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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

Butler Community College Life Enrichment

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El Dorado, KS
Butler Community College Life Enrichment

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Enrich your tomorrow by being involved in the life of your community college. Meetings are open to everyone and there is no charge to attend.

Enjoy programs monthly during the school year as part of Life Enrichment, an educational, entertaining, and cultural program tailored to today’s busy lifestyles. Life Enrichment is for area adults and meets the first Tuesday of every month in conjunction with the school year. Those who attend regularly are encouraged to register so they receive monthly newsletters announcing the programs. Speakers present on a broad range of topics – from history to modern technology and art to science – and past performers have included singers, storytellers, dancers, and actors.

09/29/2026

Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. - Marcia Sebree, president of the Peabody Historical Society, will share about the German POWs who came to Peabody. It was the fall of 1943, and the area farmers were facing not getting in the harvest. German prisoners had arrived in Concordia, Kansas, and local groups could apply to hire them. A tent camp was set up south of town to house the nearly 250 guards and prisoners. At the end of the harvest, locals would apply to continue to hire them for other jobs after harvest. The group would find housing at the Eyestone building, and they would stay for more than two years.

10 a.m. - Daniel “Handpan Dan” Baird will present the handpan, a peaceful and soothing instrument invented at the turn of the century. Dan explores the history of this new instrument and discusses how he uses it therapeutically in healthcare, education, and community settings around the Midwest. Enjoy hearing fun songs on the handpan and try playing the handpan yourself before leaving the program!

04/27/2026

Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. - Kent Williams & Friends will present a music program. Kent is Butler’s CFO. He and his wife, Sue, along with friends Mike Fritschen and Candice Sullivan, will feature a variety of genres, including country, folk, gospel, and pop/rock, featuring covers of artists such as Garth Brooks, the Judds, Fleetwood Mac, and Janis Joplin.

9:45 a.m. - Break

10 a.m. - Jim Clements — Local artist Jim Clements will share his art with us. He will talk about several pieces and the actors and cowboys he works with as subjects in his paintings.

03/30/2026

Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. - Rex Buchanan, former director of the Kansas Geological Survey and author, will present “Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills.” Too often, Kansas history seems to start with Coronado’s trip through the state in 1541. For centuries before European arrival, Native people lived on the plains, and some left behind rock carvings on soft sandstone in the middle of the state. This presentation focuses on these carvings, the people who made them, and what the carvings tell us about those people and their relationship to the land. The presentation also discusses the challenges of dating and interpreting these carvings, the threats posed by erosion and vandalism, and the role of landowners whose property shelters these carvings. “Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.

9:45 a.m. - Break

10 a.m. - Travis Heying — Kansas often gets a bad rap for its lack of breathtaking scenery. Void of oceans or mountains, it’s easy to see why people often rank it at, or near, the bottom of “most scenic states” surveys. But anyone who’s spent enough time in Kansas knows that beauty is there. You just have to know how to look for it. Travis Heying explores how he captures the beauty of this state in photographs.

02/24/2026

Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. - Rusty Rierson will sing for us!

9:45 a.m. - Break

10 a.m. - Darian & Paula Bebout have been guest artists/woodcarvers at Silver Dollar City for 25+ years and have taught at various seminars around the Midwest. Paula has an art background of 45+ years through many mediums, including woodcarving, wood burning, scrimshawing, painting, pen and ink, antler carving, clay sculpting, and floral arranging. As a realistic artist, she specializes in human realistic, wildlife, and landscapes. When teaching, she enjoys watching each student’s artistic abilities mature as they learn techniques and methods to achieve depth through the use of values. Darian started woodcarving in 1995, applying his woodworking experience and knowledge gained in woodcarving classes back to the art of chip carving, a unique form of woodcarving which originated in northern and Eastern Europe. He loves to teach by sharing lessons learned, explaining why things do or do not work, and solving chip carving problems. He teaches both Old-World and Swiss techniques, which he learned from two master chip carvers.

02/07/2026

Smash sliders. 🍔 Loaded tots. 🥔 Sweet treats. 🍰

The Grizzly Grub Food Truck is coming to the El Dorado Campus next week! Don't miss it 🐻

🗓 Tuesday, Feb. 10 | 10:30 am–12 pm

01/26/2026

Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. -Judy Bastin, director of libraries and archives at Butler, will share the spring Book Talk books and schedule.

9:10 a.m. - Randy Just, former park ranger at El Dorado Lake and current customer service representative at Shady Creek Marina, will talk about his current role as well as his past experiences as a park ranger at the lake.

9:45 a.m. - Break

10 a.m. - Bob Gress, former director of the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita and co-founder of BirdsInFocus.com, will present A Changing World for Kansas Birds. Gress, along with Pete Janzen, recently completed the book “The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hotspots, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded.” Kansas is a birdwatcher’s paradise, boasting exceptional habitat diversity and a key location at the hub of the hemisphere’s migration corridors. An astounding 491 avian species have been documented in the state. But this is a changing world for Kansas Birds. Join us as we learn more about birds, birding, and the challenges facing our grassland species. Bring your books for Bob to sign. Books will also be available for purchase.

12/04/2025

“I am currently attending Butler Community College to obtain my associate degree in liberal arts. I want to do the BEST Program that is offered here at Butler through Emporia State University, starting in the spring. My plan is to get my bachelor's degree in elementary education. I have always wanted to become a teacher, and teachers play a crucial role in shaping the future. By teaching children at a young age, you are helping to shape the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and innovators. It’s not just about academics; as an elementary school teacher, you play a crucial role in helping children develop social, emotional, and behavioral skills. I love kids, and I am excited for my future career to make a difference in children's lives. I am very excited about my educational goals, and I am excited about finishing strong at Butler Community College in May and then starting strong at Wichita State University in the fall.”
Avery R., Douglass, KS, Molk Admissions Ambassador Scholarship

12/02/2025

At today's Butler Community College Life Enrichment meeting, Bailey Martin-Rutliff, executive director at the Kansas Oil Museum, spoke about the legacy of oil in Butler County, and Dr. Isaias McCaffery, a retired professor from Independence Community College, spoke about the Osage Indians and their contributions to the Union during the Civil War. Dr. McCaffery's presentation was brought to us by Humanities Kansas.

11/20/2025

“I am currently pursuing a degree in computer science. I am very thankful for your support, which has eased the financial burden of my education and allowed me to fully focus on school. After I graduate from Butler, I plan to attend Wichita State University to get my bachelor’s degree in computer science. This degree will allow me a career in programming medical devices. This career is very close to me, as I am a recipient of a medical device and have had the privilege to be on the receiving end of people who program these devices. With a computer engineering/programming degree, I would have the opportunity to program medical devices like the one I have implanted. Knowing how much this device has changed my life, I want to ensure that others like me have the same opportunity that I had. Thank you again for your support so I can make my dreams come true.”
Kayden C., El Dorado, KS, John K. & Mary P. Fisher Scholarship

11/17/2025

Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Butler Community College Life Enrichment
Hubbard Welcome Center on the El Dorado campus of Butler Community College

9 a.m. - Bailey Martin-Rutliff, executive director of the Kansas Oil Museum, will present “Deeper Than Oil: Building Legacy in Butler County.” Her presentation blends personal stories with local history to explore how perseverance, innovation, and community shaped Butler County’s identity. Drawing on true accounts from Kansas’s oil boom, reflections on legacy, and the ongoing work of the Kansas Oil Museum, she invites participants to consider their own histories and the legacies they continue to build.

10 a.m. - Dr. Isaias McCaffrey, history professor at Independence Community College, will present “Last Stand at Rebel Creek: The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas.” As tensions rose during the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy sought to sway the Osage Nation to advance their own interests. Though initially divided, the Osage ultimately became key Union allies, helping thwart an 1863 Confederate expedition aimed at reigniting Southern resistance in the Colorado and New Mexico territories. This presentation examines the Osage Nation’s critical contributions to the Union cause in Kansas.

His presentation is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau and 21st Century Civics, a resource collection encouraging Kansans to engage in community conversations about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. 21st Century Civics is supported by “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Address

901 S Haverhill Road
El Dorado, KS
67042

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+13163236355

Website

http://www.butlercc.edu/life-enrichment

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