Summer Spark Week Schedule

Summer Spark week is designed to offer a customizable learning experience. Each day, you’ll select from diverse topics that “spark” your interest as you move from session to session. You may register for select days or the full week at a discounted rate.
Click on the dropdown menus below to view the daily schedule, or register using the button.
Registration is now open!
Daily Offerings
Below are the daily offerings for 2026 Spark Week. Sessions and times are subject to change. New offerings will be added as Summer Spark Week approaches.
Registration and Opening Activities
Morning Session Options:
- Lessons learned from my Life as a Crime Lab DNA Analyst | Ken Eilert, a former crime lab DNA analyst, shares real-world insights from years of working at the intersection of science and justice.
- Interfaith Neighboring: Holidays, Etiquette, and Hospitality | Participants will gain insight into major faith-based holidays, learning practical etiquette and hospitality for engaging neighbors of a variety of backgrounds.
- Nightmare Bacteria | Explore the emergence, spread, and public health response to bacteria that carry genes conferring resistance to antibiotics, including the recent appearance of pathogens that are completely untreatable.
Lunch and Conversation
Featured Speaker: Dr. Jason Lantzer
What We are Fighting Against: Eisenhower and the Holocaust with Book Signing | Join historian, History Channel contributor, and author Dr. Jason Lantzer as he explores Dwight D. Eisenhower’s role in confronting the atrocities of the Holocaust. Dr. Lantzer reveals how Eisenhower’s visit to the liberated Ohrdruf concentration camp compelled him to ensure the atrocities were documented, publicized, and never forgotten. Book signing to follow.
Afternoon Session Options:
- Traveling to Italy: The Veneto | Journey through Italy’s Veneto region—home to Venice, Verona, and the Dolomites—and explore its rich history, art, and cuisine, complete with travel tips.
- Symphony in Your Pocket (aka iPhone)! | Uncover the composers of iPhone ringtones and what your ringtone choice might say about you, mixing music history with a dash of psychology.
Optional Evening Activity
Optional Morning Wellness Activity: Canal Walk
Check-In for New Participants
Featured Speaker: Graham Honaker
The Cinderella Strategy: The Game Plan Behind University’s Rise to Prominence with Book Signing | Author and longtime Butler supporter and advocate, Graham Honaker, details how Butler forged a synergy between a big-time athletic program and a serious academic institution. Analyze how the University’s decision-makers delved into the brilliant marketing of Butler’s live mascot program, the authentic branding of The Butler Way, and the critical move to the Big East Conference. Discussion and book signing to follow.
Morning Session Options:
- The Disney Dream: How Two Brothers and a Mouse Changed the World | Step into the stories behind Walt and Roy Disney’s big dreams, the creation of Mickey, and how their vision grew into a global cultural phenomenon that still enchants the world today.
- Lessons Learned From My Life in the NFL | Chad Spann discusses his professional career as a running back for the Indianapolis Colts.
Lunch and Conversation
Afternoon Session 1 Options:
- Watercolor Postcards | Learn simple techniques for color, texture, and composition while making art you can mail or keep as keepsakes.
- Tech for All: Rethinking Ability Through Technology | Investigate how assistive technology is transforming lives and redefining what’s possible for independence, accessibility, and inclusion.
- Behind the Scenes at Clowes | Step into the spotlight and experience the magic of Clowes Memorial Hall through an exclusive tour of Butler University’s iconic performing arts venue.
Afternoon Session 2 Options:
- Yoga and Meditation | This class, designed for all skill levels, combines gentle yoga postures with guided meditation to help you release tension, build balance, and cultivate inner calm.
- Solving the Unsolvable: How Forensic Genealogy Cracks Cold Cases | Explore how forensic genealogy combines DNA analysis and family tree research to solve decades-old cold cases such as the Golden State Killer and Indiana’s April Tinsley case.
Optional Evening Activity
Optional Morning Wellness Activity: Ecotherapy Trail Walk and Guided Meditation
Daily Registration
Morning Session Options:
- The Healing Power of Connection | Dr. Brandie Oliver discusses how nurturing relationships across generations has tangible effects on health and well-being.
Featured Session
Lunch and Group Photo
Afternoon Session 1 Options:
- Zine Making | Learn the basics of layout, collage, illustration, and storytelling to craft a mini magazine you can share, trade, or keep as a unique expression of your ideas.
- Transformation Lab Tour | Get ready to transform what you think about academics as you learn about Butler’s unique research and design hub and its future-forward projects.
- Bon Appétit Cooking Class | Enjoy a truly delicious, hands-on cooking class experience with Bon Appétit’s culinary experts.
Afternoon Session 2 Options:
- Cashing In on Fame: College Athletics and NIL | Discover how new name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights are reshaping college sports as you explore their impact on student-athlete opportunities, recruiting, sponsorships, and the future of amateur athletics on and off the field.
- From Standard to Arranged: The evolution of stage combat in 19th-century England | Dueling blades, daring moves, and the thrill of the fight: this lecture dives into the 19th-century transformation of stage combat in England.
Optional Evening Activity
Optional Morning Wellness Activity: Limited Mobility Nature Meditation
Morning Sessions
Featured Session
Brunch
Closing Connections
Questions? Email bllc@butler.edu.
COST*
Full Week: $550
Individual Days: $160 each
*Discounts available for Butler alumni and previous Summer Spark Week participants. Register for details.
