For two weeks in March, science is taking center stage in Atlanta. Atlanta Science Festival (ASF) is making a return to the city, with the kickoff starting on March 8, 2025.
The festival will feature over 140 exhibitions and events for people of all ages. It’s facilitated by Science ATL and has over 80 partners, with staples in the Atlanta region like Emory, Delta, NCR and Georgia Tech serving as primary sponsors.
Events this year include an escape room trail at a local park, a STEM edition of “The Amazing Race,” a dance performance, hydroponics, storytelling in science, robotics, hands-on exhibits, and just about everything in between.
Meisa Salaita, Ph.D, founder and co-director of Science ATL — the people behind ASF — is a scientist herself who understands the importance of not just being a science practitioner but also effectively communicating it to wider audiences.
“That was sort of my impetus; I loved chemistry so very much, and I thought it was this amazingly beautiful example of how nature worked,” Salaita said. “I would sit there — on an airplane or anywhere — with my chemistry papers reading for grad school, and people next to me would ask me what I was doing, and I would tell them, and they were just like, “Oh, I hated chemistry.” That was the worst… so I just thought, I love this thing so much. How can I help others to see that beauty? How can I help others to feel connected?”
That same passion would eventually help forge the foundations for a new annual tradition in the city.
The origin of the festival starts with Salaita’s move to Atlanta in 2009. After hearing about science festivals happening in Europe and seeing that Atlanta lacked one, she made it her mission to drum up support for the initiative.
The next two years of gathering funding and partnerships like the three founding organizations — Emory, Georgia Tech and Metro Atlanta Chamber — would ultimately lead to the first festival in 2011.
“I have the mentality of go big or go home,” Salaita joked. “So even that first festival had over 100 events.”
Although it was the first, it was by no means a shy start.
“We have this big event on the last day called the Exploration Expo, and it poured that day, and we had to move it inside the Georgia World Congress Center… and like 20,000 people streamed in that day, battled the parking and the rain and were like ‘give me the science!'” Salaita said. “So it was incredible, and so well received from the first festival and has only gotten better since then.”
Year after year, Science ATL builds off the successes of previous years. This year is no different.
“Every year we really strive to showcase the science in the city and make connections from science to everyday life, and find a way to connect people to something they’re interested in,” Salaita.
Her favorite event — the annual dance, which this year is called “(My Battery is Low) and it is Getting Dark Neuroscience and Dance” — is a nexus of science, art and dance and represents multiple sides of herself. She emphasized that no matter your background or experience within a STEM field, there is something for you at the Atlanta Science Festival — even the adults without any formal connection to the world of science.
“You see it in the kids, and you sort of expect that they have these ‘Aha!’ moments when they touch the brain, but I think where I have found the most level of surprise has been in the adults that come along with the kids,” Salaita said. “A lot of the reason that the parents bring the kids is because they don’t understand a lot of the science… they’re not connected to it, they don’t know how to help their kid feel connected to it, and so they bring them to events like this because they want the best for their kids and they see a future in STEM for them. And when you see [the adults] push their kids out of the way to touch a brain or control the robotic arm — these parents are super into it!”
The festival does more than showcase interesting science projects — it connects residents of the city with resources and helps them learn of the neat opportunities happening all around them.
“What’s neat is I think most people just don’t even have a sense of [things] happening here in their city; this festival has a very local feel about it, and part of what we want to do is showcase the science that’s in the city to show people what’s in their own backyards,” Salaita said, adding that people pass buildings and universities every day in the city without knowing some of the science going on in them.
Beyond the festival, Science ATL facilitates partnerships and programs with students all over the Metro Atlanta area throughout the year. The mission remains the same: bridging the curiosity that people have with science, and showing them that science is for everyone.
** In a Seen In Atlanta gallery, Kelly Jordan looks back at the 2023 Atlanta Science Festival Exploration Expo. **
Where is it going to be held and what are the hours?
I second Michael O’Neill. I thought the basics of reporting were who, what, when and why.
Ah, the Atlanta Science Festival—a veritable celebration of human curiosity and ingenuity. This article deftly captures the essence of an event that transcends traditional boundaries, offering over 140 exhibitions and events starting March 8, 2025. From escape room trails to STEM-inspired races, the festival embodies the spirit of exploration. It’s a testament to Atlanta’s commitment to fostering a culture where science is not merely observed but experienced, igniting the minds of all who partake.