The Penn State Berks kinesiology department is putting out a call for local sport and fitness teams that would like the opportunity to complete free performance assessments, ranging from biomechanics to physiology to strength and conditioning. This opportunity is open to high school and college teams and local clubs.
From the People’s Temple to the Branch Davidians to Heaven’s Gate to NXIVM, cults have held the public’s fascination for decades. So how does an artist become a cult deprogrammer? Joseph Szimhart has been a cult information specialist since 1980. He will discuss his career when he visits Penn State Berks on Thursday, Oct. 20. This event is free and open to the public.
The new augmented reality exhibition has arrived at Penn State Berks and it sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. In reality, the "Zombie Ant Experience" is part interactive art installation, part teaching method that illustrates spore trajectories. Visitors are transformed, through augmented reality, into ants, living peacefully beneath the forest canopy. They are soon attacked by a simulated fungus, which turns them into “zombie” ants, who spread the fungus to other ants — all in an effort to extend the life of the fungus.
As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Penn State Berks will hold its 10th annual Latino Forum from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. This special event is free and open to students from all Berks County high schools, and will be held live and also virtually.
The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present ‘The Magic Broccoli Forest,’ an immersive, interactive solo exhibition by Melbourne-based artist, Rosa Nussbaum, that explores themes of friendship and depression. The exhibit runs Oct. 10–28, with an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.
Penn State Berks will host the traveling exhibit "With Open Heart and Open Arms: LGBTQ+ Cuban Refugees and the LGBTQ+ Community's Response to the Mariel Boatlift of 1980" in the Thun Library from 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10, until Oct. 17. The exhibit is sponsored on campus by the Penn State Berks DEIB Committee, The Rainbow Alliance student organization, and the Thun Library.
The ninth annual Guts and Glory Digestive and Wellness Expo will be held on Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Penn State Berks. The expo was founded by the nonprofit My Gut Instinct and is sponsored by Penn State Health St. Joseph.
What happens when students in the Penn State Berks "Storytelling for Social Justice" course team up with Star City Boxing, a nonprofit community boxing and fitness program located in the City of Reading? The result is a published book titled “Stories from Star City Boxing,” a companion website, and two videos that tell the stories of the impact the organization has made on youth in the Greater Reading area.
Penn State Berks is bringing fun back to campus with the return of in-person summer camps designed for middle- and high school-aged participants. The camps will be held on weekdays throughout the month of July.
Over the last year, Penn State Berks students partnered with local organizations to address a variety of issues centered around sustainability. Under the instruction of Mahsa Kazempour, associate professor of science education, who teaches the Environmental Science course, students worked in small groups for the Environmental Awareness and Community Action Project, a community-based, service-learning initiative that has been incorporated into the course by Kazempour since 2011.
