What to See in State College - Top Sights and Attractions

Stadium in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. It has been home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference since 1960, though some parts of the stadium date back to 1909. It was also the site of university commencements until 1984. The stadium, as well as its predecessors, is named after James A. Beaver, a governor of Pennsylvania, president of the university's board of trustees, and native of nearby Millerstown.

Beaver Stadium has an official seating capacity of 106,572, making it currently the second largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world. Its natural grass playing field is aligned northwest to southeast at an approximate elevation of 1,150 feet (350 m) above sea level.

Beaver Stadium is widely known as one of the toughest venues for opposing teams in collegiate athletics. In 2008, it was recognized as having the best student section in the country for the second consecutive year. In 2019, it was named student section of the year by a committee of ESPN broadcasters and writers.

In 2016, Beaver Stadium was voted the number-one football stadium in college football in a USA Today poll, garnering over 41 percent of the vote. In March 2019, USA Today conducted another poll asking voters to decide the best stadium in the United States during "Bracket Madness", which coincided with the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Hundreds of thousands of fans voted for their favorites throughout the week. In the championship match-up, Beaver Stadium beat Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse to claim the title of Ultimate Stadium.

Beaver Stadium was the first to have its interior included in Google Street View.^[1]

Arena in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The Bryce Jordan Center is a 15,261-seat multi-purpose arena in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. The arena opened in 1995 and is the largest such venue between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It replaced Rec Hall as the home to the Nittany Lions men's and women's basketball teams, the Pride of the Lions Pep Band, and its student section, Legion of Blue. It also plays host to a number of events such as music concerts, circuses, and commencement ceremonies for colleges within the university. The arena is named after former Penn State University president Bryce Jordan who was instrumental in acquiring the funding needed to build it. The arena is associated with the Arena Network, a marketing and scheduling group of 38 arenas.^[3]

The Frost Entomological Museum is an active research institution, associated with the Pennsylvania State University's flagship campus in University Park, PA. The museum houses a research collection, estimated at 1.3 million arthropod specimens, and a public exhibition and educational space. Although the museum was founded in 1969, much of the collection dates to the early 1900s and even the late 1800s.

The research collection provides a record of the insect biodiversity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the eastern and southeastern United States. Major collection holdings include:

• Aphididae - The John O. Pepper aphid collection consists of over 32,000 mounted specimens, representing at least 800 species. The collection is especially strong in aphids from central Pennsylvania.
• Anoplura - The K. C. Kim collection of sucking lice comprises more than 15,000 slide-mounts and represents approximately 300 species.
• Odonata - The George H. and Alice F. Beatty Collection includes more than 60,000 dragonfly and damselfly specimens, collected from the 1940s through the 1970s. More than 1,000 species are represented, and half of the specimens were collected in Mexico.

Other notable collections, which reflect the interests of the museum’s namesake, Dr. Stuart W. Frost, include leaf miners, light-trapped insects, and arthropods of the Archbold Biological Station.^[6]

Museum. The Centre Furnace Mansion, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the headquarters of the Centre County Historical Society, located in State College, PA. The Mansion, the ironmaster's residence for Centre Furnace, has been restored and is furnished to reflect the period of residency of ironmaster Moses Thompson and his family, 1842–1891. A mansion in miniature, identical to the original and scaled one inch to one foot, is on permanent display. This historic mansion and nearby iron furnace stack represent the 18th century beginnings of the charcoal iron industry in the central Pennsylvania area, and the 19th century beginnings of the Pennsylvania State University.

Centre Furnace site includes the Centre Furnace Mansion, furnace stack, and surrounding eight acres. This National Register site represents a small portion of the late 18th-century ironmaking village once located here. Its interpretation is based on historical documentation and archaeological research, and includes carefully landscaped grounds with walkways and period gardens.

The Mansion is home to various exhibits, programs, and fundraisers throughout the year.

Mansion Tours Hours: 1:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday, Friday by reservation. Mansion Tours are free and open to the public; though donations are welcome (suggested $4.00). A tour takes around one hour. The first two floors are handicap accessible.

The CCHS office is closed with no tours the week between Christmas and New Year's.^[7]