What you need to know about Family Weekend 2019

Family Weekend
Parents and guardians listen to presentations in Memorial Auditorium during Family Weekend.

Family Weekend, which will be held Feb. 22 and 23, annually draws about 3,000 visitors to the Stanford campus for two days of information sessions, faculty lectures, campus tours and open houses. Staff members from the Office of Special Events & Protocol offer the following information for family members planning this always-popular event.

If we didn’t register by the deadline, can we still come?

Yes. If you haven’t registered in advance, you can check in at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center and do onsite registration. Please do register because only those who register can attend Family Weekend events. Check in is Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. All events, other than the Entertainment Extravaganza, are free and open on a first-come, first-served basis.

What happens during Family Weekend?
There is a wide variety of events throughout the weekend. Activities range from special campus tours to Back to School classes taught by Stanford faculty to a resource fair that aggregates all of the Stanford offices that interact with parents and guardians. The resource fair, which is held on Saturday morning, is a one-stop shopping place for all your Stanford questions. Generally speaking, Family Weekend is designed to give parents and guardians a sense of the Stanford student experience. The schedule is available in the Family Weekend brochure you will receive upon check-in and on the Family Weekend website.

Are there any events designed for younger siblings?
Unfortunately, we do not offer specific activities for younger siblings, although we suspect high school age may enjoy some of the Back to School Classes. We are confident the entire family will enjoy the Entertainment Extravaganza!, which wraps up the weekend and consists of Stanford student performances.

Cardinal Ballet
Cardinal Ballet will perform at the Entertainment Extravaganza.

What’s new this year?
Each year, the Back to School Classes change, as do the groups in the Entertainment Extravaganza! and the university administrators featured in the Conversations with Parents. All new information and new tour highlights can be found in the brochure.

  • The faculty classes are always among the most popular offerings at Family Weekend. So, among the classes offered this year are:
    Are Human Rights in Retreat?: David Cohen, director of the WSD Handa Center for Human Rights and International Justice; and Beth Van Schaack, the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights at the Stanford Law School
    Experience on Demand—What Virtual Reality Is, How it Works and What It can Do: Jeremy Bailenson, director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab and the Thomas More Storke Professor of Communication
    Which Came First, Herbivores or Carnivores—Unexpected Ecosystems 100 Million Years Before the Dinosaurs: C. Kevin Boyce, Professor of Paleontology

Where can we park?
As in the past, parking will be at the Galvez Lot at the intersection of Galvez and Campus Drive, which is across the street from the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center.

What if a member of our party has disability issues?
Disability parking spaces, marked in blue, are located throughout the campus. These spaces are reserved for vehicles displaying state-issued disability placards or license plates. Vehicles with disability placards or plates may also park in any other unmarked spaces on campus. If you need a disability accommodation or wheelchair access information, contact the Diversity and Access Office by Feb. 13 at 650-725-0326 or email disability.access@stanford.edu.

Will I be able to get Internet access on campus?
Yes. Family members are able to join the “Stanford Visitor” network for free access to the Internet while on campus. With the Stanford Visitor network, you can use the university’s wireless network to access the Internet while on campus. The visitor network offers limited bandwidth and sessions are limited to 12 hours. Services are limited to email, web browsing, VPN and SSH.

How to get online
1. Select the SSID Stanford Visitor from your device’s list of available wireless networks.
2. Open a browser and load any URL; you will be redirected to an access page (on a mobile phone, the access page should open automatically).
3. Click Accept to acknowledge the terms of use. Your browser will be sent to a confirmation page and from there you can get online.
What is the weather like on Family Weekend?
Bring an umbrella because the Bay Area can be rainy in February. We advise dressing in layers. It is often cool in the mornings and evenings but can be quite warm midday. And please be assured that all events are informal. In particular, we advise wearing comfortable shoes. The events are located throughout campus, and the weekend can involve a great deal of walking.

What is the Entertainment Extravaganza!?

Entertainment Extravaganza! is the Family Weekend closing event presented by the Parents’ Club of Stanford University. It features six very talented student ensembles. This year’s performers are Cardinal Ballet, Legacy Dance Team, Mendicants, O-Tone, Spoken Word Collective and Stanford Taiko.

All purchased tickets will be sent electronically via the email attached to the Stanford Ticket Office account holder. All proceeds benefit the Parents’ Club Scholarship Fun, which annually funds scholarships for students.

More questions? Call us at 650-736-9018, email familyweekend@stanford.edu or visit our web page.