Discovery Days are the Bay Area Science Festival’s hands-on science extravaganzas for families. All Discovery Days are FREE and open to all.  Each year over 150 exhibitors participate offering non-stop, experiments, interactive games and activities, live entertainment and encounters with live and unique animals and specimens.  There are two Discovery Days each year, one in the East Bay and one in San Francisco’s Oracle Park.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to gather at larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

In 2020 all of the Bay Area Science Festival events will be free! We strongly believe that much of the Science Festival programming should be available free of charge and that these programs are the perfect opportunity for local scientists and engineers to interact with the public.

Discovery Days are free for the public to attend.  But in order to make the Festival sustainable year after year, we ask that Discovery Day exhibitors pay a small fee to help cover the costs of tenting, equipment, permitting, and security. If the cost of participation is prohibitive, we offer a free space to non-profit organizations that participate in or host another festival event.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to gather at larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

With over 50 events from Santa Rosa to San Jose, BASF reaches more than 70,000 people each year.

In 2019, the BASF’s  Discovery Day at Oracle park drew more than 30,000 people and the Discovery Day at Cal State East Bay at Hayward drew 4000.

Exhibitors: when preparing for the event, be sure to plan to serve a large audience.  Typically 500 people will visit any one booth during the course of a Discovery Day event.  We ask that all exhibitors provide adequate staffing and materials to manage a crowd of this size.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for the Bay Area Science Festival!

Please visit our Volunteer information page and fill out the Volunteer Application Form to be added to our contact list for volunteering.

Volunteer opportunities will become available in the fall. Please note that we require volunteers to be age 16+.

We offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities and exhibit options.  Please contact us at sponsor@bayareasciencefestival.org or 415-502-5137 for more information.

The Bay Area Science Festival seeks participation by every Bay Area resident, especially K-12 students & teachers! We have found that K-12 teachers are integral partners and have had a significant impact on the festival’s success.

We have multiple opportunities for teachers and students. We invite science clubs or students from local middle and high schools to join us (with their teacher advisor or another responsible adult) by hosting a booth at the one of Bay Area Science Festival’s Discovery Days events.  We’ve had teams of students from Bay Area schools exhibiting robots, biotechnology activities and other great science activities.

Additionally, please let your students and their families know about the Discovery Day events – they are perfect for children and their families.  Visit our Educator Resources Page and Discovery Days page to find out more.

Discovery Day Flyers 

Please help spread the word about the festival throughout your school and neighborhood. Over 40% of last year’s attendees at Discovery Days found out about the event through school!

Classroom flyers and postcards are available now. Feel free to request printed postcards for your classroom at: info@bayareasciencefestival.org

If you have a specific project to propose for the festival, please get in touch with us at events@bayareasciencefestival.org.

If you would like to be an exhibitor at one of our Discovery Day events, please fill out the call for Exhibitors Application.  Every exhibit/activity will be reviewed for safety and science content by a festival committee. Terms and conditions for participation will be available at the portal site.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to host our larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to host our larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

Included with Exhibit Space (information below is from 2019)

• Exhibitor listing on the Bay Area Science Festival website**
• Exhibitor listing on onsite Discovery Day Guide/Map**
• 10’x10’ tent with 3 sidewalls (if desired), with with 6’ table and 2 chairs if on field at Oracle Park
•  6’x8’ space with 6’ table and 2chairs if on Promenade/Club Level at Oracle Park
•  8’ table with 2 chairs per 10’ exhibit area at East Bay
• Banner with your organization’s name

110V outlet (20 amp circuit, not dedicated)***

**Inclusion based on receipt of exhibitor’s materials no later than stated deadline of each year.

*** Available only upon request. Additional charges may apply. Request needs to be submitted by stated deadline of each year.

Available for additional fees

Additional power requirements

Outdoor space available at all three Discovery Days. With permission, pop-up tents are allowed.

Please contact us with any special requirements/permits needed.

An event of this scale and magnitude involves many costs (including but not limited to: rental fee for the ballpark or fairground, permitting fees, equipment rentals and printing of banners, postcards, flyers and more). The exhibitor fee allows us to recoup some of these costs so that the Festival can be sustained year after year. We are aware that these costs may prohibit participation for some exhibitors and we would like to work with all groups to make entry possible.  If the cost of participation is prohibitive, please reach out to us.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to host our larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

Yes – be sure to complete an entry for each of the spaces/activities your organization will have at Discovery Days.

Yes, actually we have two!  Please visit our Exhibitor Information page, for registration information and deadlines, and visit our Exhibitor Toolkit page with key resources for exhibitors.

The deadline to register as an exhibitor is in September of each year. We strongly advise, as space is limited, that you sign up as soon as possible to guarantee your spot and your activity.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to host our larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

Our exhibit team screens each application to ensure that we have limited repeat activities. We will work with any groups involved to identify new activities if needed.

Yes! Be sure to visit our Exhibitor Tips and our Exhibitor Toolkit page to get more tips to make a great booth activity and be sure to watch video from our friends at the Philadelphia Science Festival. It’s just five minutes long and will provide some really helpful tips that will be useful in developing your exhibitor space.

Sadly in 2020, due to COVID-19, we won’t be able to host our larger events like Discovery Day at Oracle Park.

As the festival approaches we will have both the Festival Calendar, with the full schedule of events, and the Program Guide, with further details about the events,  available for viewing on our website.  Check back as we get closer to the start of the Festival.

Working together, we can develop events to encourage conversations, inspire curiosity and reach new audiences, all as we highlight the Bay Area’s rich assets in research and innovation.    Visit our Collaborator Toolkit page and download our Collaborator Guide and visit our Event and Explorer Tour page to find out more.