Panels of the national AIDS memorial quilt will be on display at Thiel College from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today in recognition of World AIDS Day.

The quilt panels, on loan from the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania in Erie, will be displayed in the Lutheran Heritage Room in the Howard Miller Student Center. Each panel is 12 feet by 12 feet and consists of six smaller panels. Each quilt memorializes those individuals lost to AIDS.

At noon today in the Lutheran Heritage Room, Sue Kuebler, AIDS liaison of the diocese, will hold a special education program, speaking about the quilt and providing information about AIDS/HIV. A representative from the Mercer County AIDS Alliance will also be on campus.

There are more than 44,000 individual panels to the entire quilt, which was created in San Francisco in 1987. Portions of the quilt -- which is 792,000 square feet and roughly the size of 26 football fields with walkways -- are constantly on display around the country.

Sunday marked World AIDS Day. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, 36.1 million people are living with AIDS. About 21.8 million have died from the disease since the pandemic began.

The public is invited to visit the quilt display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today or take part in the educational session at noon. There is no entrance fee.