Posted November 19, 2013 by
Tags: My Wheaton Campus
Five Must-See Stops on a Campus Tour
This past week I joined visitors for a student-led tour of campus. Of all the places we visited, I narrowed it down to five must-see stops for anyone visiting the campus.
At the top of my list is the Beamer Center, the hub of student activities featuring Sam’s Café, The Stupe, the Student Activities Office, Office of Multicultural Development, and the College Post Office (CPO). The Beamer Center is a great place to study, connect with friends, work on group projects, or even just grab a bowl of ice cream for a late night snack at Sam’s.
Neighboring the Beamer Center is the Meyer Science Center; a state of the art science building completed in 2010 that includes an astronomical observatory, a greenhouse, and an interactive museum of Perry Mastodon. With its impressive labs, as well as different types of science instruments on display, looking around the science center is an exciting tour on its own.
A third place that I would highly recommend seeing is the freshman dorms, Fischer Hall and Smith-Traber Hall. Not only is it a great opportunity to get an inside look at what it is like to be living in the Wheaton community, it is entertaining to see the themes of each floor as well as the varieties of room décor in both the boys and girls rooms.
My next suggested stop would definitely be Blanchard Hall. This building is unlike anything else on campus, a modern day castle, towering above campus. Originally built in 1851 and completed in 1927, Blanchard was the first building on campus and now houses the Humanities and Social Science departments as well as the Office of the President. With its amazing views of campus and cool corridors to walk throughout the building, having classes in Blanchard is always a treat.
Last, but not least, is the Sports and Recreation Complex(SRC). Featuring an 8,000 square foot weight room, three gymnasiums, an elevated jogging track, and climbing wall, the SRC is an on-campus fitness center, free for all students. After a day of classes, running on the treadmill, lifting weights, or playing intramural soccer in the multi-purpose gym is a great way to end the day.
These five places are only a snapshot of the spots visited throughout the tour. With numerous things to see and learn throughout the tour, I would highly recommend experiencing the Wheaton campus to get a better understanding of life at Wheaton. Plan a campus visitand #mywheaton with your favorite spots!
Five fun facts that I learned on the campus tour:
- Blanchard Hall was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
- Adams Hall, now the Art building, was originally the college gymnasium. In order to run a mile in the gym it required 33 laps.
- The Wade Center includes movie props from the set of Disney’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
- Williston Hall was the first residence hall on campus.
- Before being moved into the Beamer Center, The Stupe was originally located in the Memorial Student Center.