Here’s a look at the Penn State festival that kicks off after Arts Fest booths close

Every year in mid-July, downtown State College and parts of Penn State’s campus come alive with visitors to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, but many Arts Fest-goers may not know about another festival that takes place after artists’ booths close.

AstroFest, a free, Penn State Eberly College of Science-run public outreach event aimed to educate visitors on astronomy and other space-related subjects, takes place each evening through Saturday at Penn State’s Davey Lab.

Now in its 26th year, AstroFest was started in 1999 by then-undergraduate students Karen Knierman, Jane Rigby and Nahks Tr’Ehnl. According to Heather Robbins, the college’s communications director, the event brings in between 1,500 and 2,300 visitors each year.

Activities for people of all ages are held on each of the lab’s six floors, including educational presentations and shows, unique science-based children’s activities, hands-on demonstrations, an escape room and more.

One of the most popular activities among visitors though, according to AstroFest planner and Penn State Astronomy Professor Chris Palma, is stargazing through one of the university’s many telescopes — if the weather cooperates.

“A lot of people think astronomy is only looking through a telescope, and while that’s fun, we do live in central Pennsylvania, and we know that with the weather here we can’t always do that, which is why we offer other activities like planetarium shows, presentations on black holes and stars about to blow up — stuff like that,” Palma said Wednesday. “I’d like to think that we really do offer up a bit of something for everyone.”

Fellow Penn State astronomy professor and event organizer Jane Charlton said AstroFest brings together a large community of astronomy and space-lovers, and encourages them to share their passions. She particularly enjoys putting young children onto the world of astronomy, and seeing them leave with a new interest.

Annette Mercedes, a molecular and cellular integrative bioscience grad student and event volunteer, also shares Charlton’s love of seeing children take an interest in astronomy. Her 10-year-old daughter Eliana attended her first AstroFest Wednesday.

“Seeing kids’ eyes light up as they use their critical thinking skills and seeing them get excited about this science is so amazing,” Mercedes said while watching her daughter work through an activity. “[AstroFest] brings science down to their level, and allows them to use their creativity while also learning.”

Mercedes volunteered Wednesday at the event’s “egg drop challenge,” where children use arts and crafts supplies to build a structure around an egg that will help it withstand a one-story fall without breaking.

Some of the other children-focused activities at the festival include a scavenger hunt, a bottle rocket launcher station and a kiddie pool filled with oobleck — a unique fluid that solidifies when force is applied to it.

Eleven-year-old Owen Feragutto attended the event with his mom Wednesday night and found himself at a demonstration on nearly every floor, further fueling his already-deep interest in what lies beyond planet Earth.

“My favorite part of AstroFest is definitely learning about how we see stars and seeing them in general,” he said.

“I think it’s very interesting that human technology has developed so much that we can, you know, see to the outer limits of our universe.”

Currently, the lab’s roof is home to six high-powered telescopes, and astronomy postdoctoral scholar Olivia Curtis enjoys seeing visitors use to explore their own personal connections with the night sky. It’s something she feels that people “don’t really appreciate in their day-to-day lives.”

Curtis also noted that as a land-grant university, it’s Penn State’s obligation to educate the public through outreach. Sophomore astronomy student and event volunteer Olivia Myers agreed, and said that AstroFest is a perfect example of that mission.

“One of the main points of the university is to give back to the community through education,” Myers said. “We have this department here that has just so, so much equipment and awesome stuff to see, and I think that [AstroFest] is the perfect event to showcase it all.”

AstroFest continues from 8:30-11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. A full guide for all of AstroFest’s activities will be provided at the event, and more information is available at the AstroFest website.

This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM.