Hey! My name is Caitlin,
and I'm going to take you on a virtual tour of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
also known as UIUC for short.
It's a big campus and we've got lots to cover, so let's go!
Our tour starts right at the heart of campus: the Main Quad.
You won't find a more quintessential college scene anywhere in the world.
It's where students hang out, play frisbee, study, sleep--you name it.
If there's one place that represents UIUC best, this is that place.
On the south end of the Quad is Foellinger Auditorium.
A lot of special events happen here, including some great concerts,
but it also houses some of our larger lectures.
In fact, most students will have at least one class here at some point.
On the north end of the Main Quad is the Illini Union.
This place is a hub for student activity.
During the day, you can come here to study, grab a coffee,
eat some food, hang with friends, or even shoot some pool!
There’s also a hotel, convenience store, tech store, and more.
Oh, and lots of entertainment and events. It’s basically amazing.
Right next to the Union is one of the most iconic buildings on campus: Altgeld Hall.
Altgeld is known for its bell tower.
The chimes can be heard ringing throughout campus every quarter-hour.
Concerts are also performed on the bells every weekday; you can even sign up to play them yourself!
Just in front of Altgeld Hall is the most photographed spot on campus, our beloved Alma Mater statue.
Alma stands at an epic height, welcoming everyone with her open arms as they pass by.
Alma is located on the corner of Wright and Green.
Wright Street marks the divide between Urbana and Champaign,
while Green Street runs all the way through campustown and beyond.
You’ll find a ton of great restaurants and shops along Green Street,
which is a big reason Champaign-Urbana is consistently ranked a top U.S. college town.
Heading south to the end of Wright Street, we run directly into the Main Library.
This is home to what we call “the stacks” and our rare book library.
Fun fact: UIUC has one of the largest library collections in the country, housing over 14 million volumes.
Right next to the Main Library is the Undergraduate Library.
It doesn’t look like much until you look down, because it’s entirely underground.
The Undergraduate Library is a great place to study and meet for group projects.
It also has a Media Commons area with amazing tech equipment available for student use.
Just east of the Undergraduate Library are the Morrow Plots.
This is the oldest continually used experimental cornfield in America.
It’s also the reason the Undergraduate Library was built underground,
just so it wouldn’t cast a shadow on the land.
Across the street from the Morrow Plots is the South Quad.
It’s a little smaller than the Main Quad, but it does have a massive bell tower called the McFarland Carillon.
The bells are actually timed to match those in Altgeld Hall to create synchronized chimes throughout campus.
Just off the corner of the South Quad is the Funk Library, also known as the ACES Library,
since it supports our College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences.
This, too, is a great place for all students to study. Plus, it has a beautiful view!
Heading directly west, we run into the Gies College of Business Instructional Facility, BIF for short.
This is a state-of-the-art, collaborative space for business students.
It includes the Illinois Maker Lab, which is the world’s first business school 3D printing lab.
Just south of BIF is the Krannert Art Museum.
It’s free for students and houses both permanent collections
and temporary exhibitions for all of your art-viewing needs.
Heading further west, we come to Ikenberry Commons.
This is the largest residential space on campus and includes some of our newest residence halls.
There are over 30 different living options spread across the university,
and a variety of unique dining choices as well.
Some of our residence halls offer Living-Learning Communities,
which bring together students with similar interests and include classes right where you live.
To the south of Ikenberry Commons is the Activities and Recreation Center, better known as ARC.
This is our largest indoor rec facility and just one of many rec locations on campus.
It offers basketball courts, indoor and outdoor pools, an indoor track,
multiple weight training areas, an instructional kitchen, and a climbing wall, just to name a few.
It even has a cafe and study spaces if you need to wind down after you exercise.
Directly behind the ARC is Memorial Stadium, home to Fighting Illini Football,
and just south of the football stadium is State Farm Center, home to Fighting Illini Basketball.
The energy that exists on game days on campus is something to experience.
There’s just nothing like going to your first Big Ten game as a UIUC student. Go Illini!
As we head even farther south, we come to Research Park.
There are more than 120 companies located in the Park,
which offer valuable tech internship opportunities for Illini.
A key part of Research Park is EnterpriseWorks,
a tech business incubator that helps UIUC students launch successful scientific
and research-based startup companies.
As we head east, on the southern edge of campus, we see the South Farms.
This area includes over one thousand acres of land for agricultural research, teaching, and outreach.
Here you’ll find animals, of course, and even an Energy Farm devoted to finding alternative energy resources.
Now we’re on the eastern edge of campus, and we see the College of Veterinary Medicine,
otherwise known as Vet Med. This graduate college is a leader in its field.
As we cross the street from Ved Med, we see the Japan House and Arboretum.
The Japan House aims to make the beauty of traditional Japanese arts and culture accessible to everyone
through its tea ceremonies, gardens, and special events.
Next to the Japan House is the Arboretum, a beautiful outdoor space
that offers students a place to connect with nature and recharge.
Heading north, we arrive at Nevada Street.
This street features four different cultural houses, including the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center,
the Asian American Cultural Center, La Casa Cultural Latina, and the Native American House.
These centers foster inclusive communities and provide many support services for our students.
Farther north from Nevada Street is the Admissions and Records Building.
This is where our Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Campus Visitor Center is located.
It’s right next door to the Alice Campbell Alumni Center,
which houses an impressive gallery display of UIUC’s history
and functions as a main greeting point for campus visitors.
In between these buildings is the Hallene Gateway, which marks the east entrance to campus.
The gateway was originally built in 1871 as the entrance to University Hall,
which was later replaced by the Illini Union.
Directly west of the Admissions and Records Building is the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
This world-renowned, three-hundred-thousand square-foot facility is largely located underground.
It houses five indoor stages, as well as an outdoor amphitheatre.
One of the theater spaces, called Foellinger Great Hall,
is said to be one of the world’s premier acoustic environments.
Each year, Krannert Center puts on hundreds of shows.
As a student, tickets are always ten dollars or less and often free.
Our tour concludes just north of the Main Quad, where we began, across Green Street from the Illini Union.
This is the Engineering Quad, otherwise known as the Bardeen Quad.
If you’re an engineering student, you’ll spend a lot of time here,
but even if you aren’t, you’ll find yourself hanging out with friends next to its scenic Boneyard Creek,
studying inside Grainger Engineering Library, or just passing through.
Well, that concludes our virtual tour!
There’s obviously so much more to explore and experience on campus,
but I’ll leave that to you to discover yourself as a student here.
Trust me, it’s even better in person!