Tesmoodo, Lots of Testudo and a Testament to Terp Spirit
After Hiatus, Maryland Day Returns to Campus With Festive Flair
Children (and their adults) line up to see the College Park Volunteer Fire Department’s engines, one of the more than 300 displays and activities that delighted some 65,000 guests who returned to campus in-person at Maryland Day 2022.
Photo by John T. Consoli
Judging from the lines that began to curl around selected tents and booths a half-hour before Maryland Day 2022 officially began, oh, had people missed it.
After two years of COVID-19 spoiling any chance for an in-person event, the annual one-day University of Maryland open house and celebration came roaring back on Saturday with more than 300 events, interactive exhibits, performances, educational booths and demonstrations, all kissed by cheery sunshine and a gentle spring breeze.
An estimated 65,000 alums, families, students and members of the community at large turned out for new events, like a Testudo bobblehead giveaway and the naming of the Campus Farm’s 2-week-old heifer: Tesmoodo. They also gravitated to traditional crowd-pleasers, like the robotics showcase and the bucket-drumming class.
Visitors could tour the campus, or nuggets of it, like The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Memorial Chapel and Gardens, or the soon-to-open Johnson-Whittle Hall with its stunning views of campus. They stopped to sample Maryland Dairy ice cream or recipes made on the TerrapinSTRONG cooking stage, and took home a perky tree seedling or potted herb grown by students.
Some watched Maryland’s baseball team take on Northwestern, while others cheered on the football team at the annual intrasquad Red-White Spring Game at Maryland Stadium. Busy food tents offering carnival fare added to the festival feel.
Organizers put a special focus on events geared to current students, since three years of Terps had never before experienced a Maryland Day.
“We wanted to make sure everyone had the full Maryland Day experience,” said Cynthia Martinez, senior director of brand marketing and lead organizer for the event. “Our campus community should be very very proud with how the event turned out—the planning committee did an amazing job—and we look forward to continuing the tradition.”
Thunder fills a brilliant blue sky as the Mighty Sound of Maryland drumline performs in front of the Main Stage on McKeldin Mall for thousands of Maryland Day guests. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Griffith Potts ’23 (from left) and Kenenna Nwankwo ’23 and Andrew Birgin ’24 get a taste what it’s like to break news in the “Life in an Anchor Chair” event at the Richard Eaton Broadcast Center in Tawes Hall, sponsored by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Arielle and Jasmine Guillen find nothing to be alarmed about in the sizeable walking stick insects at the Department of Entomology’s insect petting zoo, a perennial favorite at Maryland Day. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
UMD President Darryll J. Pines and former President C. D. “Dan” Mote, Jr. stand in front of the engineering lab building newly named for Mote, who led the university from 1998 to 2010. The two met when Pines was a high schooler, and Mote was later Pines’ undergraduate adviser in the mechanical engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley. Maryland Day also began under Mote’s leadership, in 1999. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Women’s basketball team members Diamond Miller (with Testudo) and Lavender Briggs sign autographs for fans of the 24-5 Terps, who made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 round. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Laura Callaway, of Columbia, Md., and granddaughter Natalie Ankey, 5, examine herbs such as sage, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, parsley and basil–all grown by Institute for Applied Agriculture students and distributed to guests. Natalie’s mom, Erin Ankey is a UMD alum. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Returning quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa leads the Red team to a 14-3 victory over the White team at Saturday’s annual Red-White Spring Game, Afterward, head coach Michael Locksley handed out awards to current players. See more at umterps.com. (Photo by Zach Bland/Maryland Athletics)
Students display free T-shirts emblazoned with the name of UMD’s new brand tagline that were screen-printed Saturday on McKeldin Mall. From left, Tizane Sharpe ’23, Kanmani Murugesan ’24, Briana Kelly ’24 and visitor Soo See. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Amelia Smith, 8, of Rockville, Md., climbs the Eppley Recreation Center climbing wall as Caroline Kromm, 7, of Columbia, Md., descends. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
The Autonomous Micro Air Vehicle Team shows off one of its drones in the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering to prospective students and their families. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Maryland Day guests join with folk dancers in the Garba360 group outside the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. The Clarice and MELA Arts Connect presented the program of this Indian dance style marked by hand claps and twirls. (Photo by David Andrews)
Guests get close—but not too close—to see the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute’s demonstration of how sprinkler systems work. (Photo by Hong H. Huynh)
The student acrobatics group Gymkana, a campus mainstay since 1946, presents a spectacle of strength and balance for guests at La Plata Beach on Saturday. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Testudo helps pint-sized future Terps fish for colorful UMD terrapins in the ODK Fountain during Maryland Day. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
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