This year, there are participants from 35 different states who were given the opportunity to choose from more than 90 courses to take part in.

Grandparents University co-chairperson Kathryn Reed said the goal of the program is to give the children an opportunity to spend time with their families, many of whom have previous connections with MSU.

“We’re reconnecting alumni with the university and providing a great bonding experience for the families,” she said.

However, Reed said the connection between alumni and the university isn’t the only relationship being reinforced.

“(The participants) really gain a bonding relationship, learning new things together and spending time together,” she said. “Through (the program), they really form a stronger relationship with one another.”

MSU alumnus David Vargas attended Big Stage Theatre Play, a class held at Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall, with his nephew Johnathan Vargas, 11, and Johnathan’s grandmother Marisela Vargas. The family traveled from San Diego for their second experience with Grandparents University.

“We have a good time, we meet a lot of people from different parts of the country and more importantly we just have a lot of fun,” David Vargas said. “This is just a really good program to bring (Johnathan) here to campus and get him used to the idea that college is something he should expect.”

Marisela Vargas also emphasized the importance of being introduced to a college atmosphere.

“It’s a good family experience, we all get to be together and have fun, and (Johnathan) gets a taste of what college life will be like,” she said.

Ann Arbor resident Meg Goldberg, 9, also attended Big Stage Theatre Play. It was Goldberg’s first experience with Grandparents University, but her grandmother, East Lansing resident and MSU alumna Margaret Liedholm, had attended the program four times before.

“We’ve really had a wonderful time,” Liedholm said. “We especially appreciate the opportunity to have hands-on experience.”

During Big Stage Theatre Play, the participants were given the opportunity to exercise their acting chops on Wharton Center’s stage. With the stage lights on and in front of thousands of empty chairs, the children and their grandparents moved all across the stage delivering monologues about things they despised and learning how to stay in character while instructor Dana Brazil tried to make them laugh.

“(The class) is really funny and really fun to do,” Goldberg said. “Plus, everyone can do it.”