The Centre Film Festival returning for its fourth year, Penn State Fayette hosting its 50th annual Shakespeare Festival and Penn State Centre Stage's "Cabaret" concluding its run at University Park are among the cultural events happening across the University this weekend and next week.
Three exhibitions on view this fall and winter at the Palmer Museum of Art commemorate the museum’s 50 years by exhibiting key works from the collection and renderings of its new building, set to open at the Penn State Arboretum in early 2024. Two exhibitions feature 87 works from the Palmer’s collection, while the third includes sketches, models and an animated fly-through video of the new building.
There’s plenty of buildings that take up the sights outside at Penn State, but what about the other structures? The statues? The sculptures?
You’ll come to find that there’s actually plenty of both around campus, too. But how much do you know about the history behind them? Probably not much. That’s where we come in, folks.
Without further ado, let’s get into some of the statues and sculptures.
Old Main Armillary Sphere
Known to some as the “Old Main Turtle,” this sphere is a gift from the Class of 1966. It’s an armillary sphere an instrument used to show the position of the sun when it’s rising and setting. The astronomical tool’s origins originally date back all the way to the 4th century when it was created by Chinese astronomers.