Haven’t had a class in the Millennium Science Complex yet? Don’t expect to sit in a lecture hall there anytime soon. This new addition of laboratories to the University Park campus is strictly for scientific studies for students and faculty. It currently houses Penn State’s premier research organizations: the Materials Research Institute and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

There are four levels of never ending laboratories with two additional levels of maintenance rooms that are as confusing as navigating through the Paterno Library stacks. Once I finally found the roof access entrance, instead of being blinded by direct sun light, a large iron door with enough locks to protect a Swedish bank blocked any trace of day light.

I was so blinded by the sun once the iron door was opened, I managed to cut my shin tripping over the wire that is meant solely to prevent me falling over the edge. Besides having a maze of trip wires, the roof itself collects rain drops and drains them throughout the plumbing within the building — an awesome eco-friendly feature to go along with the random garden inserted in the middle of the building.

There was no extraordinary journey to see this view — no crawling through dark attics or climbing series of rusty old ladders. There were just green staircases that smelled oddly similar to the aroma of a Bath and Body Works store.

About the Author

Shawn Inglima

Penn State Alumni with a degree in Journalism and English. Currently an intern at the New York Daily News.