What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:
Performances
"Big Noodles" — 7:30 p.m., March 22 and 23, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. "Big Noodles" tells the story of a young sexual abuse victim named Alice, who attempts to process the impact these traumatic events have had on her current life and relationships. Free.
Mivos Quartet — 7:30 p.m., March 23, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. The Mivos Quartet is devoted to performing works of contemporary composers and presenting diverse new music to international audiences. Free.
Cirque FLIP Fabrique's "Muse" — 7:30 p.m., March 23, The Pullo Center, Penn State York. Contemporary circus ensemble FLIP Fabrique will give a performance that sees its athletes playing with gender-specific expectations and tackling stereotypes.
"Make a Joyful Noize" — 7:30 p.m., March 23, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Hip-hop ensemble Soul Science Lab will celebrate the resilience of the human spirit in this multimedia installation and full-band performance.
Kenny Chesney: I Go Back Tour — 7:30 p.m., March 25, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Kenny Chesney will perform with special guest Kelsea Ballerini at the first stop of his I Go Back tour.
The Kid LAROI: Bleed For You — 7 p.m., March 27, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The Kid LAROI is back on the road with his first ever college tour, performing with special guest Jeremy Zucker. The performance will include newly released songs from the upcoming projects, as well as past hits.
Cirque FLIP Fabrique's "Muse"— 7:30 p.m., March 28, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Contemporary circus ensemble FLIP Fabrique will give a performance that sees its athletes playing with gender-specific expectations and tackling stereotypes. Art students can register for an opportunity to sketch performers during their practice starting at 6 p.m.
Lectures
Beekeeping Around the World: "Australia" — 4-5 p.m., March 23, webinar. Webinar participants can learn why beekeeping is a popular and profitable venture around the world. This is part of a seven-week series of webinars offered by Penn State Extension. Free.
Penn State Forum Speaker Series: Sabaah Folayan — 11:30 a.m., March 23, President's Hall, Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, University Park campus. Sabaah Folayan, award-winning film director of the documentary "Whose Streets?", will present "The Art of Alignment: How knowing yourself and having the courage to change course can lead to personal fulfillment and professional success," as part of the Penn State Forum Speaker Series.
"The Third Reconstruction" lecture — 4 p.m., March 23, Hintz Family Alumni Center, University Park campus. Peniel E. Joseph, the Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values, founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, and associate dean for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, will present a lecture on his most recent book, "The Third Reconstruction."
“Sufficiency: A Brief History of Data Reduction" — 4-5 p.m., March 23, Berg Auditorium, 100 Huck Life Sciences Building and via Zoom, University Park campus. Verne M. Willaman Professor of Statistics Bing Li will discuss ways to simplify and summarize data without losing important information. Free.
Expanding Empathy Series: "Empathy For Animals" — 11 a.m.-1 p.m., March 24, via Zoom. Kristin Andrews, York research chair in animal minds and professor of psychology, and Kristof Dhont, reader in psychology at the University of Kent, will discuss the recognition of animals as cultural beings, and the psychological distance between them and humans. Free.
“Child Health as Human Capital" — 2 p.m., March 24, HUB Flex Theatre and via Zoom, University Park campus. Janet Currie, Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, will speak on the key role of public programs in supporting longer-term, human capital development as this year’s M.E. John Memorial Lecture speaker. Registration is required.
“Global Transparency: Managing Risk in a Ubiquitously Sensed World" — 11 a.m., March 27, Lewis Katz Building, University Park campus. Robert Cardillo, former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and current chairman of the board at Planet Federal, will discuss the ubiquity of data and sensors in the modern world.
“Spiders on Mars, Europa and in the Laboratory: Insights for Icy Planetary Surface Processes through Analog Experiments" — 4 p.m., March 27, 112 Walker Building and via Zoom, University Park campus. Lauren McKeown, postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will present as part of the EarthTalks series.
"A Short History of Feminist Utopia (Does It Exist?)" — 12-1 p.m., March 28, via Zoom. Laura A. Wagner-Lawlor, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies will talk about how feminism drove utopian imaginings of how women’s lives could be otherwise. Free.
"Our American Family" Screening — 7 p.m., March 28, 112 Woodland Building, Penn State Abington. Penn State Abington will host a screening of "Our American Family," a documentary that examines the searing impact of generational addiction on a Philadelphia family, followed by a panel discussion on addiction. Free.
“Can a Smart Device Help You Improve Your Health? Precision Behavioral Interventions to Improve Health Behaviors” — 3:30 p.m., March 29, Edna Bennett Pierce Living Center and via Zoom, University Park campus. David E. Conroy, professor of kinesiology, human development and family studies and public health sciences, will present a lecture on how delivering information through smart devices can encourage healthy behaviors. Free.
Beekeeping Around the World: "China" — 12-1 p.m., March 30, webinar. Webinar participants can learn why beekeeping is a popular and profitable venture around the world. This is part of a seven-week series of webinars offered by Penn State Extension. Free.
Events
Women's History Month — Through March, various campuses. Penn State celebrates Women's History Month with a variety of events. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Elements: The Taste of Earth, Fire, and Water — March 23, Café Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Penn State Startup Week — Through March 24, various campuses. The annual University-wide event brings some of the leading minds in entrepreneurship and innovation to Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth. Events include entrepreneurial workshops; networking events; student pitch competitions; and presentations from startup founders and corporate innovators, including many Penn State alumni. Free.
2023 Graduate Exhibition — Through March 24, University Park campus and online. The Graduate Exhibition is a showcase of research and creative scholarship across the University and features graduate students from dozens of degree programs exhibiting research posters, visual arts, musical performances, design projects and videos. Free.
Children's Dance Workshops — 4:30-5:30 p.m., through April 3, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Penn State Altoona will host a six-week series of children’s dance workshops suitable for children ages 4 to 8. No prior dance experience is required or expected.
"Destination Unknown: Mapping Career Pathways in the 21st Century" — 12:15 p.m., March 23, Edith Davis Eve Chapel, Penn State Altoona. Three speakers will offer professional expertise from different academic disciplines and answer questions from students. Free.
Adrain Matejka poetry reading — 6 p.m., March 23, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Award-winning poet and Poetry magazine editor Adrian Matejka will give a public reading during his visit to Penn State as this year's Fisher Family Writer-in-Residence. Free.
“From Key West to Penn State — the Journey of the Toby and Betty Bruce Collection of Ernest Hemingway” — 12-1 p.m., March 28, via Zoom. Penn State University Libraries will host a virtual Library Discovery Hour focusing on the recently acquired Toby and Betty Bruce Collection of Ernest Hemingway.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: A Walk Through Palermo: Bright Lights and Bright Flavors — March 30, Café Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Palmer Museum Art After Hours: Experimenting With Art + Data — 5-8 p.m., March 30, Palmer Museum of Art, University Campus. An installation by the SciArt Group from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and entries to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s Materials Visualization Competition will highlight interdisciplinary collaboration and the art of data visualization.
Virtual exhibits
"Penn State Women's Athletics and Title IX: The Success and Struggles for Equal Access" — Through May. This University Libraries exhibit focuses on the impact Title IX legislation has had on Penn State women student-athletes. Free.
"African Brilliance and the Purpose of Art" — This interactive virtual tour accompanied the Palmer Museum of Art’s spring 2020 special exhibition "African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting" and will remain available throughout the current academic year. Explore the exhibition installation, images of selected works, videos for guided viewing and related art-making activity suggestions. Free.
"Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights and Lived Experiences at Penn State" — The University Libraries virtual exhibit explores the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community. Free.
"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations" — This web-based, interactive program from the Palmer Museum of Art features guided video tours of selected exhibition artists in addition to an introductory overview by the curator. Learn about the “Global Asias” concept of personal and cultural identity in a contemporary world. Artists featured include: Jacob Hashimoto, Dinh Q. Lê, Hung Liu, Takashi Murakami, Roger Shimomura, Do Ho Suh and Rirkrit Tiranvanija. Free.
"Pandemic Spaces (1918 Edition)" — The University Libraries' virtual display explores architecture related to the devastating influenza epidemic of 1918. Free.
"Who Am I? Art and Identity" — This self-directed, interactive, online tour features a selection of objects from diverse areas of the Palmer Museum of Art’s collection, related through a common exploration of personal or cultural identity. Free.
"Women in Art: Activism + Resistance" — This self-directed, interactive, Palmer Museum of Art online tour is intended for college-level courses and features a selection of objects by female artists in the museum’s collection. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this tour highlights artists working in a variety of mediums during the 20th and 21st centuries who have contributed to political, social and cultural change. Free.
"The World According to Doyle: Editorial Cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers at Penn State" — This Penn State University Libraries digital exhibition examines Jerry Doyle, one of the preeminent editorial cartoonists of the 20th century. Free.
In-person exhibits
"State of Mine" — March 23-April 2, McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. Works by visual art studies senior Meghann Mignogna derived from her personal experience with mental health. Free.
"Good Night, Sleep Tight" — March 23-April 2, Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Work by visual art studies senior Jordan Alwine featuring dreams presented in a colorful and detailed style reminiscent of storytelling. Free.
"Hard Candy Tectonics" — Through May 14, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Building, University Park campus. Works by Gracelee Lawrence showcase glimmering and seductive surfaces blending into sensual volumes in space that together form the plastic sublime that are Lawrence's sculptures. Free.
"Happy Landscapes: Wellbeing by Design" — Through May, Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. Work by Peruvian architect Coco Alarcon reflects how landscapes can address happiness, mental health and well-being. Free.
"Sticky Mirror" — Through May 30, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Building, University Park campus. An exhibition of artist Sarah Sutton's work that imagine in-between space, scalar fluidity, and what the artist calls psychic spaces, where the private and public realm collapse. Free.
"Between the Lines: Global Histories of the Book" — Through Aug. 28, Special Collections Exhibition gallery, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. Students in HIST 255N: History of the Book share insights and books through this exhibition about the forms and functions of books. Free.
"Zombie Ant Experience" — Through August, Perkins Student Center, Penn State Berks. This interactive art installation also serves as a teaching tool to illustrate spore trajectories and how ants are transformed into "zombies." Free.
"Evan Pugh: Student to Scientist" — Through October, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, Deike Building, University Park campus. The exhibit explores two distinct stages in the life of Evan Pugh, Penn State's first president. Free.
Gall wasps exhibit — Through October, Frost Entomological Museum, University Park campus. This new exhibit is aimed at cultivating awareness about gall wasps and showcasing their beauty and diversity. Free.
"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.