Volunteer Training Party

time 6:30 p.m.

Join us on our mission to educate D.C. for free. Meet the organizers, eat some snacks, choose a volunteer activity.

user Instructor: Knowledge Commons DC

Hangover Cures From Around the World

time 12:30 p.m.

We were going to scour the globe in search of inspiration for a month full of free learning … but first we needed to cure our hangovers.

user Instructor: Jason L'Ecuyer

New Year, New Session Kickoff Party

time 2 p.m.

See our pop-up schoolroom, sip some hangover-curing cocktails, and help us kick off a month of free learning.   

user Instructor: Knowledge Commons DC

Just Add Microorganisms: Ferment Your Food and Drink!

time 6:30 p.m.

The chemical process behind beer, yogurt, and sauerkraut is within reach of the amateur kitchen experimentalist.

user Instructor: Adam Gulliford

The Art of Chess

time 6:30 p.m.

Chess is a game of skill and reason — and of underappreciated beauty. An expert player and a professional artist will explore both sides in this introductory class.

user Instructors: Kate Clark, Megan Miraglia

Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion

time 7 p.m.

Channel your inner mad man (or woman), pour yourself a martini, and immerse yourself in the theory and practice of advertising.

user Instructor: Micah Greenberg

Film Criticism: More Than Bitching

time 2 p.m.

There’s a difference between complaining and criticism. Learn to channel your thoughts and opinions about a film into an intelligent assessment, be it a written review or a dinner-table debate.

user Instructor: Kristen Page-Kirby

Cooking With Snow

time 3 p.m.

Shovel your backyard straight into the kitchen for recipes that utilize the ultimate free ingredient: snow.

user Instructor: Willie Shubert

A Creative Process on Creative Processes: Construction

time 11 a.m.

Each session of this three-part workshop will focus on a different stage of the writing process, as illuminated by making salsa, exploring the city, and other thought-provoking activities.  

user Instructor: Jue Yang

Design Activism Summit Brainstorming Session

time 2 p.m.

Help plan the Design Activism Summit, an upcoming event that will bring activists and designers together to inspire change.

user Instructor: Kaytee Nesmith

Intro to Lock Picking

time 3 p.m.

This hands-on workshop will teach you the basics of how pin-tumbler locks work and how to exploit them.

user Instructor: Bradford Barr

Talking About War With a Holocaust Survivor

time 6 p.m.

In her new book, “The Hands of War,” Marione Ingram recounts her experiences as a Jewish child in Germany during World War II. Join her for a reading and to discuss conflict and genocide, both past and present.

user Instructor: Marione Ingram

Needlepointing for Novices

time 7 p.m.

Fear needles no more — or at least not the embroidery kind — after this overview of needlepointing basics. 

user Instructor: Amanda Leslie

Know Thyself for Professionals and Entrepreneurs

time 7 p.m.

How much control do you have over your own choices? And who makes the decisions on your behalf: your conscious mind, or deep-seated beliefs lurking behind the scenes of your brain?

user Instructor: Linda Peia

Political Theater, Eastern Europe, and Making History Come to Life

time 6:30 p.m.

Interested in political drama? (The theater kind, not the Petraeus kind.) Playwright John Feffer explains how he brings political issues to the stage.

user Instructor: John Feffer

Tor and the Arab Spring

time 7:30 p.m.

Tor — free software that helps users evade censorship — was instrumental in launching and sustaining the Arab Spring movement. A Tor developer explains how.

user Instructor: Runa Sandvik

Silently Seeking the Self

time 7:30 p.m.

Put the world on mute during this experimental thought and movement class, conducted in complete silence.

user Instructor: Tina Cody

Tea: An Intercultural Introduction

time 7 p.m.

The rest of the world is way keener on tea than America is. Learn, and taste, why.

user Instructors: Erika Rydberg, Valerie VanAntwerp

The Psychogeographic Cinema

time noon

Psychogeography examines how our emotions and behaviors are influenced by our surroundings. Join us for a screening of two films that explore this fascinating field of study.

user Instructor: Robert Peterson

Nature Lab 1: Collecting

time 1 p.m. 📷 Documentation

 “To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower,” wrote William Blake. We can’t promise heaven, but tiny pieces of nature do hold worlds of information and inspiration.

First of two classes. Students are free to attend one or both. 

user Instructor: Bill Angelis and Leslie Sluger

A Creative Process on Creative Processes: Deconstruction

time 11 a.m.

Each session of this three-part workshop will focus on a different stage of the writing process, as illuminated by making salsa, exploring the city, and other thought-provoking activities. 

user Instructor: Jue Yang

Food and Culture at the Museum

time noon

Tour the new exhibit “FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000” at the National Museum of American History with one of the show’s co-curators.

user Instructor: Cory Bernat

Cyanotype Printing

time 1 p.m.

Apps like Instagram prove that our culture likes pictures that seem handmade – but why fake the look when you can experiment with the real artifact?

user Instructor: David Ramos

Tragicomedy of the Commons

time 6 p.m.

Communal spaces and resources are experiencing a renewal. We’ll review some “commons” theory and get our (digital) hands dirty on a new local Wiki. 

user Instructor: Greg Bloom

Experiments in Typography

time 6:30 p.m.

Learn how type works, and investigate ways of making letters and typographic compositions by hand.

user Instructor: David Ramos

Crochet and Knitting for Not-Quite-Beginners

time 7 p.m.

This simple fiber-arts class will teach you to make granny squares and sew them together.

user Instructor: Amanda Leslie

Write Interesting!

time 6:30 p.m.

Deformulize your writing! From the people who brought you Edit Anything!

user Instructor: Holly J. Morris

How Children’s Television Works

time 6:30 p.m.

Kids’ TV — think “Sesame Street,” not “Transformers” — can boost young brains rather than rot them. Learn how! Brought to you by the letters K, C, D and C.

user Instructor: Sami Simon

Beyond the Sound Barrier: Deaf Culture Through Hearing Eyes

time 7 p.m.

This class covers the basics of Deaf culture and answers some practical questions about communicating with Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. 

user Instructor: Shay Taylor

Let My People Vote!

time 6:30 p.m.

The debate over voting rights in D.C. has dragged on for upward of 200 years. We’ll dig into the protracted dispute, from its very beginnings to where the suffrage movement stands now.

user Instructors: Gerry Wenham, Vince Treacy

Live Streaming Video Basics

time 7 p.m.

Learn how to stage an Internet concert, showcase a protest, or broadcast a work conference, all in real time.

user Instructor: Willie Shubert

Sharing the Knowledge

time 6:30 p.m.

Ever been to a class so compelling that it seemed over in a flash — and yet you remember everything that was taught? Or sat through a course that seemed to last an eternity? Chances are the subject matter was less important to your experience than the instructor’s ability.

user Instructor: Julia Goren

Glogg im Himmel!*

time 7 p.m.

Defrost your innards with mulled wine and other hot, spiced beverages.

user Instructors: Erika Rydberg, Matt Lesko

Sketch Lounge

♫ KCDC Event time 7 p.m.

KCDC is pleased to host this month’s Sketch Lounge — a regular gathering of artists to make, celebrate, and sell art — in our pop-up schoolroom.

user Instructor: Knowledge Commons DC

Nature Lab 2: Tackling a Design Problem

time 1 p.m.

 “To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower,” wrote William Blake. We can’t promise heaven, but tiny pieces of nature do hold worlds of information and inspiration. 

Second of two classes. Students are free to attend one or both.

user Instructor: Bill Angelis and Leslie Sluger

A Creative Process on Creative Processes: Synthesis

time 11 a.m.

Each session of this three-part workshop will focus on a different stage of the writing process, as illuminated by making salsa, exploring the city, and other thought-provoking activities. 

user Instructor: Jue Yang

Art Theft Through the Ages

time 6:30 p.m.

Did Picasso nick the Mona Lisa? Where did art stolen during World War II end up? What is the most popular painting to purloin? The elaborately convoluted answers, plus a bonus lesson in heist techniques, await.

user Instructors: Bradford Barr, Elena Goukassian, Rachel Sadon

Love Poems: A Rose By Any Other Name

time 7 p.m.

You can do better than “roses are red, violets are blue.” Survey and celebrate renowned poems that speak to the paradigm of Love with a capital L.

user Instructor: Andrew Bucket

Intro to Lock Picking

time 7 p.m.

This hands-on workshop will teach you the basics of how pin-tumbler locks work and how to exploit them.

user Instructor: Bradford Barr

Cancelled
CANCELLED: Throw Out Your Business Plan: Tech Entrepreneurship

time 7 p.m.

Ignore your MBA, donate your business books to Goodwill, and disregard advice from well-meaning friends and parents. There are no rules in the world of tech start-ups — it’s time to make your own.

user Instructor: Philippe Chetrit

Demystifying Creativity

time 7 p.m.

Are Nobel Prize-worthy ideas born of sudden inspiration or rigorous process? The founder of ThirstDC discusses the surprising science behind innovation and imagination.

user Instructor: Eric Schulze

Decoding the Russian Alphabet

time 6 p.m.

Cyrillic isn’t as intimidating as it may seem to the uninitiated. By the end of this class, you’ll be able to write your name and other words using its letters (a quick way to impress/befuddle your co-workers/friends/family).

user Instructors: Karyn Dubravetz, Olga Kuzmina

“The Garden of Steven”

♫ KCDC Event time 7:30 p.m.

Join us for a screening and discussion of a spirited comedy made by local filmmakers.

user Instructor: Knowledge Commons DC

Flash Fiction Workshop

time noon

Bring your brevity and wit to this introduction to flash fiction, a type of short story told in 300 to 1,000 words.

user Instructor: Frances Gonzalez

Small Talk

time 4 p.m.

Chatting up strangers has many benefits — if you can conquer your fear of the unknown.

user Instructor: Larke Williams

Upcycle Your Closet (Without Sewing)

time 1 p.m.

Learn how to cut, bleach, dye, paint, embellish, and otherwise transform the clothes you already have.

user Instructor: Rachel Sadon

A Cultural History of Washington D.C. Music

time 2 p.m.

The District has a rich musical history that transcends Fugazi and the punk scene. We’ll explore how country, jazz, folk, classical, and go-go have played a role in the the city’s many periods of turbulence and renaissance. 

user Instructor: Neal Fersko

DIY Electronic Noisemakers

time 3 p.m.

Use and abuse digital electronic components to make your very own electronic noisemaker.

user Instructors: Bradford Barr, Jon Horner, Nick Beauregard

The Harlem Renaissance

time 6:30 p.m.

Discuss this defining epoch in American cultural history and its major players — Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jacob Lawrence, Lois Mailou Jones and others.

user Instructor: Willona Sloan

The Prosecution of Private Bradley Manning

time 7 p.m.

Private Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking classified materials to WikiLeaks (among them the infamous “Collateral Murder” video), goes on trial March 2013. Two attorneys advocating on his behalf offer background on the case.

user Instructor: Phil Fornaci and Jane Zara

Cultivating Your Personal Style

time 6:30 p.m.

You don’t need Anna Wintour on speed-dial to know (or learn) how to dress well.

user Instructors: Elizabeth DeMeo, Jessica Phippen

Write Interesting!

time 6:30 p.m.

Deformulize your writing! From the people who brought you Edit Anything!

user Instructor: Holly J. Morris

Join the Crowd(funding)!

time 6 p.m.

Calling all artists! Get the inside scoop on the do’s (and don’ts) of a successful crowdfunding campaign.

user Instructor: Team Crowd(funding)

Make Your Own Ink From Anything. Except Mummies.

time 7 p.m.

In the last 150 years, making art supplies from ancient corpses has fallen out of vogue. (Really. That was a thing.) But you can make ink from practically anything else, and we’ll teach you how.

user Instructor: Anthony Dihle

Everything a Pro Musician Needs (Besides Music)

time 6:30 p.m.

We wish it was all about the music. It isn’t. Becoming a successful professional musician takes a host of other skills, too.

user Instructor: Rex Riot

How to Complain Effectively to the Government

time 6:30 p.m.

Getting your grievances addressed is, in theory, not so hard — there are people in all levels of government employed to hear you out. But finding those people isn’t necessarily easy. Master the system, then defeat it!

user Instructor: Patrick Lucey

Closing Party

♫ KCDC Event time 8 p.m.

Celebrate the end of a great session and wonderful partnership with us. KCDC staples – food, music, friends, and a piñata – plus some surprises await. 

user Instructor: Knowledge Commons DC

Citizen Circles Kickoff

♫ KCDC Event time 6 p.m.

We’ll teach you how to keep the free learning going by starting a Citizen Circle – a group of peers that comes together to learn about a subject.  

user Instructor: Alan Webb