San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering

Proud Sponsor

The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center has supported the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering since its inception in 2009. We're excited to announce that in 2013 the Festival is being produced by BIOCOM Institute in partnership with UC San Diego and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. 

Now in its fifth year, the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering occurs every March and features eight days of interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities and dynamic speakers. Its mission is to engage and encourage kids in science and engineering and to work with parents and teachers to inspire today's students to become tomorrow's science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) innovators. The Festival draws more than 60,000 people to their events—including 27,000 to EXPO DAY at PETCO Park—as well as thousands of individuals from San Diego and around the globe to its website and social media outlets, providing a perfect venue to engage with the general public. More information is available at www.sdsciencefestival.com.

The Festival is Coming Up!

The Festival will be held March 16-23, 2013. The week-long festival kicks off with Balboa Park Science Family Day on Saturday, March 16, and culminates with the grand finale, EXPO DAY, on Saturday, March 23, at PETCO Park. Don't miss a moment! Learn more at the official Festival website.

Festival Activities at the Fleet

Saturday, March 16: Science Family Day in the Park 

Science Family Day in Balboa Park is the kick-off to the San Diego Science and Engineering Festival and is a park-wide event. On Science Family Day, the Fleet will be offering free gallery admission or $9.50 gallery + 1 theater show admission for children 12 and under, accompanied by a paying adult all day, 10AM–7PM.

Science Family Day activities will go 11AM–3PM inside the Fleet and are included with admission. In Rocky Landing, visitors can attempt to design and create their own parachute and container that will safely land cargo on the rocky terrain target. Using the supplies available and their own imagination and spirit of innovation, visitors are encouraged to be creative in their use and repurposing of materials to ensure their cargo parachutes to safety. This challenging activity, suited for kids and adults ages six years and up, will be held in the Tinkering Studio. For the little ones, we have Space Rock Detective, where the youngest aspiring astronauts and space explorers will have the opportunity to use their sleuthing skills to see if they can find rocks that are out of this world. Using simple tools of magnets, scales and magnifying glasses, kids will discover if the rocks they uncover are ordinary Earth rocks or meteorites from outer space. This activity will be held at the Little Learners Lab in Kid City and is for children ages five years and under. Additionally, special guests Correia Middle School’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team, the Robo Chicks, will be conducting robot demonstrations at the Fleet.

Meanwhile, outdoors on the Prado, the Fleet invites park visitors to investigate impacts. CRASH! BOOM! How are craters formed—on Earth and on the Moon? Is there a relationship between the mass or velocity of the impactor and crater size? Fleet volunteers will help you discover the answers as you experiment with making your own impact craters. This activity is suitable for all ages.

For more information about Science Family Day, visit http://www.balboapark.org/scienceday.

Thursday, March 21: Free Workshop at the Fleet

"Theory Does Not Mean What You Think It Means!" That's the title for this dynamic workshop, wherein Dr. Kiki Sanford and Dr. Stanley Maloy invite you to examine misconceptions about science and how students learn. There is no cost to attend the workshop, but you do need to register for it.

For more information and the link to register, visit http://www.sdsciencefestival.com/kids/festival-week/science-misconceptions.

Saturday, March 23: Expo Day at Petco Park

Come visit the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center booth at Expo Day, the Festival's culminating event. It's fun, it's free, and it's chock full of science. We'll have fascinating science activities for all ages (even preschoolers!) and super science giveaways! Don't miss our stage show, Fire and Ice—it ends with a BANG! 

For more information about Expo Day, visit http://www.sdsciencefestival.com/kids/expo-day.

Educational Programs Throughout the Year

Festival organizers have compiled a comprehensive list of science, engineering, and technology activities in San Diego County for all ages. Click here to access the list of classes, workshops, summer camps, after school programs, grants, scholarships, contests and internships.

The Fleet’s activities at Science Family Day and Expo Day are sponsored by ScholarShare.