The Arboretum at Penn State

The Arboretum at Penn State
The H.O. Smith Botanical Gardens in the Arboretum at Penn State
The Arboretum at Penn State is located in Pennsylvania
The Arboretum at Penn State
The Arboretum at Penn State
The Arboretum at Penn State's location in Pennsylvania
LocationUniversity Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates40°48′18″N 77°51′51″W / 40.805051°N 77.864088°W / 40.805051; -77.864088
Area370 acres (1.5 km2)
DesignerSasaki Associates (Master Plan)
MTR Landscape Architects LLC
Owned byPennsylvania State University
DirectorCasey Sclar
Websitearboretum.psu.edu

The Arboretum at Penn State (370 acres), which contains the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, is a new arboretum at Pennsylvania State University adjacent to its University Park campus in State College, Pennsylvania. It is Penn State's second arboretum, joining the Arboretum at Penn State Behrend, which was created in 2003.[1]

The arboretum's master plan was developed from 1996 to 1999 by Sasaki. Specific plans for landscape and botanic gardens and their associated facilities were completed in 2002 by MTR Landscape Architects LLC, and the first tree, a white oak (Quercus alba) was dedicated in 2005. A donation of $10 million was needed to begin the construction of the Arboretum and on May 18, 2007, this donation was received from Charles H. "Skip" Smith. The construction of Phase I of the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, named in honor of Mr. Smith's father, was completed in fall 2009 and the gardens were officially dedicated on April 25, 2010.

The new Palmer Museum of Art, scheduled to open in June 2024, is located adjacent to the Arboretum.