State College and Penn State

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Location

University Park is Penn State University's main campus, located in State College, near the center of Pennsylvania.


Mount Nittany in fall - Photo by William Ames

State College is primarily a college town with a population of approximately 80,000 residents. Psychology Today ranked it as the lowest stress city in the US. Also, Places Almanac rated State College as the seventh safest city, Forbes rated it in the top 10 smaller metro areas in which to start a career or business, and Kiplinger's rated it as the 19th smartest place to live nation-wide while Money magazine rated it as fifth best place to live among northeast small cities.



Maps

Directions

Location of State College, PA 16801, USA

Driving

State College is approximately 220 highway miles from Washington, D.C.; 180 miles from Baltimore; 200 miles from Philadelphia; 140 miles from Pittsburgh; and 240 miles from New York City. For most up-to-date directions, you may check yahoo or mapquest.

Flying

From the University Park (State College) Airport, US Air Express flies to Philadelphia; United Express flies to Washington Dulles; Delta/Northwest Airlink flies to Detroit. The University Park Airport (the correct airport code is SCE, be sure to check it before booking flight, we have had visitors taking flights to wrong airports!) is located five miles from campus.

By Bus

Trailways connections are available to and from State College to a number of destinations. Recently, the university also started a "big apple express" service with Trailways to NYC.

Lodging

Visitors to the math dept frequently stay in one of the following hotels:

Sleep Inn
111 Village Dr., State College, PA 16803, 814-235-1020,   Map

Nittany Lion Inn
200 West Park Avenue, State College, PA 16803, 814-865-8500, 800-233-7505,    Map

Atherton Hotel
125 South Atherton Street, State College, PA 16801, 814-231-2100, 800-832-0132,    Map

Days Inn
240 South Pugh Street, State College, PA 16801, 814-238-8454,    Map

Weather

Use zip 16801 to check local weather from sites below:

Weather Channel
www.weather.com

Accuweather
www.accuweather.com

What to do

The Pennsylvania State University was founded in 1855. It is Pennsylvania's land-grant institution. Attractions include the Old Main, the chief administrative building on the University Park campus, which contains frescoes by artist Henry Varnam Poor showing the growth of the University. The math dept is in the adjacent McAllister Building, it showcases the amazing Octacube. Many visitors stop by the University Creamery for the award winning ice cream made right on campus. Also stop by the Nittany Lion Shrine, a gift of the Class of 1940 and the University's landmark. While on campus, visit the Matson Museum of Anthropology, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum, Frost Entomological Museum, and the Palmer Museum of Art.

In the nearby region, Pennsylvania Centre Stage is a professional theatre. Historic Boalsburg, birthplace of Memorial Day, has a popular military museum. Bellefonte is only 10-minute drive away, and famous for its Victorian architecture. For sports, on-campus facilities include numerous tennis courts, indoor tracks, exercise and fitness centers, an indoor ice-skating rink, and swimming facilities. Off campus include hiking at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, the Stone Valley Recreation Area, and the Mount Nittany. During the summer, you may visit the Arts Festival. In the fall, you may check out the colors of Happy Valley. By winter time, the Ski Tussey Mountain is 10 minutes away from campus. State College also has venues such as the Jordan Center, the Eisenhower Auditorium and the Penn State Downtown Theatre, offering performing acts in music, theater, comedy and more.

Additional Links

This page is based on the various info available online, such as Prof.Doug Arnold's page, Penn State Outreach, and Penn State's Smeal College.
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