“Where’s Pete?” Discovery Trail brings fun for all ages

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The “Where’s Pete?” Discovery Trail opened July 6 and welcomes students, employees and the community to track down hidden Pistol Pete emblems all over campus.

The “Where’s Pete?” Discovery Trail takes place on the Admissions Walking Trail featuring interesting landmarks, architecture, art and history of the OSU Stillwater campus. The trail is 2.15 miles long, has 15 Pete bricks hidden and takes about an hour-and-a-half to complete.

 “The concept came from my visit to the city of Krakow, Poland, where we discovered hidden gnomes, which quickly became a fun family game of who could find them first,” Chief Wellness Officer Suzy Harrington said. “The trail is a fun way to meet several dimensions of wellness while enjoying the beauty and history of America’s Healthiest Campus: Physical – outdoor walking, emotional – stress reduction, social – best done with friends or family, spiritual – doing it brings joy.”

Those who want to follow the trail can pick up a flier with details on how to get to each Pete as well as questions for them to answer once they find it. At the end of the trail, people can bring their completed fliers to the Student Union concierge desk across from the University Bookstore to get a prize. The trail is also equipped for geocachers. The coordinates of all the Petes can be downloaded into a GPS unit.

“This started a year and a half ago,” organizer Shelley Mitchell said. “I wanted to highlight the campus in a way that could be done any time, any day, any week, any month. I’ve been at OSU for over 20 years, so it’s fun to be a part of this and leave my mark behind.”

Upon walking the trail, people will find many hidden secrets and gems on the campus that are often overlooked.

“Did you know we have a working sundial on campus?” Mitchell said. “I won’t tell where it is, but I will say it’s on part of campus that thousands of students walk past every day. There’s even a huge plaque with instructions on how to read the time from it. There’s also an interesting story behind that spoon-looking bench across from the Bartlett Center that not many people know about.”

An indoor “Where’s Pete?” trail is being developed that will highlight more hidden treasures of campus. Future paths in discussion are aGreek path, tree path and an athletic path. More information about the trail as well as the guide for those who want to walk it can be found atokla.st/1frOxVN.

Story by Matt Cohlmia

PHOTOS: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ostatenews/sets/72157656299041725