STATE COLLEGE -- Penn State football's Lasch Building was turned into a game-playing, fun-loving paradise for about 20 Thon families on Saturday afternoon.

About 40 of head coach James Franklin's players took part in the annual Explorers program, which brings families in for a roughly two hour tour of the football building with stops in the team meeting room, coaches areas, and the weight room.

Along the way games were out to be played; jenga, Twister, bowling, and more were a part of the day before the group made its way outside on a beautiful, nearly 70 degree day to toss around a football and enjoy the sunlight.

"It's great that we can do this every year," defensive end Ryan Buchholz said. "People know who I am now (laughs). It was a really nice day, everyone was out here, and it's so fun."

The event is held smack in the middle of Thon, the university's 46-hour dance marathon that raises money for the Four Diamonds Funds to fight pediatric cancer, and after it, the football team participated in Athlete Hour, where many of the school's athletes get together for fun and games with Thon families.

Saturday night, the football freshmen will dance, as they do every year, as part of the Pep Rally at Thon, and on Sunday, the grand total of money raised will be revealed.

Before all of that though, the Explorers program was a chance for the players to give back, make their new buddies smile, and connect with young fans.

"It's a great experience; they ask us to sign up, and everyone on the team wants to do it," Bishop McDevitt product and Lions running back Andre Robinson said.

"It's a cool experience with these little kids, and hearing the difficulties that their overcoming at such a young age; it's a really good opportunity to give back and get a different outlook on life."

For Robinson, that meant spending time with a family friend who made the trip.

"My little kid, his grandma actually teaches with my mom, so they've been friends every since I was born," Robinson said. "He had cancer, and his brother donated bone marrow to him, and saved his life, so they were in Hershey and are a Thon family and come up every year.

"It's good to see and hear that stuff, and hear that they'll doing well."

Penn State January enrollee Lamont Wade also here hanging out at the program's Thon Explorers event: pic.twitter.com/1nzj6XzyPu — Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) February 18, 2017

Grant Haley, a senior cornerback from Atlanta, was unaware of what Thon was before he verbally committed to and then enrolled at Penn State. Now, though, he couldn't imagine not participating in it.

"I feel like when they first meet us, some of them are shy; I like to talk to the shy ones because I feel like I can connect with them," Haley said.

"I think you just realize how much it means to Penn State and how much it means to the community. When it's time for Thon, it's time for Thon, and everyone respects that and wants to give back, and it just shows the type of people Penn State has."

Once Thon wraps up, Penn State will continue winter workouts next week on the road to spring practice, which starts in mid-March.