Whether you're an employee, community member, visitor, a graduate who has returned to see what's changed, or are a current or future parent or student, taking a walk on campus enables you to enjoy the landscaping, the changing of the colors, the artwork, the blend of beautifully preserved historic buildings and state-of-the-art new ones, and of course the Gorilla statues!
The tour begins and ends at Russ Hall — the first building on campus — and has 28 points of interest; the app includes photos of and bits of history about each. Audio and video recordings will be added in the future, and the app allows users to submit their own photos.
Among the points of interest: The Night Song Sculpture located on the east side of Porter Hall, the garden beds on the Oval, an Andy Warhol serigraph hanging in the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, and the Students’ Life Sculpture tucked into the courtyard of the Kansas Technology Center.
The full tour is 2.6 miles long if done in “standard mode.” If taken in full and walking at a stroll, it can take up to two hours to complete (hint: stop and admire the view of the University Lake, enjoy a picnic lunch, or sit on a quiet bench on the Oval!).
It also has flexibility to allow for completing it in much less time if some points of interest are passed by, or if a walker shortens the loop by not venturing all the way east.
Walkers may choose “free roam” mode which allows for visiting points of interest in any order the walker chooses.
Other tours
Other tours developed for this area include “Art Work of Crawford County Driving Tour” with 39 stops, and “Murals of Crawford County Driving Tour” with 24 stops. Several points of interest at Pittsburg State University are featured in both of those tours.