2 campus milestones will impact the BYU Education Week experience this year

BYU Education Week attendees arriving on campus this year will find a brand-new Creamery on Ninth — and for the first time in a few years, a campus that’s easier to walk.

“There’s not a lot of construction that people are going to have to be walking through going from class to class,” said Bruce Payne, program administrator. “It’s been a couple of years since it’s been this open, and so we’re excited for how easy it will be for people to navigate campus.”

BYU Education Week 2026 will run next week Monday through Friday, Aug. 17-21, with the theme “Charity Is the Pure Love of Christ; and It Endureth Forever.” Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will deliver the Tuesday campus devotional that is part of the annual conference.

BYU Education Week is a great opportunity to be “renewed and refreshed,” said Payne, who has overseen the annual conference since 1999.

The new BYU Creamery on Ninth and significant progress on campus construction will impact the conference experience and create new opportunities for attendees this year. Here’s more about these two campus milestones, plus what to know ahead of BYU Education Week 2026.

The new BYU Creamery and campus construction progress

The new and expanded Creamery on Ninth officially opened in January and replaced the student creamery that operated on campus for more than 25 years.

The new creamery stays “busy almost every day,” said BYU spokesperson Todd Hollingshead, who frequently walks by the creamery located near his office.

The new ice cream shop is in the same geographic location as the old one, but is “quite a bit bigger” and can handle more guests. It’s been a “popular draw” among students and visitors, “and I’m sure it will be for Education Week as well,” Hollingshead said.

Construction of the new BYU Arts Building, located in the heart of campus, is also nearly complete, opening pathways and areas that closed when the building’s construction began in early 2023.

The new arts building is no longer “fenced off for construction,” Hollingshead said, making it “a little easier to get around campus.”

Construction of the new BYU Administration Building, however, began at the end of last year and is ongoing in the north part of the university campus, Hollingshead noted.

“We love our Education Week guests, and just ask for patience as there may be new construction or areas where there’s some work happening,” Hollingshead said. Signage and alternate routes will still make navigating and accessing surrounding areas simple for guests, he added.

BYU Education Week conference highlights

Elder Kearon will address conferencegoers Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 11:10 a.m. in the Marriott Center.

Aside from his devotional, other key events taking place as part of Education Week this year include:

• Two nights of “America 250 in Concert” performances by the Millennial Choirs & Orchestras. Performances will be held Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 19-20, at 7 p.m. in the BYU Marriott Center. Ticketing information is available here.
• The “Guys & Dolls” show performed at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre in Orem on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 17-18, at 8 p.m. Ticketing information is available here.

Nearly 1,000 classes from roughly 280 presenters will also be available for conferencegoers to choose from. Classes run 55 minutes long and cover topics such as missionary service, finance, parenting, marriage, mental health, church history, church doctrine and family history.

The conference’s full class schedule is available here.

“We have up to almost 30 classes each hour during the peak time of day,” Payne told the Deseret News. “The classes are designed to renew and refresh people.”

Several Spanish-language classes will also be available the first day of the conference, as they have in past years.

How to navigate campus, parking and transportation

A campus map marked with parking areas, dining places, shuttle routes and shuttle stops is available here and on pages 40-41 of the conference’s schedule booklet.

Shuttle vans run between stops from 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Monday, and from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday. The shuttle vans travel between perimeter parking lots and main campus.

A new UVX stop, called the “BYU Campus Central Station,” is also available on 900 East in Provo near the BYU Music Building and Wilkinson Student Center. The UVX travels between UTA’s Provo and Orem central stations and has several stops near campus, including the “BYU South Campus Station” and the “BYU North Campus Station.”

BYU is a “large campus” and so “there’s a little walking involved” with Education Week, Payne told the Deseret News. “We hope people will prepare for the element, whether it be heat or rain … (and) take inventory of what they’re up to.”

Payne advised conferencegoers to come prepared with comfortable shoes and a water bottle.

How to register

All individuals older than 14 years old can join the more than 16,000 people who attend BYU Education Week each year by registering at educationweek.byu.edu.

Registration costs $105 to $115 to attend Tuesday through Friday or Monday through Friday. Partial-day registration costs $50, while other registration options range from $30 to $48.

Volunteer opportunities are also available and allow attendees to receive free admission. Registration is open through 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.

“I hope that people strengthen their testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, and come away with hope and with the desire to extend charity to others,” Payne said, speaking of his hope for this year’s conference.

Payne has worked more than two dozen conferences as program administrator since 1999 and said what makes Education Week worth preserving is the “fantastic dynamic” that enables attendees to be impacted and learn by the Spirit.

Getting to learn about people’s experiences “brings a lot of satisfaction every year,” Payne said. BYU Education Week is “a nice way for people to stay connected to campus, to come and to learn.”