Nine-year-old Mike Todd played with his name tag as his grandfather, Ron Lott, a 1963 MSU graduate, talked about the classes they're scheduled to take.
The two participated in Grandparents University, a program that began Wednesday and will run through Friday, in which grandparents and their grandchildren experience college life. For three days, families live in the dorms, eat cafeteria food and take classes.
Todd was excited to stay in the dorms saying the "delicious" food was his favorite part about campus. He was thrilled the cafeteria offered his favorite food - macaroni and cheese - for lunch Wednesday.
"It's not like at home," he said.
This is the second year Todd and Lott have attended Grandparents University. They signed up for mostly math and science classes because science is Todd's favorite class.
"Mike is sometimes easily distracted with all the bugs and birds around campus," Lott said. "He can name more birds than (me)."
The program allows alumni to relive their MSU experience and see how their colleges have changed since they graduated, said Michael Steger, communications and alumni relations manager for the College of Natural Science.
For 1991 MSU graduate Gary Elle, returning to MSU is like reliving his college experience. Elle came with his father, Gary Elle, his son, Michael Elle, 10, his nephew, Anthony Cardinali, 13, and his son's friend, Joe Tabenske, 10.
"This program is more for the parents and grandparents than their kids," Gary Elle said, "(It's) the chance to feel 20 again, the chance to stay in the dorms."
The campus has changed a lot since Elle attended. The Eli Broad College of Business wasn't built and the College of Engineering was just coming up, he said.
"I just drive around and I get confused. The bars are different, about all of the stores have changed," he said.
Mike Elle and Cardinali chose classes for this year's program on the way home from the program last summer.
"I picked two classes and Mike picked two classes," Cardinali said. "We all wanted archery and ice cream making."
Grandparents University began last year as a way to draw alumni back, Steger said. It also exposes young people to the university atmosphere, getting them excited about learning and MSU, he said.
Gene Martenson, a 1951 graduate, brought a seven people, including two of his daughters and their children to Grandparents University.
"I'm not trying to recruit (my grandchildren) to MSU, but I want them to be excited about college. I love MSU, it's special and I want to share it with them," Martenson said.
Martenson explained how different the university was when he attended, especially tuition. MSU was on the quarter system then, instead of semesters, and it cost $75 per quarter. As a New York native, Martenson paid an additional $45 for out-of-state fees, he said.
Of the total 546 participants this year, 264 are adults and 282 are children. The self-funded program relies on registration fees, Steger said.
This year's program offers 68 different classes for students ranging from horse care management to forensic entomology.
Joe Draheim said his favorite class was the tour of the MSU dairy farm. The 7-year-old attended the program for the second year, this time with his grandmother, Sandra Draheim.
A live cow is used to demonstrate the digestive system through a plug in the cow's side at the Dairy Teaching and Research Center. Participants are able to insert food directly into the cow's stomach and witness the digestive process first-hand, Steger said.
"I liked milking the cows and taking out their lunch," Joe Draheim said.
