Get out of Your Room…

Checkmate!Whether you’re a beginner who just learned ‘checkmate’ doesn’t refer to Australian lingo or whether you want to put your chessmaster skills to the test, the Boca Raton Chess Club offers the ultimate workout for your brain. Unleash your brain’s lethal weaponry on the intellectual battlefield of the chessboard on Fridays at 6:45 p.m. in the Student Union. For more info, call (561) 883-2917.

Shutter lens marvelsEnjoy refreshments while gazing through an artist-colored lens at the “Ocean Impressions” exhibit. Admire the artwork captured on photographs by artist John R. Math from July 24 through Aug. 5 from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m. in the Student Resources Atrium on the Jupiter campus. The imagery portrayed is sure to imprint itself within the galleries of your mind. For more info or to RSVP, contact Margaret Allen at [email protected] or (561) 799-8105.

Get off Campus…

Short but fascinatingNovels and epics aren’t the only timeless tickets to a limitless imagination. Witness the nationwide union of short stories brought together by the Boca Raton Theatre Guild at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton on July 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. and on July 27 at 2 p.m. Learn that “short and sweet” holds a memorable place among legendary literary voices in your heart. For box office information, call (561) 470-1903.

Parlez-vous Francais?Join fellow French speakers chez Starbucks and partake in the French tradition of enjoying a good cup of café au lait while conversing with your copains. Relax and discuss the troubles of life or simply practice those French skills on Saturdays from 10 a.m. till noon at the Mizner Park Starbucks. And don’t forget, “C’est la vie!” For info, call (561) 470-7230.

“Girls & Boys,” this is your “Anthem”If you’re a fan of the rock band Good Charlotte and have been waiting to rock out to their songs in person, the Mizner Park Amphitheater has decided to spare you the wait on July 31 at 7 p.m. for the reasonable price of $35. If Good Charlotte isn’t exactly popular on your iPod playing list, then performances by Boys Like Girls, Metro Station and Maine will surely satisfy your inner jukebox. For box office info, call (561) 750-1668.

Monet, Picasso, or MichelangeloEver wonder what your painting style is? Listen to the whispers of the muses and the beat of inspiring songs while you release your inner artiste on a canvas with every paintbrush stroke. Become artistically possessed at the Art Jam on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6 p.m. till 10 p.m. at the Shoppes at Village Pointe in Boca Raton. Tickets are $35 to $60. Who knows, you could become the 21st century’s most innovative artist and earn a place among the great masters. For box office info, call (561) 929-9314.

Which came first: The Chicken or the Egg?Biodiversity spark your interests? Don’t just crack open a textbook, research Marine Biology with your very eyes and identify evolutionary links as you study marine life forms in their habitat during classes (which can be taken individually or in a group) at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton on Aug. 2 and Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. till noon. Piece together the puzzle of life for yourself as you decipher nature’s work. For more info, call (561) 338-1473.

Go Green in the Kitchen!If pizza’s one of your favorite foods but you’ve become an advocate for healthy food choices, don’t despair: Pizza isn’t ready to leave the menu just yet. At 11 a.m. every third Saturday of each month, satisfy your cravings courtesy of the Organic Cooking Class at the Pizza Fusion in Deerfield. The typical pizza will be transformed from crust to toppings to intrigue your taste buds while maintaining your fit physique. For more info, call (954) 427-5353.

Sneak a peek at heavenly bodiesMake Galileo proud as you peer into the Buehler Planetarium telescope and realize humanity’s fragility as you are awed by the constellations of the vast universe. Give the closest star to our solar system, the sun, the attention it deserves by peering through a solar filter. Located at Broward Community College in Davie, the Buehler Planetarium not only offers a view worthy of admiration but also the setting for a romantic date on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 8 p.m. till 10 p.m. For box office info, call (954) 201-6680.

Get Free Money…

To the best and brightestIf you’re a senior with a desire to study in England and have a brilliant academic standing, the Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships are looking to fund your graduate studies. Already a graduate? A scholarship for a graduate with B.S. or B.A. interested in studying abroad is available, courtesy of the Fulbright Scholarship. And because FAU’s financial generosity extends to the undergraduates, those sophomores and juniors with a particular interest in science, math or engineering can get free money from the Goldwater Scholarship. Juniors focusing on government or public service will find support for their studies in the Truman Scholarship. It literally pays to do well in school. Deadlines are: Rhodes (Sept. 1), Marshall (Sept. 1), Fulbright (Sept. 19), Goldwater (Dec. 1) and Truman (Dec. 1). For more information or for requirements needed, go to the FAU Prestige Scholarships Web site.

Get a Gig…

Computer whiz in need of moneyComputer Liquidations, located 10 minutes from FAU in Boca Raton is looking for someone (regardless of their academic year) with a reasonable amount of computer knowledge and willing to work 20 hours/week to be an office assistant to the president of the company and staff. Pay is negotiable. For more info, contact Jane Rosenberg at (561) 213-1939 or at [email protected]

Random Listing of the Week…>

There’s something about crocodiles and alligatorsIf you are tired of sitting on the safe audience bench while the trained animal handlers have all the fun with the crocodiles and alligators, Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter is giving people the opportunity be a part of feeding time – not by being the meal, of course! You can assist a naturalist feed the crocs and alligators every Monday at 4 p.m. if you dare. Live for the challenge and thrill of the up-close experience, after which you might understand why these crocs and alligators are symbolic to Florida. Or maybe why people prefer to see them as logos only. For box office info, call (561) 575-3399.