Traveling the Big Ten

The lion and I visited several Big Ten campuses over the past couple of years. We have traveled to Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa, and Illinois (twice). Our visits always included a campus tour to get a feel for the atmosphere of the school, find the stadium, and locate parking for the game. As we wandered around campus dressed from head to toe in blue and white (like we were advertisements for the Penn State Bookstore), we were always amazed that students talked to us. In fact, most went out of their way to be helpful in directing us to some interesting sights on their campus.

Last year at Purdue, we were directed to the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering to see the moon rock that was brought back from the Apollo 17 Mission. It weighed 2 grams and was part of 842 lbs of moon rocks and soil collected during 6 lunar missions. I can appreciate where this came from, but I have to say, it looked like an ordinary rock.

At Ohio State, students sent us to the Wexner Center for the Arts to see the only U.S. venue for the Andy Warhol exhibit titled, ‘Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms’. There were over 700 films, videos, paintings, drawings, wallpaper and installations presented. It was great how he took ordinary objects like Brillo boxes and turned them into art. Hmm, maybe I'll keep those boxes stacked in my dining room and call them 'art'.

On Wisconsin’s campus we followed the crowds to the Memorial Union and terrace situated on Lake Mendota. It was one of the most beautiful university student centers we had seen. People were everywhere on the terrace watching the sailboats on the lake, and drinking cold ‘Rathskeller Ale’ from the German pub appropriately named, the Rathskeller. We learned this was the first union, at a public university, to serve beer. The atmosphere on this campus screams serious ‘party school’. (Sailboats at the edge of the terrace.)

This year our visit to Illinois was a repeat, but we still enjoyed walking around campus. I again found the Morrow Plots to be noteworthy. According to a campus tour web site, they are the oldest continually used experimental agricultural fields in the U.S., and also the first soil experimental plots by a U.S. college. They are not only fascinating for their purpose, but also because they seem totally out of place in the middle of all the concrete and tall red brick buildings. By the way these plots would be perfectly at home outside of Champaign since there is absolutely nothing but flat fields for miles.

This was a quad near the Morrow Plots. The Illini band was setting up practice.

The University of Illinois was home to many different shaped buildings.

The Bell Tower

An interesting roof on the Foellinger Auditorium.

This is not even a small fraction of the rich culture each university offers, but it is a sample of some of the experiences we enjoyed. So whether our team won or lost (mostly won), every campus, museum, exhibit, student union, and of course every stadium we visited enriched our football experience.

Coming later: A look at the local cuisine and life around Big Ten towns.