News

The third and final production of the 2026 Emporia State Summer Theatre season features a musical who cast is area elementary- and middle-school students.

Emporia State University’s Summer Theatre presents the second show of 2026 this weekend with William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” The show, which will be staged outdoors, opens Thursday, June 25.

Emporia State University will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center at a special Science Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 27.

The National Memorial to Fallen Educators will be rededicated at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 20, in Emporia, Kansas, to honor four educators who lost their lives in service to their students and to remember all others engraved on the Memorial who made the same sacrifice. The ceremony, hosted by the National Teachers Hall of Fame, will take place in the Jack Skillett Atrium of Visser Hall on the Emporia State University campus and will conclude outdoors at the memorial, weather permitting.

June 17, 2026: Emporia, Kansas, turns into Teacher Town, USA, in late June to honor the five career educators selected for the National Teachers Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. This is the 34th year for the NTHF induction ceremonies.

The first show of the 2026 season of Summer Theater at Emporia State University will be “Cabaret,” which opens Friday, June 12.

Emporia State University’s long-standing commitment to advancing childhood literacy in Lyon, Osage and Coffey counties has been strengthened by a generous $2.5 million grant recently received from the Walter S. & Evan C. Jones Testamentary Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.

Two full productions, a third youth production and opportunities for students to learn from ESU theatre alumni are all part of the upcoming 72nd season of ESU Summer Theatre.

It’s a universe of exploration as Emporia State University’s Peterson Planetarium brings exciting and educational fulldome Summer Shows to viewers of all ages beginning Tuesday, June 9 through Thursday, July 30. From the origin of life and a photon’s journey across space and time to breathtaking quests through our solar system, there is a show for everyone.

The Emporia State University Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center is hosting a Riparian Restoration volunteer event on Saturday, June 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This educational, hands-on activity involves restoring native lands by removing invasive species and planting native seeds in the Campus Woods near PAROC.