Special Events | Penn Today

4/25

Workshop: Origami with Bioplastics

north facade of fisher fine arts library

Participants will receive step-by-step instructions for origami designs, ranging from “simple” to “complex,” and will fold origami with sheets of bioplastics made at the Fisher Fine Arts Materials Library. The event will include a demonstration of making DIY bioplastics.

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Fisher Fine Arts Library, 220 S. 34th St.

4/22

Annual Spring Skillshare at Bartram’s Garden

This skillshare event, held annually at Bartram’s Garden in West Philadelphia, is designed for Philadelphia-based gardeners and local food growers. Activities include working together on the land, sharing a lunchtime meal, and two workshop blocks for beginner and seasoned gardeners focused on building self- and community reliance.

9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Bartram’s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.

4/30

Reflections on the Wars: Then and Now

A roundtable of Penn faculty and alumni will discuss the history of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Americans in the Greater Philadelphia area over the last half-century. With 2025 marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam and other conflicts in Southeast Asia, the Asian American Studies Program invites community members to share stories of resilience and achievement to foster understanding and promote reconciliation.

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

McNeil Building, 3718 Locust Walk

4/14

The Impact of AI on (Mis)Information

A hand holding a smartphone with news info in front of a laptop open to news.

The Center for Information Networks and Democracy will convene its second annual workshop featuring a robust lineup of scholars to discuss how AI is transforming the information environment, including how we can analyze (and anticipate) the consequences of that transformation. A Penn ID is required to attend.

9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Annenberg School for Communication, 3620 Walnut St.

4/10

Unsettling Global Media and Communication Studies

stock image of world depicting global connection

The two-day conference will feature four distinct panels, a keynote address on Thursday evening, and a closing session. These sessions will examine how political crises may influence scholarly pedagogies and methodologies. Speakers will interrogate the broader insights that global media studies can offer in the wake of crises.

All Day

Annenberg School for Communication, 3620 Walnut St.

4/29

Annual Zine Fest

Zine makers and DIY-print enthusiasts are invited to join the annual Zine Fest at Kelly Writers House, co-organized by students in Weitzman School Lecturer Kayla Romberger’s Pixel to Print course.

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk

4/28

Sachs Program 2025 Grant Awards Celebration

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation will announce the recipients of its 2025 annual grant awards and celebrate students and faculty awarded earlier in the academic year. Penn Vice Provost for the Arts Timothy Rommen will share welcoming remarks.

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St.

5/13

Spring Symposium: Criminal Justice Reform

A close up to the an ornamental scale in an office with law books on shelves behind it.

The 2025 Quattrone Center Spring Symposium will span two days of solution-focused discussions on the future of criminal justice reform. Sessions will be led by policymakers, academics, and legal practitioners, offering a unique opportunity to learn, engage, and build connections that drive tangible change for a fairer future.

All Day

Hybrid; Golkin Hall, 3501 Sansom St.

5/1

Hey Day 2025

Penn third-year students will celebrate Hey Day, a tradition dating back to 1916, by wearing red shirts, parading along Locust Walk with mahogany walking canes, and biting into flat-brimmed hats. Hey Day follows the last day of classes, marking the transition from junior to senior at Penn.

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

High Rise Field, Rodin College House, 3901 Locust Walk

4/3

Take Back the Night

Take Back the Night (TBTN) is an annual nationwide campaign against sexual violence on college campuses. This year, TBTN at Penn will include a resource fair in Houston Hall, speakers on College Green, a rally and march around campus with the Penn Band, and a survivor speak-out and candlelight vigil.

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Various locations