UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Museum Consortium will hold its fall 2024 "Night at the Museums" on Thursday, Sept. 12. Participating museums and galleries on the University Park campus will be open extended hours from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
This is a chance for students, staff, faculty and the community to visit a variety of unique and interesting museums across campus. Students can pick up a passport at any location, get it stamped to verify the visit and then submit to be eligible to win a prize.
“This event is designed to bring people to visit the museums,” said Patti Wood Finkle, curator for the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery. “Staying open until 8 p.m. provides an opportunity for people who may not be able to visit during the day.”
During ‘Night at the Museums,’ visitors will have a chance to visit the Palmer Museum of Art’s new facility, located within The Arboretum at Penn State. The museum moved from its previous 52-year home on Curtin Road. In celebration of the opening of the new Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State on June 1-2, the museum organized a major inaugural special exhibition, "MADE IN PA." The show signals the museum’s revisioning of its mission, vision and values grounded in Penn State’s land-grant mission of educating students from around the world and supporting individuals and communities across the commonwealth and beyond.
Visitors will be able to visit the Pennsylvania Agricultural College (PAC) Herbarium and see the collection that spans almost two centuries, from the oldest specimen collected in 1830 up to the present day. Established in 1859 with 3,000 specimens donated by Penn State’s first president, Evan Pugh, the collection has since grown to more than 100,000 items.
Visitors also can visit the Frost Entomological Museum to explore the diversity of insects and how they impact our lives by viewing exhibits to learn about the biological invasion of spotted lanternfly, honeybee biology and beekeeping, insect pollinators, and many more.
The Armsby Respiration Calorimeter Museum also will be open, allowing visitors to see the historic calorimeter that was used to monitor an animal's metabolism to determine the net energy value of animal food. It attracted worldwide scientific interest and helped to develop feeds of higher nutritive value. In 1904, the design of the Calorimeter Building won a grand prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
Visitors can see inspiring art in the HUB-Robeson Art Alley, view beautiful crystals, fascinating fossils and artwork from the Steidle Collection of American Industrial Art in the EMS Museum & Art Gallery, and stroll the pathways of the Arboretum at Penn State.
Participating museums include the Arboretum at Penn State, Armsby Respiration Calorimeter Museum, EMS Museum & Art Gallery, Frost Entomological Museum, HUB-Robeson Art Alley, Palmer Museum of Art and Pennsylvania Agricultural College (PAC) Herbarium.
“Fall is a perfect time to explore campus,” Finkle said. “Bring a friend or two and join us for a fun ‘Night at the Museums.’”