When Elderhostel was created nearly 35 years ago, its name was a correct description of its function: It was for the elderly and made heavy use of hostels. People over the age of 60 (a minimum age later reduced to 55) traveled outside their home cities to undergo classroom instruction in the liberal arts, and to stay in either hostels or academic residences where the usual student occupants were on vacation.

Well, Elderhostel has changed, and the organization has changed its name to Exploritas. It is no longer only for the elderly, it frequently makes use of standard hotels, and its instruction often takes place outside the classroom, in active touring of the area in which it takes place. But two features remain constant: The emphasis is always on learning, and the cost of participation is far below commercial levels. Exploritas is quite reasonably priced.

Because Elderhostel is a large and well-financed organization, the announcement of its change of name and function change is important news, and yet, surprisingly, has been little noticed in either the consumer or travel trade press. Hundreds of thousands of adult Americans (the new minimum age is 21) will participate in its programs each year.

Thus, ``The New York Experience'' provides you with a guided, five-night stay in New York including three meals daily, accommodations at the New Yorker Hotel in midtown Manhattan, and considerable escorted sightseeing, for $1,034 per person. According to staff at Exploritas, the stay involves walking excursions into ``hidden neighborhoods'' designed to expose the visitor to the city's authentic, non-touristic life.

Another program called ``Wine Country Biking'' brings you a five-night escorted biking program in Sonoma County, Calif., including bike and helmet, accommodations, visits to family-owned wineries, tastings, evening classes led by a local wine expert and three meals a day (except for one lunch) -- all in autumn, and for a total of $892 per person. That's a remarkable price for a U.S.-based bicycle tour, most of which are priced at twice as much, if not far more.

Exploritas is very much a work in progress, and the new, age-neutral programs will undoubtedly be expanded well beyond the ones currently offered. But if you go to www.Exploritas.org and click on the U.S. state in which you're interested, you'll find a great many new programs priced, it appears, at from $150 to $200 a day (providing excellent value).

Staff members at Exploritas point out that in recent years, much of the old Elderhostel program had already moved beyond the classic classroom format into a far more active form of ``experiential'' activity. The organization had already begun to make heavy use of standard hotel accommodations.

They also deny that any real effort will be made to attract younger adults to their new programs; they do not expect bookings from people ages 20-40, though they won't turn them away. Virtually all their new clientele will be ``baby boomers,'' including a great many in their 50s and early 60s. So the switch to Exploritas reflects a change that has been a long time in the making.

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