Things to Do On and Around Campus April 18-19
On Campus:
- Michigan State University Admissions Presentation and Tours
- The Office of Admissions provides admission presentations for prospective freshmen and their families followed by a walking tour of campus. Topics covered include the admission process, academic programs, student life, university housing, and study abroad. There is also time for questions. One is available Friday at 1:00pm and another on Saturday at 10:30am. Meet on the 3rd floor of the Union. Students and parents of students who have been admitted to MSU for fall of 2008 are welcome to attend “Inside MSU” at 10:00am on Friday on the 3rd floor of the Union. More information can be found and reservations can be made at https://www.admissions.msu.edu/events/.
- Campus Center Cinemas in Wells Hall
- Shows four movies per weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in lecture halls. Each movie is shown twice per night (usually around 7 and 9 pm). These movies have usually just left theaters and are not yet out on DVD. $2 per person. To find out which movies are being shown, go to http://www.hfs.msu.edu/entertainment/movies/index.html the week of the tournament.
- Bowling and Billiards in the MSU Union
- Both bowling and billiards are located in the basement of the Union (the building that the Quiz Bowl tournament is held in). They are open every day and are relatively inexpensive. Check them out downstairs or call (517) 355-3357 (bowling) or (517) 355-3358 (billiards) for information.
- Ice Skating at Munn Arena
- Munn Ice Arena has public open skating for $3.00 (students or under 18) or $4.00 (adults), plus skate rental for $1.00. Their website is here: http://www.munnicearena.com/schedules.html. Times for Friday are 12:30pm- 2:00pm and 8:15pm – 9:45pm, and Saturday times are 7:00pm – 8:30pm.
- Sparty's Spring Party
- Saturday, April 19 is the annual Sparty's Spring Party. It's free, so if you're planning on sticking around on Saturday, you're more than welcome to come. There will be live music (featuring hellogoodbye), inflatable obstacle course, rock wall, and free stuff. It starts at 2pm and is located at Demonstration Field (or International center if it's raining). More information can be found here: http://www.hfs.msu.edu/entertainment/calendar/ (near the bottom of the page).
- Abrams Planetarium
- The Planetarium gives public shows on Friday and Saturday nights. The show is projected onto the dome, and afterwards, the current night sky is explained. The show that weekend is “How to Build Planet”, shown at 8:00pm on Friday and Saturday. Admission is $3.00 for adults and $2.50 for students. Information can be found here: http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/
- Jazz Spectacular 2008
- MSU Professors of Jazz, with guest artists Yutaka Shiina, piano, George “Saxophone” Benson, saxophone, Ralph Armstrong, double bass, and Clarence Acox, drummer and Essentially Ellington clinician perform on Friday, April 18. The show begins at 8pm in the Music Building Auditorium. Tickets are $9, $7 for seniors and free for students.
Off Campus:
- Movies
- NCG Cinema is located in Eastwood Town Center on Lake Lansing Road, north of campus. From the MSU Union, take Grand River west to Harrison, turn right on Harrison and take it north to Lake Lansing. Turn left on Lake Lansing, continue on the overpass past US-127, and Eastwood Town Center will be on your right. NCG is at the back of the center. Tickets are $7.00 for students and $8.00 for adults. For showtimes, check here: http://www.ncgmovies.com/index.asp or call (517) 316-9100.
- Celebration Cinema is located in Lansing south of campus. In addition to first-run movies, it also has select movies in IMAX. From the MSU Union, take Grand River west to Michigan Avenue (it's just a jog to the left), and turn left onto Harrison (you'll have to go past the light and make a U-turn on Michigan, and then a right onto Harrison). Take Harrison to Trowbridge, and turn right onto Trowbridge. Take I-496 eastbound (it will merge into US-127 southbound), and merge onto I-96 westbound. Take exit 104 (Cedar St.), merge onto East Edgewood Blvd, and Celebration will be on your left. Tickets are $7.00 for students and $8.00 for adults ($9.00 for IMAX). For showtimes, check here: http://www.celebrationcinema.com/?pid=30003 or call (517) 393-7469.
- Bowling
- Holiday Lanes, located on Grand River west of campus. Take Grand River west to just before US-127. It's on your right. They have food (hot dogs, burgers, fries, etc.). (517) 337-2695
- Trivia
- Several restaurants in the area have video trivia that you can play at your table. One of these restaurants is Buffalo Wild Wings (on Albert, which runs behind Grand River across from campus). Some of them turn more into sports bars after 9pm or so, but they're good places to have dinner if you like trivia.
- Shopping
- Meridian Mall on Grand River is a standard mall with department stores, chain clothing stores (like Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, etc.), miscellaneous accessory/electronics/etc. stores, and a foot court. From campus, drive east on Grand River, and Meridian Mall will be on your left between Okemos and Marsh roads.
- Eastwood Town Center is located on Lake Lansing Road north of campus (follow the directions to NCG Cinema listed above). It's an outdoor mall with several clothing stores and restaurants. Eastwood contains a large movie theater (NCG) at the back of the complex.
- Grand River Avenue, across from campus, has a large selection of shops and food. Steve and Barry's has a large quantity of inexpensive MSU apparel, and the restaurants range from sit-down service to fast food, with a range of ethnic restaurants, sandwich shops, and pizza.
- Arcade
- Pinball Pete's on Albert (the street that runs parallel to and a block behind Grand River) is an arcade with a wide selection of traditional games and more recent ones (including Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero). Their phone number is (517) 337-2544
A good place to check for places/activities that interest you is http://elmanac.msu.edu/ent.htm. If you have any questions or would like more suggestions, feel free to ask any of the Quiz Bowl volunteers. Have a fun weekend!