Free tours showcasing Oregon State University’s Campus Arboretum and on-campus nuclear reactor will be held on Nov. 9, among other events planned for OSU’s 2024 Fall Family Weekend.
Dan Blanchard, a horticulture instructor and curator of the OSU Campus Arboretum, will be leading two-hour tours of the arboretum beginning at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Those interested in taking a tour can register here.
The tours will cover campus history and showcase the woody plants on campus, which, according to Blanchard, include more than 8,000 rhododendrons, and Oregon white oaks believed to be 350 years old.
According to Blanchard, the arboretum covers the parts of campus east of 35th Street, and is accredited by the international program Arbnet. The accreditation came as a result of work done by Blanchard for his master’s degree.
The 9 a.m tour usually has 10-20 participants, while the 1 p.m. tour usually has 20-40. For those unable to attend, a self-guided tour is available on the arboretum’s website, and tours can be requested through the website as well.
“We’ve got so much,” Blanchard said about the plants on campus. “I’m amazed by it every day, I feel like every day I walk around and find a new plant I didn’t know we had.”
Meanwhile, tours of OSU’s Radiation Center will be given from 10 a.m. to noon, according to Joseph Rogers, a senior studying nuclear science and engineering who was the event’s organizer. The event was organized with the American Nuclear Society at OSU, of which Rogers is president.
The tour will include several demonstrations, and participants will see a live feed of the core of OSU’s Mark II TRIGA reactor. The reactor, first built in the 1960s, is one of only two operating in Oregon.
According to Rogers, the tours will be given first come, first serve.
“We’ve had years where we’ve turned away over 100 people,” Rogers said.
Tours are given in groups of 20, and are planned to last 20 minutes, although they may run a few minutes longer, according to Rogers. Devices capable of taking photos are not allowed on the tour due to security concerns.
A number of other events will be taking place across the weekend, including a golf tournament at Trysting Tree Golf Course, an open house at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, and rowing races. A full list of events can be found on the Family Weekend website.
