Penn State Berks will host the traveling exhibit "With Open Heart and Open Arms: LGBTQ+ Cuban Refugees and the LGBTQ+ Community's Response to the Mariel Boatlift of 1980" in the Thun Library from 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10, until Oct. 17. The exhibit is sponsored on campus by the Penn State Berks DEIB Committee, The Rainbow Alliance student organization, and the Thun Library.

The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present ‘The Magic Broccoli Forest,’ an immersive, interactive solo exhibition by Melbourne-based artist, Rosa Nussbaum, that explores themes of friendship and depression. The exhibit runs Oct. 10–28, with an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Penn State Berks will hold its 10th annual Latino Forum from 9:30­ a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. This special event is free and open to students from all Berks County high schools, and will be held live and also virtually.

In observance of the American National Standard Institute’s World Standards Week in October, Penn State University Libraries is planning an afternoon of activities Oct. 12 with the theme “Imagine a World Without Standards.” The event will focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which project to address social imbalances, develop a sustainable economy and slow the rate of climate change.

The new augmented reality exhibition has arrived at Penn State Berks and it sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. In reality, the "Zombie Ant Experience" is part interactive art installation, part teaching method that illustrates spore trajectories. Visitors are transformed, through augmented reality, into ants, living peacefully beneath the forest canopy. They are soon attacked by a simulated fungus, which turns them into “zombie” ants, who spread the fungus to other ants — all in an effort to extend the life of the fungus.

From the People’s Temple to the Branch Davidians to Heaven’s Gate to NXIVM, cults have held the public’s fascination for decades. So how does an artist become a cult deprogrammer? Joseph Szimhart has been a cult information specialist since 1980. He will discuss his career when he visits Penn State Berks on Thursday, Oct. 20. This event is free and open to the public.

The Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction recently hosted the first annual Substance Use Disorder Stigma Reduction Summit at University Park. The event brought in researchers, practitioners and government partners from across the nation to consider research, policy and practice around the issue of stigma reduction in numerous fields like criminal justice and healthcare.

The Penn State Berks kinesiology department is putting out a call for local sport and fitness teams that would like the opportunity to complete free performance assessments, ranging from biomechanics to physiology to strength and conditioning. This opportunity is open to high school and college teams and local clubs.

"Gender and Domestic Violence: Contemporary Legal Practice and Intervention Reforms," a new book edited and authored by Brenda Russell, professor of psychology at Penn State Berks, and John Hamel, licensed clinical social worker, practitioner, researcher, and editor-in-chief of the journal Partner Abuse, presents empirical research findings and reform recommendations for prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, policymakers, and intervention providers with the aim of rectifying shortcomings in legal and law enforcement responses to domestic violence.

Velvet Brown, 2022-23 Penn State Laureate, will visit Penn State Berks and give a live presentation at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24. The event, which will take place in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room, is free and open to the public.