Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — open to the University and local community:
Performances
Guest Artist Recital: Alan Woo – 5-6:30 p.m., Sept. 24, Recital Hall, University Park Campus. Praised by the New York Times as a pianist with “assurance and vitality,” Alan Woo, assistant professor of piano at the University of Georgia, will present a piano recital featuring music by Ravel, Medtner and Mussorgsky.
Randy Travis: More Life Tour – 7:30 p.m., Sept. 26, The Pullo Center, York campus. The Randy Travis: More Life Tour brings the legendary country singer to the Pullo Center stage alongside James Dupré for an evening celebrating one of country music’s most beloved catalogs.
Bach's Lunch – 12:10-12:45 p.m., Oct. 1, 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.
Events
National Hispanic Heritage Month events – Multiple dates and locations throughout September and October. From mid-September through the end of October, Penn State units at campuses across the commonwealth will hold events in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, observed annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as a time to honor and celebrate the historic background, culture, heritage and many influences of the Hispanic and Latino communities throughout the years. The unifying theme for this year’s observances is "La unidad es nuestra fuerza" — “Unity Is Our Strength."
Art After Hours: Dreaming of US – 5-8 p.m., Sept. 24, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Create your own dreamscape collage, reflect on the nation’s past and future with a poetry exercise, and hear from Penn State student artists. Get ready for election season by adding your voice to a civic engagement discussion with the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development and chatting with Penn State Votes about voter registration and resources.
Plants in Classical Mythology – 5-6 p.m., Sept. 25, the Arboretum at Penn State, University Park campus. Join Michael Goyette on an interactive walking tour of the botanic gardens. Among the myriad myths to be discussed—and corresponding plants to be observed—are stories involving Persephone, Athena, Romulus and Remus, Hecate, and Prometheus.
Garden and Gallery Book Club – 2-4 p.m., Sept. 27, the Arboretum at Penn State, University Park campus. Step into history and horticulture! This summer, members are reading Andrea Wulf’s critically acclaimed "Founding Gardeners." At the conclusion of the summer, members will enjoy a conversation about the book, guided by educators from the Arboretum.
Katie Thornton Q&A – 6:30 p.m., Sept. 28, Sparks Building, University Park campus. Award-winning journalist and podcaster Katie Thornton will participate in a question-and-answer session about the changing landscape of journalism, the growth of podcasts and more. As an audio and print journalist, Thornton has published with the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the Atlantic, the Guardian, the BBC, NPR and many others.
Nature Sketching – 10-11:30 a.m., Sept. 29, the Arboretum at Penn State, University Park campus. This art class for adults explores a variety of art materials and techniques as we connect art and nature. All experience levels are welcome, from beginner to professional. Free.
With These Hands: A Collaborative Poetry Experience – 12:20 p.m., Sept. 29, Penn State Mont Alto Library, Mont Alto campus. Erin Murphy, 2026-27 Penn State Laureate and award-winning poet and prose writer, will read from and discuss her latest books. Attendees will have the opportunity to create their own lines of poetry as part of a collaborative project.
With These Hands: A Collaborative Poetry Experience – 11 a.m., Sept. 30, Olmsted Building, Harrisburg campus. Erin Murphy, 2026-27 Penn State Laureate and award-winning poet and prose writer, will read from and discuss her latest books. Attendees will have the opportunity to create their own lines of poetry as part of a collaborative project.
Yoga and Mindfulness at the Palmer – 12:30 p.m., Sept. 30, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Join Sima Farage for yoga, mindful movement, and meditation at the museum. All bodies are welcome, and no experience is necessary. This program is presented through a partnership with Penn State Health Promotion & Wellness.
Yoga in the Gardens – 6-7 p.m., Sept. 30, the Arboretum at Penn State, University Park campus. Join a serene yoga experience amidst the beauty of nature. Embrace tranquility, stretch, and find your inner peace in the heart of nature. Bring your own mat for optimal comfort.
Marathon Read – 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Oct. 1, Burrowes Lawn, University Park campus. During this 14th annual 12-hour communal reading event, students, faculty, staff and community members will read aloud continuously in five-minute increments. The theme for this year’s event is “Well-Versed: Music and Literature." Food will be provided throughout the day.
Stuckeman Research Open House – 1:30 p.m., Oct. 1, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. The Stuckeman Research Open House brings together research faculty and students from all three departments — architecture, graphic design and landscape architecture — and the school’s three research centers to showcase their work.
Spooky Plants Walk – 4-5 p.m., Oct. 1, the Arboretum, University Park campus. Discover the science and history of spooky plants with Arboretum programs coordinator and plant nerd Rebecca Horwitt. From warding off werewolves to wands for water witches, there are so many fun stories to uncover!
Palmer Museum of Art Fall Reception – 5:30-7:30 p.m., Oct. 1, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The Palmer will celebrate ongoing special exhibitions "Dreaming American Futures: Invitational 250" and "Telling Stories: Rethinking American Art at the Palmer," as well as the openings of "Out of the Shadows: Drawings and Watercolors by American Women" and "America Works: Building and Sustaining the Nation."
Schuylkill Scarecrow Festival – Oct. 1-31, southern Schuylkill County, Schuylkill campus. This family-friendly festival will transform communities across southern Schuylkill County into an outdoor gallery of imaginative scarecrow displays created primarily from repurposed, reclaimed and recycled materials. Visitors can explore the displays at their own pace through a self-guided walking and driving tour.
Lectures
Pockrass Lecture – 5 p.m., Sept. 24, Carnegie Building, University Park campus. Hernando Rojas, an internationally recognized expert on political communication, will present a free public lecture about the power of the media, its ability to fuel political polarization and whether polarization drives people to the polls.
Marker Lectures in Physics – 6 p.m., Sept. 30, Osmond Laboratory, University Park campus. Jun Ye, professor of physics and JILA Fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder, will present “Lighting a Quantum Path for Clocks and Fundamental Physics,” a lecture on laser physics and quantum science intended for general audiences.
In-person exhibits
“Still Creating: The UArts Community Lives On” – Through Oct. 1, Henry Gallery, Great Valley campus. In the wake of the unexpected closure of the University of the Arts (UArts) in 2024, the creative community was left with a deep sense of loss. "Still Creating: The UArts Community Lives On" emerges from a shared belief that art can preserve memory, honor resilience and reconnect people across time and place.
“Beyond the Ridge” – Through Oct. 2, Art Space, Schuylkill campus. Artist Jon Bond often finds subject matter for his art in the nature surrounding his Berks County home, and twenty-five works in this show were inspired during Jon’s hikes on the lands surrounding Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. In this selection of paintings, his muted palette brings forth mysterious elements, scenarios and objects with an almost dreamlike quality.
Hidenori Ishii – Through Oct. 31, HUB Gallery, University Park campus. Hidenori Ishii's practice encompasses painting, screen-printing, and installation, focusing on the complex interplay between civilization and nature. A diverse array of paintings, mixed media pieces, and installations delve into themes of reflection and transparency, as well as the connections between inside and outside spaces.
“Dreaming American Futures: Invitational 250” – Through Nov. 29, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, the Palmer invited artists to submit works that address the following themes: Activating Change, Bridging the Divide, Pursuit of Happiness and A More Perfect Union. The works on view include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, mixed-media assemblages, photographs and works on paper.
“Telling Stories: Rethinking American Art at the Palmer” – Through Nov. 29, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This installation experiments with thematic approaches to the Palmer Museum of Art’s American art collection, grouping works of various genres, styles and periods together under the themes “Follow the Money” and “American Places" and exploring multiple interpretations of individual artworks.
“Out of the Shadows: Drawings and Watercolors by American Women” – Through Dec. 6, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Brought literally and figuratively out of the shadows, these works by American women artists from the 1820s to the 1950s illuminate an often overlooked yet fundamental history of American art. The audience is invited to consider the relationships between access, medium, and gender that this exhibition brings to light.
“LIGHT” – Through Dec. 11, Ronald K. De Long Gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. This group of artists examines the layered definitions of a single concept, LIGHT. Through a deliberate juxtaposition of contrasting materials and conceptual frameworks, the exhibition fosters dynamic, unexpected visual relationships.
“America Works: Building and Sustaining the Nation” – Sept. 16 to Dec. 13, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. “America Works: Building and Sustaining the Nation” traces the deep connections among work, power and nation-building in the United States. While exploring the culture and politics of working people, America Works addresses how changes in technology, law and policy, and activism on the part of workers have impacted labor dynamics throughout history.
“Through Different Eyes: Industrial Worlds by Women Artists” – Through December, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery, University Park campus. This exhibit explores the lives of women artists in 20th-century industrial Pennsylvania through their artwork and premiers the curatorial work of undergraduate students Alexis Woodring, a public relations major, and Gabriella Heidorn, an art history major with a minor in French and Francophone studies, who both have special interests in American art.
"Recipes" – Through Jan. 8, 2027, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Working in encaustic — a process that uses molten paint made from beeswax, pigment and damar resin — artist Christine Sajecki grinds pigments harvested from her environment and incorporates recycled commercial pigments saved from years of studio practice. Her work explores ways to use waste and culinary byproducts in painting.
"Black Geographies in Circulation" – Through Feb. 26, 2027, Pattee Library, University Park campus. This exhibit highlights a selection of archival stamps and postcards from the Charles L. Blockson Collection of African-Americana and the African Diaspora that help trace the movement of African-descended people, their experiences, ideas and collective memory across geographic and cultural boundaries.
“Hybrid Zones” – Through March 4, 2027, HUB Gallery, University Park campus. “Hybrid Zones” is an immersive exploration of the post-industrial landscape of Eastern Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region. Through drawing, photography, and video installation, the artists trace the environmental and psychological imprint of centuries of resource extraction. In this powerful new body of work, Rachel Bacon and Meredith Davenport confront the entanglement of human and nonhuman systems, reflecting on how deeply industrial history is inscribed into the land—and into us.
"The Way I Saw It: A Photography Retrospective" – Through Aug. 1, 2027, Penn State All-Sports Museum, University Park campus. “The Way I Saw It” celebrates the work of Penn State alumnus Pat Little, who started out with the Daily Collegian and spent over three decades as a photojournalist with the Centre Daily Times, Associated Press and Reuters. Starting from a million photo negatives then narrowed down to a set of 5,000 photographs, the exhibit presents a final curated collection of 100 unique and powerful images of Penn State athletes, coaches, venues and fans, shot by Little between 1977 and 2005.
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.