Ready To Rock Your World: Meet Penn State Rocks
Two weeks ago, a mysterious Instagram account burst onto Penn State’s social media scene to feature painted rocks and gneiss puns in various places around campus.
Naturally, Onward State set out to investigate. We sat down with Penn State Rocks to learn the stone-cold truth about the account.
To our surprise, Penn State Rocks is run and operated by four students who are also roommates. However, they opted to remain anonymous at this time to leave the spotlight on the real rockstars.
The idea for the account came to these four roommates following a day of rapid COVID-19 testing. As they were walking back to their downtown apartment, they spotted some lovely rocks and, as one does, decided to paint them. They had so much fun with their first round of rock art that they chose to keep painting more to hide them across campus for others to enjoy, too.
“We know we aren’t the only ones who have had a rough year with COVID…It was important to us to share a simple thing with others to enjoy so we could spread some positivity on campus and maybe put a smile on someone’s face,” Penn State Rocks told Onward State.
The first person to find a rock was a young Penn State fan who was visiting for the day. He ended up taking his official Penn State Rocks stone home. Naturally, the account was thrilled to have created something for a Nittany Lion fan to keep as a souvenir of his trip.
“We love that we were able to create something for him to treasure at home,” the account said. “We love seeing which ones people find, and it makes us so happy that people love painted rocks as much as we do.”
To make the account more interactive for their “ROCKstars,” Penn State Rocks shares rock jokes for all to enjoy and try to answer. For example, the account has asked, “What is a stone’s favorite drink?,” and a fan answered correctly with “Whiskey on the rocks.” Get it? Classic.
“The community vibes we have gotten from this account in just the last week or so has just been so rewarding and fun for us,” Penn State Rocks said.
The account is even catching on with prospective students, too. Penn State Rocks said they received a message from an incoming freshman asking if she could send some rocks in for the students to put across campus. The four roommates hope that the trend continues to pick up around campus.
They encourage any “rock artists” to send in pictures of their creations. Additionally, they ask that the artists paint the handle @psurockss on their masterpiece.
If you’re looking to find an official Penn State Rocks rock across campus, we have some insight for you.
“We try and hide rocks everywhere, but always keep an eye out at big Penn State landmarks or high-traffic areas,” the account said.
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