This exhibition continues the collaboration between ICA and New York-based textile studio Maharam, which invites artists to reimagine the windows of ICA’s façade. For the 2025-26 edition, Philadelphia-based artist Xenobia Bailey created a design that reflects her “Funktional” aesthetic and rooted in her decades-long fiber arts practice.
This exhibit features the work of Penn staff and students who created replicas and new works of art in three campus makerspaces: Education Commons, the Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab, and Venture Lab. Through experiential learning, the contributors to this exhibit cultivated creativity and new technological skills while deepening their appreciation of cultural heritage. Free and open to the public.
The Spring 2026 Weitzman Lecture Series offers perspective on some of the most pressing issues facing built environment professionals, cultural leaders, and policymakers today—from climate migration to threats to heritage sites around the world. Speakers will explore the lessons of pandemic-era experiments for public space, the dynamics of urban renewal in Portland following a municipal plan to combat displacement, and how an interest in salt lakes became a mission to save our water systems, among other topics. Free and open to the public. Registration is required for some events.
Part of America 250 at Penn programming, this exhibit explores the overlooked yet essential role of nurses during the American Revolution, whose vital work helped shape early American healthcare. It challenges the widespread belief that nursing began in the 19th century with Florence Nightingale by providing rare evidence of a world of nursing and caretaking that thrived before, during, and after the American Revolution. Free and open to the Penn community.
Part of America 250 at Penn programming, this exhibit will feature select photographs by Academy Award-winning cinematographer and Penn alumnus Phil Parmet, who documented life in Haiti after the fall of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier in 1986. This display captures both the "resignation, disappointment, and sadness" and the "strength and determination" felt by the Haitian people during this pivotal time in their history. Free and open to the public.
“A World in the Making: The Shakers” explores the design legacy of the Shakers, a religious group whose values of community, labor, and equality shaped their furniture, architecture, and everyday objects. Through works by contemporary artists influenced by the Shakers, alongside original Shaker-made pieces, the exhibition invites reflection on how Shaker ideals continue to inform conversations around inclusion, gender, and intentional living in the 21st century. Free and open to the public.
Part of America 250 at Penn programming, this exhibit will showcase materials from various groups who have taken strident critiques of a wholly celebratory approach to American history and the mythos of the founding fathers. The exhibit includes posters, buttons, pamphlets, photographs, and other ephemeral materials—many of them produced by people of color, student organizations, and grassroots groups. Free and open to the public.
Part of America 250 at Penn programming, this exhibition surveys the revolutions that shook the Atlantic world in the 1790s—and the profound changes that resulted—from France to Haiti to Philadelphia. The books, documents, objects, and images on display will challenge visitors with the questions posed during that revolutionary era. Free and open to the public.
On view for the first time in the U.S., this exhibition—blending arts with archeology—features century-old watercolors documenting Egyptian tomb paintings. Created by Egyptian artist Ahmed Yousef during Penn Museum excavations in the early 1920s, these paintings vividly record elaborately decorated funerary chapels from Dra Abu el-Naga, a key burial ground of elite officials and priests during Egypt’s New Kingdom (ca. 1550–1070 BCE). Included with Museum admission.
This exhibition frames the making of a collaborative performance by the Martha Graham Dance Company and PHILADANCO! alongside rarely seen images from modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham’s 1938 work, “American Document,” and its enduring question, “What is an American?” The mixed-materials display explores Graham’s work alongside Philadelphia dance company PHILADANCO!’s decades-long commitment to preserving and advancing the work of Black artists. Free and open to the public.
This exhibition, on view in the Annenberg Center lobby and curated by the Arthur Ross Gallery inaugural faculty director Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, will present a selection of recent paintings by Penn alum Allison Zuckerman that exemplify her exuberant, layered approach to image-making. Using paint and collage, Zuckerman creates densely constructed compositions that draw from art history, popular culture, and the internet. Her paintings celebrate the history of the image-making medium while reimagining who has the power to shape its future. Free and open to the public.
AI Month at Penn is a month-long, University-wide initiative throughout April 2026 that will focus on human-centered AI. The month's events will highlight research, dialogues, and collaborations that focus on the link between humanity and technological innovation. Through panels, workshops, lectures, and community events, the initiative highlights work across AI in health, science, education, business, and public life. Register to attend individual events.
Earth Week presents an opportunity for Penn students, faculty, and staff to engage in cross-disciplinary events designed to educate and foster engagement around environmental stewardship, climate action, and nature-based solutions. This year’s theme is Inspire Informed Action, designed to spark thoughtful decisions that lead to meaningful environmental change. Register to attend individual events.
Take Our Children to Work Day encourages and inspires youth while introducing them to future workplace possibilities. Numerous Penn Schools and Centers welcome children to visit and engage, with a range of programs to suit young guests’ varied interests and career goals. Registration opens March 31. Supervisory approval is required for all staff and faculty participants; advance registration for activities is also required.
Penn hosts this year’s Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track and field competition in the U.S.—held annually since April 1895.
This panel will explore Philadelphia’s botanical legacy through stories of the past and examples of cutting-edge research tools that members of the Penn research community are using to solve enduring botanical mysteries. Highlights will include new research initiatives at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, an exploration of the genetics of Penn’s historic Penn Treaty Elm, and collaborative work in plant genetics with the Penn Museum. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
In an era marked by rising hate crimes and polarized public discourse, understanding the interconnected nature of antisemitism and Islamophobia has become an urgent imperative. As part of the series “Antisemitism and Islamophobia: Connected Histories,” an expert panel will examine the reasons behind these tensions and discuss future possibilities—with an emphasis moving toward relational frameworks that can address legal and social challenges. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
Staff from Penn Vet and the Biology Department will provide an overview of wildlife at Kaskey Park during the Spring BioBlitz. Participants can help spot and identify wildlife, take photos, upload information to the iNaturalist app, and learn from experts about frogs, insects, birds, and other animals. Attendees can also collect data on the diversity of wildlife in the area that helps support research and educational efforts to cultivate a sustainable campus ecosystem. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
Part of Penn’s annual Take Our Children to Work Day, these mobile makerspace activities are designed to spark curiosity and foster deeper connections between the natural world, engineering design, and robotics. Participants will explore how nature inspires innovative solutions to real-world challenges while discovering the power of creativity and problem-solving. This Earth Day program is suitable for children ages 6–13. Register to attend.
This kid-friendly event, part of Earth Week and Take Your Children to Work Day programming, welcomes Penn employees and their children to listen to special guests reading Earth-themed books. Children will be divided into two age groups and will have a chance to plant the seed of a native milkweed and other native plants to take home while supplies last.
The Penn community is invited to a reception honoring the recipients of the 2026 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Awards for Distinguished Teaching, the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty, and the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring.
The Center for Africana Studies and the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative will host their annual Race and Sports event. This year’s program features Olympic 400-meter runner Butch Reynolds, who competed in the 1988 and 1996 Games, in conversation with Kenneth Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies and Business Ethics & Professor Emeritus of Africana Studies. They will explore the intersections of race, sports, leadership, and legacy at the highest levels of competition. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This panel of Penn GSE experts will offer guidance to help educational institutions use AI responsibly and in ways that advance accessibility, innovation, and student success. This program is suitable for anyone interested in learning more about the intersection between AI and K-12 education.
This two-day symposium will convene leading scholars, educators, students, and partners to examine the future of teaching, learning, research, and policy in the age of AI through a plenary discussion and hands-on breakout sessions. The program highlights Penn GSE’s AI ecosystem, featuring live demonstrations, student and faculty research, practical workshops, and pathways for sustained industry and donor engagement. Free and open to Penn students, faculty, staff, researchers, K-12 educators and administrators, and Philadelphia community members.
This program will explore how AI is reshaping social policy and practice, highlighting both disruption and possibility. The event will begin with student research poster presentations focused on AI, ethics, and community-engaged work. The following panel will examine how AI intersects with social impact research, public policy, mental health, economic equity, and community-centered innovation. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
Using various Judaica collections from Penn Libraries and external archival sources, this project reconstructs a broad network of Jewish families living in the Western Hemisphere prior to 1900. Laura Newman Eckstein, the Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Curator of Judaica Digital Humanities at Penn Libraries, will demonstrate how the results enable new forms of analysis within Jewish history and digital humanities, from migration mapping to network visualization. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This program will mark the closing event of Migrating Lives—a celebration of community, culture, and creativity through participatory murals. Attendees will witness the unveiling of the completed mural, co-created by the Karen Community Association of Philadelphia, Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación, and Penn partners, while honoring some of the stories and experiences that shape the greater Philadelphia area. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
Attendees will enjoy a night of music with the Penn Symphony Orchestra, featuring Franz Schubert’s most well-known “Unfinished” symphony, followed by Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 5. The ensemble, founded in 1878 and led by Thomas Hong, is comprised of musicians from across the Penn community. Free and open to the public.
Free and open to the Penn community, this program will feature keynote speaker Mark Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine, sharing insights and pathways into global health professions. Attendees will learn about the career trajectories and work lives of participating panelists regarding local and global public health research and practice. Register to attend.
Explore a unique view of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens while walking up the gentle Magnolia Slope to view magnolias, dogwoods, and conifers. This rarely walked area reflects the spring beauty of flowering trees contrasted with the majestic conifers. Visitors are advised to wear walking or hiking shoes. Participants will meet at the Welcome Center. Free with general admission.
This Penn Sound Collective event, free and open to the public, will invite attendees to hear a range of new contemporary classical music written by Penn Music’s graduate composition students.
Penn Chorale is a vocal ensemble that sings a variety of choral music, with emphasis on works from the late 20th and 21st centuries. Open by audition to all members of the Penn community, the ensemble rehearses in Rose Recital Hall. The group performs in the St. Mary’s Church in Hamilton Village. This performance is free and open to the public.
Recognized by The New York Times for being “at the forefront of a vibrant Native American jazz scene,” Delbert Anderson, a Diné jazz trumpeter and composer, and his quarter will blend traditional Diné spinning songs with jazz and funk in a Philadelphia debut featuring the world premiere of Beyond Belief, a multi-part meditation on Navajo history and the tribe’s broken relationship with America. This performance is part of America 250 at Penn programming and the Penn Live Arts series “America Unfinished.” Students can receive a discount with Penn ID.
This discussion will convene an interdisciplinary group of leaders for dialogue about how AI is rapidly reshaping civic life, economic systems, and global governance, as well as the need for human-centered spaces that examine what AI can and should do. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This two-day symposium hosted by the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies will feature scholars discussing contemporary perspectives in Jewish life and thought. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This celebration of The Sachs Program 2026 Grant Awards will feature an evening program at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, where the 2026 annual grant award recipients will be announced. Penn Vice Provost for the Arts Timothy Rommen will share welcoming remarks starting at 5:15 p.m. Free and open to the public.
The Brazilian Samba Ensemble performs a variety of rhythms from many different regions of Brazil. Instruments include the surdo, caixa, repinique, tamborim, ganza, and agogo, among others. The group is currently divided into three sections according to skill level: a select advanced section of seasoned members, an intermediate section for those with significant experience, and an introductory section for those new to Brazilian percussion. This performance is free and open to the public.
Vanessa Z. Chan, vice dean of innovation & entrepreneurship at Penn Engineering and recognized as one of the world’s 100 most influential business leaders in climate in Time100’s 2024 list, will unpack how emerging technologies, smarter design, and bold innovation can redefine data centers as engines of efficiency, sustainability, and progress. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
The AI Literacy Working Group at Penn Libraries will host a casual, open-door session where participants can discuss questions, thoughts, and concerns regarding AI and AI literacy. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This Penn LDI fireside chat with Chris Klomp, the current director of Medicare and the deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will feature his reflections on driving health care reform at state and federal levels, as well as prioritizing value-based care and interoperability. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
This timely panel, hosted in partnership with the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative, brings together leaders from city government, tourism, sports organizations, and Wharton faculty to examine how hosting major sporting events can influence local economies. Panelists will explore both the opportunities and trade-offs cities face when the world is watching. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
Kaiser Kuo, a senior advisor to the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations, will discuss how the expectations that Chinese policymakers and intellectuals have of the U.S. may be evolving. Kuo will also highlight Chinese reactions to recent global crises, including the U.S. war against Iran. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This symposium will celebrate breakthroughs in observational cosmology—charting the Universe’s expansion, contents, and structure from current measurements to next-generation surveys. The Center for Particle Cosmology will honor Wendy Freedman, recipient of the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics. Free and open to the Penn community.
In this book talk, Jamal J. Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities at Penn and the author of “After Rumi: The Mevlevis and Their World,” will cover vital aspects of Rumi’s impact on Sufism, language, and society in Turkey and beyond. The talk will be followed by a discussion with University of Maryland professor Ahmet T. Karamustafa, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of medieval Sufism. Free and open to the public. Register to attend.
This symposium, hosted by the student-run BioArt Lab initiative, will feature artwork from art-science sessions with local middle and high school students, as well as presentations from speakers at the forefront of art and science. Free and open to the public, this event welcomes artists, scientists, educators, Philadelphia residents, and the Penn community. Register to attend.
The IDEAS on Generative AI Symposium will explore the next wave of generative and multimodal AI. This free symposium will bring together leading researchers across natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, and machine learning to discuss the scientific foundations and future directions of the field. The program will feature talks from prominent AI researchers as well as opportunities for discussion and community-building. Free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
At its third annual workshop, the Center for Information Networks and Democracy will assemble a group of scholars to assess whether online discussions and content moderation enhance or diminish the information we see. This workshop is free and open to the Penn community. Register to attend.
Penn third-year students will celebrate Hey Day, a tradition dating back to 1916, with matching T-shirts and parading down Locust Walk. Hey Day follows the last day of classes, marking the transition from third-years to fourth-years at Penn.