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
"Urinetown" — Feb. 20-March 1, Playhouse Theatre, Theatre Building, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents "Urinetown," a musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theater itself. "Urinetown" imagines a world where a terrible water shortage gives rise to a draconian system that outlaws private toilets and forces citizens to urinate only in paid-use public amenities.
"Johnny Cash - The Official Concert Experience — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 20, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. A multimedia event with throwback video of the artist from episodes of “The Johnny Cash Show” projected on a screen above the stage, a live band and singers will accompany Cash in perfect sync.
Events
THON — Feb. 16-18, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. More than 700 students from Penn State campuses will stay on their feet for 46 consecutive hours to raise money to fund pediatric cancer research and to support pediatric cancer patients and their families. Free.
Black History Month — Various locations, through February. Penn State campuses across the commonwealth will be holding events in honor of Black History Month. Here’s a look at some of the events and opportunities taking place at the University’s campuses during the month of February.
24th annual African American Read-In — Feb. 18-19, Altoona campus. The theme of this year's African American Read-In, “Black Ecologies,” celebrates environmental writing by Black authors who examine the human relationship with the more-than-human world. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner - Caribbean Castaways: Get Lost in the Tropics — Feb. 21, 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.
Café Laura Theme Dinner - Country Roads, Take Me Home: A Taste of the Music City — Feb. 22, 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.
Matthew Salesses reading — 6 p.m., Feb. 22, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Award-winning author Matthew Salesses will offer a reading as part of this year’s Mary E. Rolling Reading Series. Free.
Lectures
"Sexual Selection and the Differences between the Sexes in Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx)” — 3 p.m., Feb. 15, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Joanna “Jo” Setchell, professor of anthropology at Durham University in England, will deliver a lecture as part of this year’s annual Darwin Day celebration. Setchell is a noted anthropologist and primatologist whose research focuses on primate conservation and sexual selection among mandrills — research that has taken her to Cameroon, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Borneo.
"Finding the good news on climate and energy" — 11 a.m., Feb. 17, 100 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Richard Alley, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences and associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, will give this lecture as part of the Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures in the Eberly College of Science. Alley will be joined by Charlie Anderson, professor of biology and chair of the Eberly College of Science Sustainability Council, who will share information about the council and its work in the college. Free.
Penn State Forum Speaker Series — Noon, Feb. 21, Penn Stater Conference Center, University Park campus. Lori Helpner, 2023-24 Penn State Laureate and professor of arts at Penn State Greater Allegheny, will present "Making the Invisible Visible" as part of the Penn State Forum Speaker Series.
"Stories from the Field" — 1 p.m., Feb. 21, Zoom. Krista Schneider, a technical adviser for the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program, who previously served as the founding executive director of the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, where she was responsible for the strategic planning, fundraising and implementation of targeted revitalization initiatives, will share stories about the process and challenges of doing community and economic development work in a dramatically changing and diversifying small city. Free. Registration required.
“Estimating Bandgap Energy of Nanoarchitectured Nonconforming Heterostructures for Solar Cell Application” — 12:05 p.m., Feb. 22, Fireside Lounge, Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. The Spotlight on Teaching and Research (STAR) lecture series continues with a presentation by Professor of Physics Kofi Adu and mathematics student Philip Chamberlin.
In-person exhibits
“In Vulnerability” — Through March 3, Woskob Family Gallery, University Park campus. Curated by project ieerie, “In Vulnerability” invites audiences to engage with the intricacies of creative expressions within the realm of mental health through works by Peri Law, Kate McCammon and Meg Wolensky.
“Animating Autotheory: Personal Essay Films” — Feb. 15-March 21, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Featuring work by Emerging Artist John Summerson.
"Under Pressure" — Feb. 15 through August, Woskob Family Gallery, Downtown State College. A participatory experimental art installation featuring the work of Ryan Kough, a neurodivergent artist, experimental letterpress printmaker and design educator who focuses on participatory community-driven social design initiatives.
“Magnificare” — Through Feb. 22, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries present "Magnificare," an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Marguerita Hagan.
Student art exhibit — Through March 29, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. The exhibit features artwork by independent students and students who were enrolled in diverse Penn State Wilkes-Barre courses.
"'Where Beauty’s At': Expressions of Black Visual Culture" — Through Sept. 9, Special Collections exhibit space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. Brittany Frederick, a postdoctoral scholar with the Africana Research Center, and Adisa Vera Beatty, a Just Transformations Postdoctoral Fellow with the Center for Black Digital Research, have curated an exhibit highlighting the diversity of Black artistic and literary expression in partnership with Penn State University Libraries’ Eberly Family Special Collections Library.
"Something About the Sky" — Through April 27, Ronald K. DeLong gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. A series of cloud drawing and skyscape light paintings featuring movement drawings created by Lori Hepner, 2023-24 Penn State Laureate. Hepner will also be visiting the Lehigh Valley campus for two days in February.
"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.
Virtual exhibits
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view online.
Current virtual exhibitions include an exploration of the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community; a virtual exhibition of design, craft and makery; and a variety of abstract images that push the boundaries of photography as a medium.