Bay Area Science Festival Returns to UCSF Mission Bay October 17
Future Scientists. Gamma Nine Photography
Marin Mommies presents a sponsored article from the North Bay Science Festival, taking place at UCSF's Mission Bay Campus on October 17.
Discover Northern California’s Largest Free Science Celebration with 125+ Hands-On Experiences for All Ages
Get ready for a day of hands-on science fun at the 2026 Bay Area Science Festival, Northern California’s largest free science celebration for kids and families! Explore more than 125 interactive experiments, games, demonstrations, stage performances, film screenings, science talks, and more.
Kids can race robots, see their own brainwaves, participate in a science podcast, marvel at science magic shows, meet reptiles and amphibians face-to-face, and discover science through exciting hands-on experiences.
Organized by UCSF, the Bay Area Science Festival takes place Saturday, October 17, from 11 am–4 pm at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, just one block from Chase Center. The festival fills Koret Quad and the surrounding campus with hands-on science activities for all ages.
Bay Area Science Ferstival
Highlights of this year's event include:
- Join members of the USA National Archery Team to discover the physics behind archery with hands-on suction-cup arrow shooting and long-range digital simulations.
- Meet reptiles and amphibians face-to-face.
- Explore a robot zoo with dozens of hands-on activities. Kids can drive robots through a maze, help a robot shoot a basketball, and learn about robot engineering.
- Walk through a giant inflatable lung and colon.
- Watch a mini Mount Shasta “eruption” complete with cornstarch “ash” and crispy rice “lava bombs.”
- Use microscopes with UCSF teams to examine stem cells and blood cells.
- Put anatomy skills to the test by building skeletons.
- Try assembling a prosthetic leg and learn how prosthetic sockets are made.
- Discover how the brain processes visual information through optical illusions.
In addition to UCSF, participating organizations include UC Berkeley, City College of San Francisco, Mission Science Workshop, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and a variety of life sciences companies.
UCSF’s Mission Bay campus is located in San Francisco, just one block from Chase Center and convenient to the Muni T Third Street light rail line.
Bay Area Science Festival with 125 Hands-on Experiences. Gamma Nine Photography
