What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — open to the University and local community:
Performances
SIX – Multiple performances through Nov. 20, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 500 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of twenty-first century girl power in an award-winning musical production.
Bach's Lunch – 12:10-12:45 p.m., Nov. 20, Eisenhower Chapel, University Park campus. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly concert series during the school year. These popular concerts are brief in order to make it possible for the University community to attend during the lunch hour. Free.
"Global Sounds: Music from Around the World" — 7 p.m., Nov. 20, Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre, Harrisburg campus. Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Humanities will present its fall concert, featuring the campus choir and concert band performing an eclectic mix of musical selections from across the globe. Free.
"Antigone" — Multiple performances through Nov. 21, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage, in the College of Arts and Architecture, presents Sophocles' "Antigone."
Get the LED Out – 7:30 p.m., Nov. 21, Pullo Center, York campus. Get the Led Out is a group of professional musicians who are passionate about their love of the music of Led Zeppelin. The group will visit Penn State York to bring the recordings of “The Mighty Zep” to life on the big concert stage.
Tauren Wells – 7:30 p.m., Nov. 23, Pullo Center, York campus. Award-winning recording artist, book author and faith leader Tauren Wells will visit the Pullo Center to offer a performance featuring a blend of gospel, pop, hip-hop and R&B.
Autumn Sunday Art Cider and Cookie Social – 5 p.m., Nov. 16, Titelman Study, Misciagna Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Musician Alyssa Malvoisin and stand-up comic Ridge Hershberger will perform during this cabaret-style event. Free.
Events
Palmer Art Kids: Art in Bloom – Noon-1 p.m., Nov. 20, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Preschool children and caregivers can discover fascinating works of art inspired by the natural world, listen to stories, and create crafts inspired by the museum’s collections. Through sensory rich experiences, young learners can deepen their connection to the world around them while expressing themselves through art. This program is designed for preschool children ages 3-5 who have not yet started kindergarten, accompanied by an adult caregiver. Free.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Midnight in Manhattan - A Jazz Escape — Nov. 20, 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.
DIRTy Date Night with the Arboretum – 5:30-7:30 p.m., Nov. 20, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. In this hands-on workshop, you and your date will create earth-based pigments using soil, clay, and other natural materials and get a tour of an art exhibition. Perfect for creative couples who aren’t afraid to play in the dirt. Registration and fee required.
Eberly College of Science Exhibition Tour – 3-5 p.m., Nov. 21, Osmond Lab and Millennium Science Complex, University Park campus. The Eberly College of Science and Materials Research Institute will showcase very early, groundbreaking technology used by Erwin W. Müller to see the atom for the first time, as well as modern versions of the equipment at the Materials Characterization Lab.
Drop-in Tour: The Price of Progress – 2 p.m., Nov. 23, 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.
"The Polar Express" and Pictures with Santa – 4 p.m., Nov. 29, Pullo Center, York campus. Enjoy a film screening of "The Polar Express" and kick off the holiday season with photos with Santa Claus. This event is presented in collaboration with Dreamwrights Center for Community Arts, whose creative team is helping to bring the holiday spirit to life onstage.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: A Night in Provence - French Country Elegance – Dec. 2, 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.
Art After Hours: Engineering Creativity – 5-8 p.m., Dec. 4, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Discover how art and engineering collide through creative, hands-on activities. Hear from students, staff, and faculty in the College of Engineering at the tabling and research poster showcase and participate in an interdisciplinary gallery conversation with faculty curators.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: A Taste of Magic - A Disney Dining Experience – Dec. 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.
Lectures
"Forestry in Penn’s Woods: Managing for Health and Resilience in a Changing Environment" – Noon, Nov. 21, via Zoom. Seth Cassell, Pennsylvania state forester and director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Bureau of Forestry, will talk about forestry actions and best practices in making Pennsylvania’s forests more resilient.
"The trust gap: Why communications, not code, will determine AI’s future" – 4 p.m., Dec. 1, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Penn State alumnus and Covestro senior artificial intelligence (AI) consultant Giancarlo Pitocco will deliver this year's Bronstein Lecture, with a focus on how trust, empathy and strategic communication are the missing ingredients in AI literacy initiatives.
“An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies – Part 1” – 7:30 p.m., Dec. 2, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Neil deGrasse Tyson — an engaging, articulate and passionate scientist and pop-culture communicator for the modern age — will return to the Eisenhower Auditorium stage to discuss Hollywood blockbusters such as “Star Wars,” “Frozen,” “Armageddon,” “Titanic” and “The Martian,” providing an enlightening review from a science-based perspective.
Gallery Talk: Structures, Systems, and Society – 6 p.m., Dec. 4, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Enjoy an interdisciplinary gallery conversation during Art After Hours with faculty and staff collaborators on the art and engineering Teaching Gallery exhibition
In-person exhibits
“Fused: Works in Encased Wax” – Through Nov. 20, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. A new solo exhibition by artist Terri Yacovelli, titled "Fused: Works in Encaustic Wax," examines themes of nature and spirituality through encaustic paintings created with vivid color, dramatic texture and luminosity. This ancient technique combines heated resin, beeswax and pigment applied in layers onto any porous surface.
"Body, Landscape, Myth" – Through Nov. 21, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A body of work by Ivyside Juried Exhibition winner Lauren Woods featuring paintings and videos that explore the relationship between physical experience and metaphysical awareness.
"Altered Ecology" – Through Nov. 21, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A body of work by Ivyside Juried Exhibition winner Kari Varner examining the traces of industry and human impact on the landscape, as well as the ecological and economic value of altered environments.
Anna Boothe: “Icons for Sagacity” – Through Nov. 30, Exhibition Cases, HUB-Robeson Gallery, University Park campus. Anna Boothe creates icons out of cast glass and found objects referring to the female form of facets of herself. Boothe initially hand-carves individual elements in wax or case directly from botanicals. After being transformed into glass, the parts are combined with other glass components. The technique results in translucent objects that glow from within.
“A Puncher’s Chance” – Through Dec. 5, Abington Art Gallery, Abington campus. In this exhibit, interdisciplinary artist James Maurelle explores the “puncher’s chance” — a term used when an underdog has the potential to win by landing a powerful blow. In an instant, the smallest opportunity shifts the scales, defying the insurmountable odds.
“A Study of Movement: The Fleet, Fierce and Feathered” – Through Dec. 5, Abington Art Gallery, Abington campus. Penn State Abington student Sophie Bell mimics stop-motion animation of animals in movement through a series of graphite animal drawings. The works aim to allow viewers to truly appreciate the individual characteristics and personalities of each creature depicted in the work.
“Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld” – Through Dec. 7, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The first two-person survey exhibition of these renowned artists, “Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld” explores their shared allegiances and sustaining friendship over three decades. The exhibition will unite some 25 sculptures and paintings by both artists along with related works on paper and a major new collaborative piece, offering an absorbing journey into the depths of the threatened natural world.
"Our House is on Fire" – Through Dec. 18, Henry Art Gallery, Great Valley campus. "Our House is on Fire" celebrates the power of art to inspire environmental action and advocate for a greener, healthier future. The five artists who contributed to this exhibit see a need to advocate for harnessing imagination, wealth and technology to make their communities and country greener and healthier places for everyone to live.
“Tradition Renewed” – Through Dec. 19, Art Space, Schuylkill campus. "Tradition Renewed" is an exhibition featuring works by artist Eric Armusik, his apprentices and select students from the Armusik Academy of Classical Art. Known for his masterful figurative paintings inspired by the Old Masters, Armusik’s work captures the drama and emotion of the human experience through a classical lens.
“Structures, Systems, and Society: Work at the Interface of Art and Engineering” – Through Dec. 21, 2025, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. A diverse selection of objects from the Palmer’s collection appear alongside works by Penn State makers to investigate three intersections between art and engineering. Structures explores the physical forms and frameworks that support innovation, blending function and aesthetics in design. Systems examines the interconnected processes behind artistic and technological creation, highlighting shared methods like visualization and iteration. Society focuses on the cultural and ethical impact of engineering, showing how art fosters empathy, equity and responsible innovation.
“Public Spaces / Private Lives” – Through Dec. 21, 2025, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. “Public Spaces/Private Lives” presents a selection of works on paper that explore how we live, navigate and express ourselves in both private and public settings. Spanning from the mid-1800s to the early 2000s, the exhibition includes scenes of homes, neighborhoods, rooftops, sidewalks, city streets, parks, eateries, public institutions and transit systems mostly set in the United States, with a few works depicting Ireland and France.
“Sounding the Abstract” – Through Jan. 2, 2026, Woksob Family Gallery, downtown State College. "Sounding the Abstract" is a multimedia installation created by Woohun Joo, assistant professor of digital arts and design in the Penn State School of Visual Arts. The installation explores the relationship between visual and auditory perception by creating ambient soundscapes that correspond to geometric artworks through a real-time "reading" of the images.
“Dispositions” – Through Jan. 2, 2026, Woksob Family Gallery, downtown State College. “Dispositions” is an exhibition of art installations by Yasmine Abbas that explores the experience of existing between cultures and places, with a focus on "neo-nomads" and their strategies for navigating life between cultures and unfamiliar territories. Abbas is an assistant teaching professor of architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School.
"Drawing and Analyzing Architecture: Works of Jamie Cooper" — Through mid-January 2026, Willard G. Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. James Cooper, associate professor of architecture in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School, will open an exhibition featuring his own work. Free.
Virtual exhibits and online resources
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits and online resources are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and Penn State University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view via their websites, as well as other online resources.