10 a.m. to noon meeting is in the Castle Air Museum, 5050 Santa Fe Drive. The public is invited. For more information, call (209) 356-1938 or (209) 723-8274.

If you would like to have your event announced in the Around Town column, send your information to Connie Hodges at least one week prior to the event, at chodges@mercedsunstar.com. Items run according to space available.