Iowa State will be celebrating with bells on — the bells of the Campanile, that is.

An event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Campanile’s Stanton Memorial Carillon will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. on central campus.

It is free and open to the public and will feature musical activities, games, birthday cake, balloons and folk dancing.

Sylvia Munsen, director of the Ames Children’s Choir, said the carillon will offer a special experience for her group, which is performing at the celebration.

“I think it is something really unique to the campus and a great opportunity for my young singers,” she said.

Munsen said her group will sing two selections arranged by Aaron Copland.

Tin-shi Tam, university carilloneur, said the Campanile and the carillon are a rich part of ISU’s history.

“The Campanile and the carillon have always been a landmark of the university, and it is part of the daily life,” she said. “We also have other traditions involving the Campanile, such as Campaniling. These traditions have been there for a 100 years.”

The first 10 bells were donated by professor Edgar W. Stanton in memory of his wife, Margaret McDonald Stanton. The Campanile was built in 1899 to store the bells.

“The reason we have the Campanile is that it provided a place to house the 10 bells,” Tam said. The current number of bells is 50, she said.

Tam believes most students recognize the Campanile’s significance to ISU. However, a common misconception centers around who rings the bells, she said.

“Some people believe the bells are played by a mechanism, and they are not. We always have to have someone go up there and ring the bells,” she said. “This makes it more special. It makes it a unique performance that can’t be copied.”