Cold-and-flu season is here, and seemingly everywhere you turn, someone is coughing, sneezing or otherwise infirm. It’s a virus’ paradise out there, so protect yourself. Since knowledge is power, you may be able to beat the viruses at their own game.

The Penobscot Valley Senior College, an affiliate of the University of Maine Center on Aging, is offering a class designed to help you understand what makes these pesky organisms tick and how they make you sick.

The class, “Bacteria, Viruses, and the Immune System,” taught by Dee Virtue, will answer questions such as, “What exactly are bacteria and viruses?” “Why do we get sick sometimes and not others?” and “Are all bacteria and viruses troublemakers?” The “Happy Birthday” song plays a part in all this too, but you will have to take the class to find how. (If it is really not possible for you to take the class, call me and I will tell you.)

Other classes:

. “Food for Fun and Fitness” with the incomparable Katherine Musgrave is always a popular class. The course will cover the principles of nutrition, the revised food pyramid, and the proper way to read package labels.

. “The Civil War – A Personal Journey” taught by Bradford Wellman will be “more exploration than history, dealing with various themes such as the inevitability of the war and the two Southern generals who won the peace.”

. “A Spectator’s Guide to the Universe” with Clair Wood explores the solar system, ancient astronomy, the origin of the constellations and how the universe came to be.

. “Rendezvous with a Comet” with Mary Montville and Rodney Hanscom breaks new ground. This course will “use the training and simulation facilities of the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor to experience space exploration. The class is limited to three preliminary sessions in Orono to familiarize students with their mission in space and a follow-up class.

This is the list of offerings, and there truly is something for everyone.

PVSC has been in operation for three years, and its popularity is soaring. The spring session runs from March 4 to April 8, with class schedules available through the Senior College office and Eastern Agency on Aging. The courses are varied enough to suit everyone’s taste.

“I think we’ve always had a vision that we’d grow and grow and that people would want to keep learning,” said Judy Hanscom, PVSC board president. And curiosity is the word of choice when describing the common reasons for taking the classes.

Don’t let the word “college” be off-putting, cautions Stan Marshall, PVSC executive director. “The classes are more about discussion and the desire to learn new things than about a lecture,” he said.

Senior College is for anyone 50 or older who has a thirst for knowledge. It’s a chance to interact with people who may share similar life experiences and who have lived in relatively the same time frame.

No previous college experience is required to be eligible for a course.

“Just come and join the conversation and hear the thoughts and opinions of your fellow classmates, and share your own,” said Marshall. “It’s very give-and-take, and there is no pressure because there are no tests.”

The Senior College annual membership fee is $25, or $40 per couple. The tuition fee for each course, which includes all materials, is $30.

And there are perks of membership. For instance, members receive a notice of each semester’s class schedule two weeks before the general public, along with an invitation to each of the free one-day programs. Such a deal.

The classes are held Fridays, either morning or afternoon, on the University of Maine campus, in buildings near the Maine Center for the Arts. Parking passes are available for a nominal fee. A couple of the classes are on the Bangor Campus at University College. These will be noted in the catalog.

For information on Senior College, call 581-1947. This is a message phone only, so leave your name and phone number and someone will return your call promptly.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865 or e-mail info@eaaa.org.