Mark your calendars for sesquicentennial weekend

A youth soccer clinic, do-it-yourself DNA experiments, samba lessons, dinosaur discoveries and Duck rides along the Lake Mendota shoreline are just some of the many activities planned Aug. 21-22 at Sesquicentennial Summer Celebration.

See also: Sesquicentennial Celebration parking tips

As part of its 150th anniversary, the university is opening its doors wide, inviting the public to tour some facilities, stroll through gardens and greenhouses, enjoy music and art, meet the football team, take part in hands-on experiments and entertaining programs, and try free samples of its famous ice cream.

To make it easier for visitors to get around and explore the campus, the university will offer free parking in all university lots and free shuttle buses will run Sunday, Aug. 22.

The celebration begins with a jazz concert and banner lighting ceremony at the Elvehjem Museum of Art at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21, followed by samba music and dance on the Union Terrace, 8-midnight.

On Sunday, Aug. 22, a full day of events will start with a fun run/walk at 8:30 a.m., part of a Health and Recreation Fair at the University Bay Drive fields. The fair, which runs until noon, includes a free soccer clinic for youths 6 to 19, led by members of the UW men’s and women’s soccer teams; club sports demonstrations (such as Ultimate Frisbee, judo and lacrosse); a look inside the Med Flight helicopter; free cholesterol screenings; and several other health-related activities and exhibits. Kids can make their own first aid kits for free.

From 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences hosts an all-Wisconsin lunch, a behind-the-scenes look at the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, hands-on science experiments for the kids, informal tours of Allen Centennial Gardens and a lakeshore residence hall, and much more. Birch, blueberry and rhododendron seedlings will be given away.

From noon-5 p.m., there will be “Plenty to Do at the U” — especially throughout the lower campus. The Memorial Union will provide music on the Terrace (including a Capital City Band concert at noon) and other lakefront activities, art in its galleries and mini-Mini Courses. There will be poetry readings, tours and entertainment at Memorial Library, an international dance festival on Library Mall.

From 3-5 p.m., the Wisconsin football program will host its annual Family Fun Day in Camp Randall Stadium. Badger players and coaches will sign autographs and football posters will be given away while supplies last.

There will be many tours to choose from, including bus tours of the UW Arboretum, walking tours to see historic buildings, a campus tree walk, and continuous half-hour water/land tours of the campus on the amphibious Original Wisconsin Ducks.

The finale of the Summer Celebration will be a live broadcast of Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Simply Folk” on the Union Terrace from 5-8 p.m., or in the Union Theater in the event of rain.

Starting next week, a free publication with the complete schedule and maps will be available at Madison-area food stores, coffeehouses, bookstores, neighborhood centers, the Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau and the main branch of the Madison Public Library. The schedule also will be distributed on campus at the unions and other locations.