The festival, organized by UCSF’s Science & Health Education Partnership, was first launched in 2011 and quickly became a beloved fall tradition. After several years at Oracle Park, where attendance reached around 20,000, the event is making its Mission Bay debut, with organizers expecting about 10,000 visitors.
Organizers said the festival’s hiatus was due to staffing changes and a move to the Mission Bay campus.
“It’s been a few years since our last festival, and we’re really excited to bring it to Mission Bay,” said Katherine Nielsen, director of the partnership. “This campus gives us new opportunities, like behind-the-scenes lab tours and stage events, that we couldn’t offer at the ballpark.”
Visitors can explore UCSF labs usually closed to the public, from neuroscience and human performance studies to cutting-edge robotics. One of the lab tours will show visitors how our brain processes our feelings every day, with scientists sharing their research on human emotions.
The popular “robot zoo” will return, featuring local high school robotics teams, alongside a variety of outdoor experiments. Festivalgoers can even roast marshmallows using sunlight and a parabolic mirror, peek at their own brainwaves, or learn how 3D printing helps surgeons plan operations.