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
"Bach's Lunch" — 12:10 p.m., Feb. 16, Eisenhower Chapel, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. Voice students in the School of Music's lyric diction class will present a program focusing on English and Italian diction skills developed in class. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly Thursday afternoon concert series during the school year, jointly sponsored by the School of Music and the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development. Free.
"The Four Phantoms In Concert" — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 19, the Pullo Center, Penn State York. An extravagant celebration of the iconic music of Broadway and more, "The Four Phantoms In Concert" brings together four Phantoms from the Tony Award-winning "The Phantom of the Opera" for an unforgettable night of entertainment.
"A Standing Witness" — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 21, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. A song-cycle set to poetry, the performance is a collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, sung by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and accompanied by Music from Copland House.
"Everybody" — Through Feb. 25, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents a comic and satirical journey examining mortality and humanity.
Cameron Barnett — 12:15 p.m., Feb. 16, Titelman Study, Misciagna Family Center for the Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. Cameron Barnett, author of “The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water” and winner of the 2017 Rising Writer Contest, performs poetry exploring the complexity of race and the body for Black people in today’s America.
Lectures
Ashketar Frontiers of Science Lectures: "The Role of Statistical Data Privacy in Support of Open Science and Public Policy" — 11 a.m., Feb. 18, 100 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Aleksandra Slavkovic, associate dean for graduate education and professor of statistics in the Eberly College of Science, will give an overview of challenges associated with protecting confidential data. Free.
EarthTalks: "Preparing for the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return" — 4 p.m. Feb. 20, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus, and online. Katherine Freeman, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, will discuss the upcoming culmination of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's six-year mission to deliver samples collected from asteroid Bennu back to Earth. Free.
Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Nic Stone — 5:30 p.m., Feb. 20, Slep Student Center, Penn State Altoona. Nic Stone, an American author of young adult and middle-grade fiction, is best known for her debut novel "Dear Martin" and her middle-grade debut "Clean Getaway." Free.
Darwin Day Lecture with "Burn" author Herman Pontzer — 4:30 p.m., Feb. 22, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Penn State alumnus Herman Pontzer, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, will present "Healthy as a Hunter-Gatherer: Evolutionary Perspectives on Exercise, Diet, and Metabolism" as part of this year's annual Darwin Day celebration. Ponzer's book, "Burn," provides new insights on how humans burn calories, stay healthy and lose weight. Free.
John R. Bracken Lecture: "Underground Landscapes" — 6 p.m., Feb. 22, Stuckeman Family Building Jury Space, University Park campus and online. Kristina Hill, associate professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley, will present landscapes as three-dimensional volumes in relation to coastal flooding and the underground infrastructure systems that support cities in a talk titled "Underground Landscapes." Free.
Forum Speaker Series: Velvet Brown — 11:30 a.m., Feb. 23, Presidents Hall, Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, University Park campus. Velvet Brown, David P. Stone Chair and associate director for equity, diversity and inclusion in the School of Music, and the Penn State Laureate for 2022-23, will present "Look Up and Expand Your Reach" as part of the Forum Speaker Series luncheon.
"Constructions of Courage during COVID and the Spanish Flu" — 12:05 p.m., Feb. 23, Slep Student Center, Penn State Altoona. Professor Amir Marvasti and student Travis Saylor will present as part of the Spotlight on Teaching and Research series. Free.
"Diversity in STEAM from a Real-Life Guardian of the Galaxy" — 5 p.m., Feb. 23, Berg Auditorium, 100 Huck Life Sciences Building, University Park campus. Moogega Cooper, trailblazing engineer of the famed Mars rover Perseverance mission for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will present this Black History Month keynote lecture. Free.
Mary E. Rolling Reading Series: Krista Eastman — 6 p.m., Feb. 23, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Nonfiction writer and Penn State alumna Krista Eastman will read from her works. Eastman is the author of "The Painted Forest," which was named one of the best literary nonfiction debuts of 2019 by Poets & Writers magazine. Free.
Richard B. Lippin Lecture in Ethics: Margaret Burnham — 6 p.m., Feb. 23, Flex Theatre, HUB-Robeson Center. Margaret Burnham, one of the titans of the civil rights movement, will discuss her new book, "By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners," a paradigm-shifting investigation of Jim Crow-era violence, the legal apparatus that sustained it and its enduring legacy. Free.
Events
Black History Month — Through February, various campuses. Penn State celebrates Black History Month with a variety of events. Free.
Blind Date with a Book — Through February, Franklin Atrium, Pattee Library, University Park campus. Fiction and nonfiction books in a variety of genres will be available for patrons to check out for a reading date. Free.
"Six Triple Eight" film screening — 6 p.m., Feb. 16, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. In celebration of Black History Month, Penn State's Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness is sponsoring a showing of "Six Triple Eight," a documentary that honors the service of the 6888th Postal Battalion during World War II. The battalion was an 855-member, all-Black, all-female unit that served in England and France with the mission of clearing a two-year backlog of over 17 million pieces of mail. Free.
African American Read-In Events — Feb. 19-20, Penn State Altoona. Events include a community dinner, the Monday Marathon and keynote addresses by Tiffany M. Nyachae and Nic Stone. Free.
THON — Feb. 17-19, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Penn State students will take part in a 46-hour dance marathon aiding families affected by childhood cancer. The event aims to provide emotional and financial support, along with benefitting research efforts. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Nostalgia: Your Favorite Childhood Foods Reimagined — 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.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: A Walk through Palermo: Bright Lights and Bright Flavors — Feb. 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.
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
"Dreams | AYDO" — Through March 5, HUB Gallery, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. AYDO re-imagines Korean folklore and precolonial spiritual practices to reflect personal and Asian American perspectives. Free.
"35 Years of Drawings by Dan Willis and His Students" — Through March 8, Willard G. Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. The exhibit features the work of Dan Willis, interim department head and professor of architecture, and his former students. Drawings and models spanning decades, including pieces from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, will be showcased. Free.
"Apophenia" — Feb. 16 through March 16, Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. Works by Associate Teaching Professor Susan Marie Brundage explore "the magical in the mundane." Free.
"Carpe Noctem" — Feb. 16 through March 16, McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. Works by Emerging Artist-in-Residence Maddie Quinn explore her relationship with the people and places around her hometown. 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.
"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.