Fun Things To Do Around Campus!

Penn State has so much more to offer than a fantastic education; there are many opportunities to make new memories with your friends, without even having to leave the campus.  I’m here to tell you how to make the most of your time, which you will find you will end up learning to manage effectively.  These activities are for when you don’t feel like spending much money or having to travel off campus.  Many of these activities will also help you make use of your time and money that was spent paying for tuition. 

One of the coolest aspects of doing things on campus is that different events happen all year around, so there’s always something new to try.  One of my favorite activities to go to in the fall is Women’s Volleyball games.  There are many home games you can go to, all of which are free to students!  Grab a friend and sit in the student section and dance along with the pep band tunes (all of which are super catchy and have dances, it’s a great experience).  Volleyball games are also free to visitors after football games (they would have to have a football ticket), so you can also go with friends/family.

Penn State is known for its beautiful Arboretum, which is a great place to visit all year around.  The Arboretum hosts events like pumpkin carving, where you can enjoy hot drinks and carve pumpkins with your friends.  You can also walk around on some of the trails to clear your mind and relax, because you are going to want small mental breaks every once in awhile.

Do you wanna build a snowman?  (Catch that reference?)  Grab your friends and head to Old Main to throw some snowballs, make a snowman, or just run around in the snow.  This is a great way to let it go (another awesome reference) and take advantage of the snowy days on campus.  You’ll be laughing so hard that your abs will hurt the next day, and it helps to make you feel like a kid again.

Of course, there are also going to be those lazy days (especially in the winter) where you won’t feel like unwrapping yourself from your blanket cocoon.  On those nights, it’s great to have a few friends over to watch some Netflix or a Disney movie, and maybe order some Wings Over.  The Nittany Lion posts coupons for free food in the class Facebook pages all the time, so you can make use of those offers.  You can also hang out with your team at a mentor’s/rover’s place, where you can all chat about how things are going and have a nice meal.  It’ll be a nice break from the usual dining hall food and you get to see your friends.  My mentors loved to have the team over, and they cooked a ridiculous amount of spaghetti for us.

For all you frugal ladies out there, the campus offers free activities to keep you busy on the weekends.  The HUB always shows movies Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.  These movies are often in the in between stage of being out of theaters but before being out on DVD so that’s pretty nifty.  The HUB also has other activities like arts and crafts and ballroom dancing.  Burger King also stays open late so you can grab a late night snack with your friends.  Another great option is to visit the Palmer Museum of Art.  Admission is always free and you can see some really cool exhibits with friends.

There are so many activities to choose from, and Penn State makes it easy for you to make the most of your campus experience!

Margo Blake is a sophomore majoring in BioMedical Engineering, and is Rover for WEPO'15!