When exploring around campus, all you really need is a flashlight  - something compact enough to always have on you without it getting annoying, yet bright enough to light up a dark basement hallway or tunnel. Depending on what you're getting yourself in to, some of the following equipment may come in handy...

• Camera (to document your journeys)

• hat (keeps dust out of your hair in tunnels and crawlspaces)

• gloves (to keep from getting burnt by hot metal in steam tunnels)

• knife (too many uses to list)

• primary flashlight (a 2D Maglite works well)

• secondary flashlight (such as a Mini-Maglite, or small LED flashlight)

• ID (trust me - cops get pissed off when you don't have ID on you)

• change for drink machines

• a can or bottle of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage (it gets really hot anywhere there's steam pipes)

...for any newbies who might be reading this...

• Steam pipes are hot. Don't touch any exposed metal.

• Don't mess with electrical wires, switches, or buttons.

• Don't mess with any valves on steam or water pipes.

• Be very careful around steam discharges.

• Long-term exposure to asbestos causes a horribly painful death.

• In case anyone saw you go in, it's safest to exit the steam tunnels at a different spot than you entered.

• Don't steal stuff.

• Please don't vandalize or damage anything.

• Motion detectors should be avoided, because they draw attention to our activities.

• Don't act suspicious. If you act like you're supposed to be there, people won't suspect anything. 

• Don't leave manholes, grates, or doors open after you use them.

• And above all, PLEASE BE SAFE!

To find mechanical rooms, head for the lowest level. Sometimes there will be only one set of stairs that goes down to a building's basement or sub-basement. If you hear a mechanical humming sound, head for it. If a door is labeled "Mechanical Room", you can guess what's behind it. If you find a door that you think has good stuff behind it but is locked, don't worry. Some mechanical rooms have multiple doors, and often times people forget to lock one up when they leave. If you absolutely cannot get in, the next building you explore will probably have easier access... If there's a door you really want to get through, be persistent. Eventually someone will forget to lock it up, and it's up to you to make use of their mistake.

To find elevator rooms, take the set of stairs closest to the elevator shaft up as high as they go. You'll probably find nothing but a locked door, but that happens sometimes, so once again, move on to the next building. Some elevator rooms are accessible only from the roof.

To find roof access, head for the top floor. Usually, either one of the stairwells will have a door that opens out onto the roof, or there will be a separate staircase that comes down from the roof into a closet. 

If all else fails, check out the floor plans! 

This is an easy one. Walk around at night, and take a look at every manhole and grate in the ground that you pass by. If a grate has warm funky-smelling air coming out of it, you've found what you're looking for. Manholes with "H" painted on them are for the steam tunnels, as are most grates that are elevated too high off the ground to be storm drains. Occasionally, the lights will be on in the tunnels, which makes finding (and exploring) them much easier. Although one of the most widely promoted techniques for finding steam tunnels is to wait until it snows and then look for places where the snow is melted, I have found that buried steam pipes and inaccessible sections of steam tunnel melt the snow in places, while some known sections of tunnel don't.

If all else fails, check out the map!

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