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Emporia State University Attractions + Resources

ESU offers many attractions and resources

Emporia State University is an active part of the community and offers many spaces and services the community can use or take advantage of, from our beautiful state of the art Memorial Union to the Kansas Small Business Development Center.

Athletic games and events

ESU is home to the Hornets and has 15 exciting NCAA Division II teams.

Exterior of Emporia State's Memorial Union

Memorial Union

The living room of campus and has meeting rooms and event spaces that can be used for weddings, conferences and group needs.

Memorial Union
Students performing in theatre production

Theatre

ESU has several theatre productions throughout the year, including the summer months.

Theatre Productions
Emporia State students studying in conference room

SBDC

Providing entrepreneurs and small business owners with resources to enhance their success.

SBDC
Photo of the PAROC under construction

PROPHET AQUATIC RESEARCH & OUTREACH CENTER

PAROC provides hands-on learning opportunities right on our campus.

Prophet Aquatic Research & Outreach Center
Examples of marketing materials printed by University Copy Center

University Copy Center

Serves the campus as well as organizations in the surrounding communities.

University Copy Center
Emporia State Teachers College student working with children

Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification

A program of professional development at no cost for teachers in Kansas going through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards process.

Center for National Teacher Certification
Books on shelves

The Teachers College Literacy Center

The Teachers College Literacy Center focuses on collaborating with schools, teachers, families and organizations to strengthen the promotion of literacy learning. The mission is to serve Kansans with support in literacy from birth through adulthood.

The Teachers College Literacy Center
Physical Sciences

Natural Areas

Emporia State University manages eight sites that serve as outdoor laboratories and hands-on learning for students, faculty and visiting scientists.

Natural Areas
Aquatic Biology

Schmidt Museum of Natural History

A collection of approximately 600 taxidermy mounts of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish from Kansas.

Schmidt Museum
National Teachers Hall of Fame portrait

National Teachers Hall of Fame

Honors the nation’s most outstanding PreK-12 educators each year. NTHF also houses the Memorial to Fallen Educators.

National Teachers Hall of Fame
Students meeting in a conference room

Kansas Business Hall of Fame

The Kansas Business Hall of Fame, chartered as a not-for-profit organization in 1987, is the only business recognition program in Kansas.

Kansas Business Hall of Fame
Butterfly on flowers

Herbarium

The Emporia State Herbarium houses a collection of over 43,000 plants. These have been dried, mounted, and carefully documented for identity verification.

H.A. Stephens Herbarium
Planetarium

Peterson Planetarium

The Peterson Planetarium is a teaching facility for campus classes in space science and other courses. The audio-visual theatre seats 38 under a 24-foot dome, which serves as a projection screen.

Peterson Planetarium
Earth Science Fossil

Johnston Geology Museum + Kansas Rock Garden

The Johnston Geology Museum + Kansas Rock Garden is where you can see a western Kansas Cretaceous mosasaur, a giant ground sloth, a mastodon tusk plus other displays in the ESU Geology Museum.

Kansas Geology Museum
Biology Fieldwork

Kansas School Naturalist

Learn more about the Kansas School Naturalist.

Kansas School Naturalist