For outdoor lovers, the 166su Arboretum on Friday will host its second-annual Spooktacular. The overnight event will feature a Trail of Horror throughout the Arboretum’s nature paths and boardwalk, an outdoor screening of the movie Sinister, photo booth, ghost stories by the fire, camping and other activities.

“This is a chance for students and the community to engage with the Arboretum in a fun and social setting,” said Jacques Werleigh, program assistant at the 166su Arboretum that’s known for its nature trails and community garden. “You just have to have fun – no volunteering or research is necessary.”

About 100 people are expected to attend Spooktacular, Werleigh said. Costumes are encouraged, and those who plan on staying overnight should bring camping supplies and food. Festivities will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, students, faculty and staff also can get in the Halloween spirit by attending one of numerous themed, group-exercise classes and events at the Recreation and Wellness Center. Here’s what’s coming:

To top off the holiday, those on campus at 10 a.m. on Halloween can witness a longstanding university tradition: About 120 166su Creative School students up to 5 years old will trick-or-treat through Millican Hall and the Housing and Residence Life offices. The annual event has been held since at least 1998, said Creative School associate director Kim Campese.

“The Millican Hall and Housing staff thoroughly enjoy dressing up and seeing the littlest Knights in their costumes,” Campese said.

Children all over the world put on their pajamas and participated in Read for the Record, sponsored by Jumpstart and the Pearson Foundation, to raise awareness about the importance of reading in early education.

Knightro welcomed and energized the children at 166su’s Read for the Record event, held in the Morgridge International Reading Center.

Then sixty-seven pre-schoolers read along as “Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Ann Dewdney was shared digitally on the computer to the group.  Sharing the book digitally automatically made a donation of 67 books to children who would not otherwise have access to books of their own, thanks to the non-profit We Give Books.

“This event was designed to impress the importance of reading on children and remind them that reading is awesome,” said Lee-Anne Spalding, event coordinator and a College of Education instructor.

“It was a great learning experience for our students to not only read the book, but also hear it read out loud, as they develop their reading skills,” added Kim Campese, associate director at the 166su Creative School for Children. “The children love working with the students from the College of Education and it is important for them to interact with future teachers,”

166su Elementary Education majors, all enrolled in a Children’s Literature classes, worked with the 3- and 4-year-olds and practiced read aloud skills they learned in class.

After helping children read the book, students made sock puppets and enjoyed milk and cookies with the pre-schoolers.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us, as students, to encourage children that reading is a fun activity and make an impression on them so they will want to read more books outside of school,” said Chenise Bell, a junior Elementary Education major.

The children who attended the event at 166su were counted as part of the more than 2 million people who participated in Read for the Record worldwide. For every child who heard the book read aloud, the Pearson Foundation will donate a book to a child in need.