Campus traditions have long shaped the shared experiences of the Spartan community. This summer, a student-curated exhibition at MSU Museum brings those connections into focus.
The exhibit, “What If We Kissed in the Shadows of Beaumont Tower?: Connecting Generations through MSU Student Traditions,” is on view now through July 31 and is open to the public.
Twenty students, all part of this past spring semester’s Curatorial Practices in Museum Studies course, contributed to the project and focused on a different aspect of the exhibition.
Through stories, artifacts and photographs, visitors can explore how traditions have helped preserve the university’s history while also fostering community among current students.
It also offers a look into how student traditions are documented, preserved and reinterpreted over time through museum work. By bringing together student research and MSU Museum collections, the exhibition highlights the role of curatorial practice in shaping how campus history is shared with the public.
“It really creates a sense of tradition and belonging, looking back at traditions from 170 years ago that people are still doing,” said Stephanie Palagyi, director of marketing and communications at the MSU Museum.
Some key artifacts on display include a Sparty mascot head from the 1980s, rivalry sports balls from the ’50s and ’60s, a piece of the Rock that shows its many layers of paint, posters, photos and clothing.
The students worked with the museum’s collections to select objects for the exhibition. They researched and wrote exhibition content, developed the narrative and helped install the final display.
Palagyi said the exhibition demonstrates the museum’'s role as a creative collaborator, bringing together students, faculty and museum staff to create new learning opportunities.
The exhibition strives to highlight traditions and a sense of community among students across generations. By displaying long-standing campus practices as well as student perspectives, the exhibit illustrates how Spartans today remain connected to those who came before them.
Palagyi also emphasized the value of hands-on curatorial work in the learning process. By applying what they learn in the classroom to a real exhibition, students gain practical experience that deepens their understanding of museum work.
“Learning from textbooks is good and can take you far, but really handling objects hands-on I think creates a deeper interest and curiosity in history than just reading about it,” she said.
Katie Huard, a student who contributed to the exhibition, chose to focus her section on Zeke the Wonderdog. Through collars and frisbees, she tells a story about the canine legacy that has connected Spartans for decades.
“Zeke has been a longtime family member to those at MSU, and I believe it’s his first time being portrayed as such within a museum exhibit,” Huard said.
Huard said the students wanted to incorporate a variety of traditions so that every person can find something that they can identify with. Zeke the Wonderdog has been a long tradition and a highly visible figure across campus and at sporting events, tapping into that shared experience.
Palagyi said she hopes this exhibition will allow visitors to see the many ways Spartans are tied together, how things have remained the same or changed and why that’s important.
The collaboration marks the third partnership between the Museum Studies Program and the MSU Museum. It is also the first exhibition since the museum’s renovation that was created in the Forest Akers Trust Student Exhibition Lab, which was designed to support teaching and learning through hands-on student experiences.
“It felt great to be a part of creating something within the museum that adds to the legacy of MSU,” Huard said.
