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
Steel Dragon Martial Arts & Lion Dance Studio — 7 p.m., Feb. 27, Hiller Student Union, DuBois campus. Steel Dragon, a martial arts and lion dance studio in Lawrenceville’s Ice House Studios, will visit Penn State DuBois for a free show open to the public.
“The Miller’s Daughter” – Through March 1, Multiple locations, University Park campus. The Opera Theatre program will present a captivating series of performances and discussions centered on Franz Schubert’s beloved song cycle, "Die schöne Müllerin," and its innovative operatic reimagining, "The Miller’s Daughter" by Jodi Goble.
U.S. Naval Academy Band Superintendent's Combo – 3 p.m., March 1, Pullo Center, York campus. The Superintendent’s Combo is the United States Naval Academy Band’s jazz combo designated to support the many events hosted by the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. The group regularly performs for local military officials and visiting dignitaries from around the globe at the Superintendent’s residence – Farragut House – and around the Naval Academy, and will visit Penn State York for a performance. Free.
Rhapsody Series: "A Chamber Music Odyssey" — 4 p.m., March 2, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. Naomi Seidman (flute), Andreas Oeste (oboe), Tim Deighton (viola), Patricia Weitzel (bass) and Melody Quah (piano) present a journey through compositions blending tradition with innovation, featuring works by Charles Loeffler, Andres Martin, and Erwin Schulhoff.
Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra – 7:30 p.m., March 3, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The orchestra, under the direction of Gerardo Edelstein, will present a concert featuring works by Wagner, Stravinsky, Paganini and Debussy, with performances by concerto competition winners Robert Schiff and Mandi Bearjar.
Mardi Gras Concert – 7:30 p.m., March 5, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. The Penn State School of Music invites audiences to an evening of jazz at its annual Mardi Gras Concert.
Concert and Symphonic Bands – 7:30 p.m., March 6, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Join the Penn State School of Music for an evening of wind band music showcasing contemporary and classic works.
"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" — Through March 7, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Follow a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, as he begins a meteoric rise from the mail room to Vice President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Directed and choreographed by Christopher Campbell, music directed by Joseph Ivan.
Events
Art After Hours: New Year, New You – 5-8 p.m., Feb. 27, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Join staff from the Palmer, Arboretum, and Herbarium to connect art and flora and fauna, art-making activities inspired by botanicals, a self-guided tour linking plants with collection objects, and more. Light refreshments will be provided.
Slam Poetry with Brandon Leake – 9-11 p.m., Feb. 27, Mukund S. Kulkarni Student Enrichment Center, Harrisburg campus. Educator and poet Brandon Leake will be celebrity host at the Open Mic Jam and Poetry Slam, featuring student talents and a closing performance by Leake as part of an artist residency at the campus. Students can sign up to attend the event for free, and limited free tickets are available to the community to reserve.
Civil Rights Forum – 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Feb. 28, Greg Sutliff Auditorium, Lewis Katz Building, University Park campus. Coinciding with the close of Black History Month, the Penn State School of International Affairs Black Student Association (SIABSA) is hosting a Civil Rights Forum to boost awareness, dialogue and advocacy around civil rights issues. The forum will feature two distinguished keynote speakers: Isaac Newton Farris Jr., the nephew of Martin Luther King Jr. and senior fellow of the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia; and Babs Babatunde Onabanjo, president of the A.D. King Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes youth empowerment and nonviolent social change.
Drop-in Tour: The American Landscape – 2 p.m., March 1, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Drop in and discover the Palmer’s world-class collections and exhibitions with a friendly and knowledgeable museum guide.
Stompers painting workshop - 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., March 3, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The public is invited to help paint and decorate the shoe-sole-sized outer panels that will constitute "Consuelo," a future fixture in the Eisenhower Auditorium, in a free Stompers Project Public Workshop. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Golf & Gourmet - Southern Elegance on the Fairway — March 4, 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.
Yoga + Mindfulness at the Palmer — 12-1 p.m., March 5, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Join Latisha Franklin for a free yoga class at the Palmer. All bodies are welcome, no experience is necessary.
Penn State Sustainability Intersections Films — 7 p.m., March 5, via Zoom. Penn State Sustainability’s “Intersections” film program will host an online film screening focused on efforts to allow historically underserved groups to gain more access to the outdoors and nature-based pursuits. The online screening includes two short films: “Resistance Climbing,” about a group of Palestinians who create a makeshift climbing gym and learn to rock climb, and “Ascend,” about a group of Afghani young women who learn climbing in defiance of the Taliban and flee to the U.S. for the freedom to continue their education and to continue to climb. Free.
Bike Den Women and Queer Night — 6:15-8:15 p.m., March 6, the Bike Den, University Park campus. Open to Penn State students, faculty and staff as well as local community members, attendees can work on their bikes, enjoy free pizza, talk to Bike Den staff and volunteers and learn more about biking at Penn State and the surrounding area.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Hell’s Kitchen: Bringing the Heat to Happy Valley — March 6, 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.
Creative Studio at the Palmer: A Nouveau Day for Sketching — 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 6, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Get creative and take time to relax and rejuvenate through art-making processes. Hosted by museum educators, interns, or guest artists, these sessions will focus on the practice of creativity, exploring artistic mediums, and making personal connections rather than on final products. Free.
Lectures
Kelly McMasters — 6 p.m., Feb. 27, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Critically-acclaimed writer Kelly McMasters will give a public reading as part of her term as the Fisher Family Writer-in-Residence. Free.
Gallery Talk: “The Triumph of Nature” – 6 p.m., Feb. 27, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Enjoy an in-depth engagement on special exhibition “The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art” with Patrick McGrady, Charles V. Hallman Senior Curator.
Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lecture: Jun Zhu — 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., March 1, 100 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Jun Zhu, professor of physics, will present a talk titled “Building a quantum information highway network with topological edge states” as part of the 2025 Eberly College of Science Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures series. Free.
Stuckeman School Research Symposium: "Biophilia: Designing for Animals" — March 2-3, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Stuckeman School will host a research symposium centered on the place of animals in design, featuring keynote speakers Doug Tallamy, T. A. Baker professor of agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and Nina-Marie Lister, professor and graduate director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“Museums as partners in broader impact activities” — 4 p.m., March 3, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus and via Zoom. Chris Widga, director or the Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Museum & Art Gallery and research professor of geosciences, will explore broader impacts in the contexts of museums, from traditional museum exhibits to informal science programs and online resources with "long" tails of engagement. Widga will discuss museums' potential to excite and awe, as well as provide access to science, history and art that are important to community cohesiveness and inclusion.
Oweida Lecture in Journalism Ethics: Don Hudson — 6 p.m., March 4, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Don Hudson, an award-winning and barrier-breaking journalist who spent 43 years in the media industry, will offer tips on how to avoid ethical dilemmas in journalism in a talk and question and answer session. Hudson, who worked for several media companies — including Cox, Gannett and Tribune — during his career, also will offer insight into where the industry stands and where it’s headed during one of the most challenging times in history.
“Making the invisible visible: The impact of revealing indoor air pollution on behavior and welfare” — 12 p.m., March 5, 515 Welch Building, University Park campus. Sefi Roth, associate professor of environmental economics in the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, will speak on the influence of indoor air pollution on human life. Roth's work has covered ambient air pollution in the home, particularly as it relates to income level.
Gallery Talk: "Profiles of Vulnerability and Protection" — 4 p.m., March 6, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Enjoy an in-depth engagement on special exhibition "Profiles of Vulnerability and Protection" with the theme “Vulnerable Labor and Protection” with Professor Karen Keifer-Boyd.
Guest Artist Masterclass: Meghan Bennett, Flute — 1:30 p.m., March 7, Esber Rehearsal Hall, University Park campus. Meghan Bennett serves as music assistant professor and director of woodwind Studies at New York University and on the flute faculty of the Music Advancement Program at The Juilliard School. She will give a free masterclass at Penn State March 7.
In-person exhibits
Pop-Up Exhibit: “El tiempo pasa y nada cambia” (“Time passes and nothing changes”) — Feb. 27-28, Robert E. Eiche Library, Altoona campus. The exhibit by Panamanian artist Giana De Dier honors the lives of Afro-Caribbean women who supported their families and communities during the construction of the Panama Canal.
"A Conversation with the World" — Through Feb. 28, Woskob Family Gallery, Downtown State College. “A Conversation with the World,” an acclaimed exhibition of multimedia art by School of Visual Arts faculty member Lonnie Graham, is an exploration of human commonality that transcends cultural boundaries through portrait photography and recorded dialogue.
"SULA Chapter 2: a coming of age exploration of Black girlhood & Community" — Through March 1, 210 Patterson Building, University Park campus. Artist Kennedy Rene Ferguson builds an exhbition drawing its title and inspiration from Toni Morrison’s novel, "Sula," which explores the enduring friendship between two Black women from childhood to adulthood. The exhibition delves into the often-overlooked narratives of Black girlhood and community, offering a deeply personal perspective that will spark deep reflection and dialogue.
"Reunion" — Through March 4, HUB Gallery and Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The exhibit by New Mexico-based contemporary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger is an immersive, multi-disciplinary exhibition featuring sculpture, regalia and digital media. The selection of works presented in this iteration makes up a spectrum of possibilities and sheds light on historical truths to tell a narrative of complexity in the act of survival.
"Visionary Visuals Re:Vamped” — Through March 6, Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. The Stuckeman School will host exhibition looking at the future through the lens of a changing, modern architecture landscape, organized by Orsolya Gáspár, assistant professor of architecture, and Luisa Caldas, professor of architecture and director of the XR Lab at the University of California, Berkeley College of Environmental Design. Free.
"DVAL Presents" — Through March 14, Henry Art Gallery, Great Valley campus. The exhibit showcases the unfiltered imagination of the Delaware Valley Art League, an association of professional artists that promotes interest in the fine arts within the community and advances the skill and creativity of its membership.
"Reclamation: From Coal Dust to Hope" — March 4-29, the Art Space, Schuylkill campus. Artist Robert McCormick's exhibition, "Reclamation: From Coal Dust to Hope," showcases paintings which reflect the landscapes, culture, and history of the Anthracite Region, capturing the evolution of the communities shaped by coal mining. From memories of his childhood in Big Mine Run — a historic Schuylkill County "Patchtown" — to the rural farmlands he now calls home, McCormick’s Modern Primitive paintings bring together acrylic, oil, watercolor, found materials, and collage to depict both real and imagined landscapes.
"How Else Can I Tell You" — Through April 3, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for the Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Through layers of uncanny visual metaphors, sensory symbols, and fragments of known things, Sophie Brenneman, assistant teaching professor of visual art studies at Penn State Altoona, creates a body of work that stems from the ache associated with the inability to articulate an idea beyond language; an attempt to try and show the feeling of time, trauma, nostalgia and other abstract ideas.
"Every Day Prey" — Through April 3, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for the Performing Arts, Altoona campus. As an Appalachian artist, Taylor Pate draws inspiration from the landscapes and cultural traditions of her homeland, weaving together the natural world and the narratives of human experience. Viewing nature as both subject and collaborator, she explores cycles of transformation — shedding, renewal, and growth — mirroring the painful yet wondrous evolution of womanhood and girlhood.
"Defining the New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance a Century Later” — Through April 7, Pattee Library, University Park campus. Drawing upon the distinctive collections of Penn State University Libraries, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the works of featured Black authors and artists and their efforts to redefine Black identity, life and culture.
"The Global Majority" — Through April 13, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition brings together a selection of photographs and contemporary works on paper to explore representation and the role it plays in fostering a sense of belonging, especially among communities that have been historically disempowered and excluded from museums, asking visitors to think about what it means to feel seen, to be pictured, or to have power over your own image.
"Profiles of Vulnerability and Protection" — Through April 20, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition considers how perceived vulnerabilities — shaped by gender, racial, economic, and other inequities — can become strengths that spark action and collective movement to change the course of injustice toward safe, peaceful and joyous living.
"A Fly on the Wall, A Story Untold: Objects Imbued with the Human Soul" — Through April 26, Ronald K. De Long Gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. The soulful, down-home spirit of American folk art will be on display, featuring pieces from the private collection of Vincent DiCicco, a passionate collector of Americana and American Folk Art. The items featured portray the likeness of people in paintings, photographs and objects that were used in human interaction.
"The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art" — Through May 11, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Drawn from the rich holdings of the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Walter P. and Jean Chrysler collection, this exhibit showcases more than 120 glittering Art Nouveau objects — including furniture, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, posters, Japanese prints, lamps, jewelry and glass — that introduce the exuberant, radical, international Art Nouveau style and its celebration of beauty, nature and innovation.
"Capacities of Care" — Through June 1, HUB Gallery and Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. “Capacities of Care,” a group exhibition curated by Aaron Knochel, associate professor of art education in Penn State’s School of Visual Arts, is a concept framework to understand and explore how care relationships manifest in our lives in distinct and interconnected ways.
“Biomachine” — Through Spring 2025, Hite Lobby, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A collaboration between Daryl Branford and Talley Fisher of Huck SciArts offers a glimpse into the microscopic world of viruses and is a reaction to how humanity must learn to coexist with them.
"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.
“Give us also the right to our existence: Collecting and Surfacing Queer Narratives” — Through Sept. 12, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, University Park campus. Gathering together a selection of materials that illustrate the varied formats and expansive time periods of queer history, “Give us also the right to our existence: Collecting and Surfacing Queer Narratives” explores the many facets of gender and sexuality. The exhibition — inspired by the Penn State motto “We Are” — provides context for how we collect, describe and represent our shared humanity in the library. 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.