Elmo and Cookie Monster will be on campus this weekend as Penn State celebrates the 50th anniversary of the birth of national public television.

From an ice cream social to a speech by Fred Rogers, events throughout the weekend will commemorate the conference that took place April 20, 1952, at the Nittany Lion Inn in which more than 100 broadcasting, government and education leaders gathered to develop a vision for nationwide educational television.

Fred Rogers, creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, will present the keynote speech for the celebration at 8 tonight in 100 Thomas. The speech will be geared toward adults and will be about the beginnings of public television.

Rogers said the message of Neighborhood and his speech can be related to college students.

"I don't think it's very different," he said.

"I think that we carry a lot of our concerns from early life with us," Rogers said.

Rogers also said the noncommercial nature of public television is important to its educational mission.

"I like to think that people feel honored as human beings when they're not being considered for marketing," Rogers said.

"I think people know when they're being respected and when they're being manipulated."

Jim Ryan, vice president for Outreach and Cooperative Extension, said he hopes Rogers' speech and the weekend celebration will help "create widespread awareness of Penn State's leadership in public television that began 50 years ago."

An ice cream social with several Public Broadcasting Service characters from Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Arthur will take place before Rogers' speech, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Thomas Building lawn.

The public will be able to eat free ice cream, visit with "Mr. McFeely," played by David Newell, on the Penn State trolley and see Penn State juggler Jo Ann Swaim perform.

The public will also be able to view a display about Penn State's history in public broadcasting inside Thomas Building.

There will be two more opportunities tomorrow for community members to visit with PBS characters.

The Penn State trolley will be parked in front of the Allen Street Gates on the corner of College Avenue and Allen Street from 11 a.m. to noon.

Mr. McFeely and other PBS characters will be on the trolley to visit with the public.

Characters will also be greeting people outside of Gate B of Beaver Stadium immediately following the Blue-White Game.

During the game, characters will be included in a half-time presentation honoring the 50th anniversary.

Aside from commemorating the past, the celebration will also look to the future. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Outreach Innovation Building will take place at 3 p.m. today at Penn State's Innovation Park.

The building will house studios for Penn State's public radio and television stations as well as the Penn State World Campus, Penn State's online campus.

WPSX-TV, Penn State's public television station, will begin to transmit its signal digitally from the building.

It will also be able to add three to four new programs.

Ryan said he expects the new facility to allow more students to be involved in the production of public television and radio.

"Students who are interested in public television will really have a head start," he said.

All events are free and open to the public, and tickets are not required.