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Visiting Stanford University

Visiting Stanford | Stanford and the Arts

Visitor Information Services
The Visitor Information Services (VIS) center is located in Stanford's Memorial Auditorium. Visitors may obtain parking passes, maps and information at this location. The office provides one-hour campus walking tours free to the public each day at 11am and 3:15pm -- except during the winter break and on some holidays -- starting at Stanford Memorial Auditorium. Private walking tours of the Stanford campus for groups of 10 or more may be arranged by calling 650.725.3335 at least two weeks in advance. VIS also offers golf-cart tours each day at 1pm, except during finals, the first week of class and academic breaks. These tours are $5 per person and reservations are required. Call VIS for tour and parking information and driving directions at 650.723.2560. Visitors interested in information about Stanford undergraduate admission or tours for prospective Stanford students are encouraged to contact the Stanford University Office of Undergraduate Admission at 650.723.2091.

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
After its 10-year closure by earthquake damage, the Cantor Museum at Stanford has been renovated, expanded and reopened as the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The Cantor Arts Center includes the historic Museum building, a new 42,000-square-foot wing, collections and special exhibitions on view in 24 galleries, an enhanced Rodin Sculpture Garden and other new outdoor sculpture garden areas. The new wing provides galleries for special exhibitions and the Center's collection of modern and contemporary art, an auditorium, café and bookstore. Call 650.723-4177. Campus Sculpture Stanford has an extensive collection of outdoor art throughout campus. Among more than 70 sculptures are works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, George Segal and Joan Miro. Stone River by Andy Goldworthy, a traditional Haida totem pole by Don Yeomans and Three Sentinals by Beverly Pepper are the newest sculptures on campus. The Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden features the carving methods, cultural traditions and mythological heritage of the Kwoma and Iatmul people of Papua New Guinea. The B. Gerald Cantor Rodin Sculpture Garden contains more than 20 works by Auguste Rodin, including Gates of Hell. Call 650.723.4177.

Hoover Tower
This 285-foot landmark offers views of campus, the foothills and the Santa Clara Valley. The Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover rooms contain documents and memorabilia from the Hoovers' lives and travels. The observation deck is open daily from 10am to 4:30 p.m. and closed during finals, the first week of class, some holidays and academic breaks. The Tower houses a carillon of 48 bells. The observation deck charge is $2 for general admission and $1 for seniors and children. Stanford faculty, students and staff are admitted free with a Stanford ID. Call 650.723-2053. Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion The Pavilion, located next to Hoover Tower, has changing exhibits. Posters, photos and videos from the Hoover Institution Archives document aspects of modern history. The Pavilion is open free to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 4pm., except during exhibit installation and holidays. Call 650.723.3563.

Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery
The newly reopened Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery, part of Stanford's Department of Art & Art History, houses studio art classes and offers exhibits featuring Stanford students and faculty members. It is open Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 5 p.m. and weekends, 1 to 5pm. Call 650.723.3404.

Stanford Memorial Church
The dominant architectural feature of Stanford University's Main Quadrangle, Stanford Memorial Church was dedicated in 1903 in memory of Leland Stanford and has been non-sectarian since its inception. The most striking feature of the church is the brilliant mosaic covering the interior walls and depicting scenes from the Old Testament. The stained glass windows depict scenes from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The church features some 20,000 shades of color in the tile mosaics, 34 shades of pink alone in the cheeks of the four angels in the dome. Memorial Church features four organs, including the Fisk-Nanney organ, which has 73 ranks and 4,332 pipes. The church is open daily from 8am to 5pm. Docent tours are offered every Friday at 2 p.m., and special tours can be set up for groups. Call 650.723.3469.

Hanna House
Docent-led tours of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House can be scheduled by calling 650.725.8352. Admission is $8 per person. Pets and children under 12 are not permitted, and visitors must wear soft-soled shoes. Disabled access is limited.

The Dish
The 150-foot diameter radio telescope, located in a habitat conservation area in the Stanford foothills, is a popular destination for hikers. Known simply as 3the Dish,2 it was constructed in the 1960s to probe the scattering properties of the Earth's ionosphere. It weighs 300,000 pounds and is owned and maintained by SRI International. Access to the four miles of public hiking trails is limited to daylight hours, and dogs are prohibited.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
Stanford University has operated this 426-acre facility since 1962, including a two mile- long linear accelerator, for the U.S. Department of Energy. Dedicated to research in high-energy physics and synchrotron radiation programs, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) provides facilities for more than 3,000 scientists. Using the B Factory, physicists are studying why we live in a matter-dominated universe. At the Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, researchers use x-rays for research in areas ranging from biomedicine to environmental remediation. For tours, call 650.926.2204. The SLAC Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Stanford University Events
For five main events each year, Stanford University welcomes parents, family and alumni to campus. Approximately 3,000 incoming students and their parents arrive for New Student Orientation in mid-September. Every October, more than 6,000 alumni return for Reunion Homecoming Weekend. Parents' Weekend, held on the last weekend in February, draws 3,000 parents. In April, Admit Weekend attracts more than 1,000 prospective freshmen and their parents. Every June, the university welcomes about 25,000 people for Commencement.