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.
![Exterior of Emporia State's Memorial Union](/media/images/102018_MU_East_0018_C.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
Memorial Union
The living room of campus and has meeting rooms and event spaces that can be used for weddings, conferences and group needs.
![Students performing in theatre production](/media/images/Theatre_Homecoming_.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
Theatre
ESU has several theatre productions throughout the year, including the summer months.
![Eppink Gallery Photo](/media/images/53393528591_05ce6d611.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
Norman R. Eppink & Gilson Memorial Room Galleries
Free galleries featuring works by students, faculty and regionally renowned artists.
![Photo of the PAROC under construction](/media/images/PAROC.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
PROPHET AQUATIC RESEARCH & OUTREACH CENTER
PAROC provides hands-on learning opportunities right on our campus.
![Examples of marketing materials printed by University Copy Center](/media/images/bleed-03.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
University Copy Center
Serves the campus as well as organizations in the surrounding communities.
![Emporia State Teachers College student working with children](/media/images/111418_ElEdReading_Wa.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp_uGeZpIe.webp)
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.
![Books on shelves](/media/images/042017_VisserPictures.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
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.
![Physical Sciences](/media/images/DSC04578.7118aea8.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
Natural Areas
Emporia State University manages eight sites that serve as outdoor laboratories and hands-on learning for students, faculty and visiting scientists.
![Aquatic Biology](/media/images/101818_AquaticBiology.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp_bw7dE6L.webp)
Schmidt Museum of Natural History
A collection of approximately 600 taxidermy mounts of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish from Kansas.
![National Teachers Hall of Fame portrait](/media/images/Teachers_Hall_of_Fame.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp_V6Apjl7.webp)
National Teachers Hall of Fame
Honors the nation’s most outstanding PreK-12 educators each year. NTHF also houses the Memorial to Fallen Educators.
![Students meeting in a conference room](/media/images/042017_BusinessSchool.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
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.
![Butterfly on flowers](/media/images/Butterfly_flowers_.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
Herbarium
The Emporia State Herbarium houses a collection of over 43,000 plants. These have been dried, mounted, and carefully documented for identity verification.
![Planetarium](/media/images/PlanetariumUpdate1009.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
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.
![Earth Science Fossil](/media/images/ErthScnce0220150007.2e16d0ba.fill-764x504.format-webp.webp)
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.