Summer is rolling along, and soon, Penn students—new and returning—will be rolling right along with it, pushing their wheeled cardboard boxes filled with bedding, clothes, and other dorm room necessities for the fall semester, which begins on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

More than 2,400 freshmen will begin moving into the College Houses on Thursday, Aug. 22. Penn Residential Services began making preparations for the students’ arrival several months ago and will feature entertaining events to make Move-In a fun-filled affair.

At College House entrances, arcade-style photo booths will be set up for students to take serious, fun, or silly snapshots of themselves or with their families and new housemates. The photos will be streamed on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #LivePenn.

Anyone associated with Move-In can also use the hashtag #PennMoveIn for posts on Twitter or Instagram.

“The day is not just about stepping out of the car and bringing in your belongings,” says John Eckman, director of Residential Services. “It’s also about that new roommate you just met, and who the people are on your floor. It’s the start of the celebration of meeting people.”  

A team of more than 500 volunteers, composed of staff and upperclassmen, will help guide students and their families around campus, and assist freshmen and other new students move into their dorms.

Traffic on campus streets will increase on Sunday, Aug. 18, for early Move-In. To allow easy access to the College Houses during Move-In, some streets on campus will be closed to regular traffic. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Spruce Street will be open for Move-In only from 34th to 40th streets.  

On the first day of freshman Move-In, Thursday, Aug. 22, Spruce Street will be closed to regular traffic from 34th to 38th streets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

On Friday, Aug. 23, when the remaining freshmen arrive on campus, Spruce Street will be open only for Move-In vehicles from 34th Street to 38th Street, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

When upperclassmen move in on Saturday, August 24, Spruce Street will be closed to regular traffic from 34th to 40th streets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.