Mark your calendars - The 2018 Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival takes place October 13 - 21, 2018.
As always, the festival kicks off with the Cool Science Carnival Day for Kids at UCCS on Saturday, October 13th from 10 am to 4 pm. We'll have exciting demonstration shows, laboratory tours and demos, rockets, drones, animals and lots of other hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) activities and exhibits for kids (primarily K-8th grades). It's all FREE (including parking) and fun for all ages!
In addition to Cool Science Carnival Day the CSCSF features 9 days of exciting, educational and engaging special events designed to showcase STEAM where it's taking place in Colorado Springs and around the Pikes Peak Region. Take guided nature hikes, gaze at the stars and planets with real astronomers, learn how to brew beer or make wine, watch fire-fighters train and learn the science of fires, take a special $5/person cave tour, make your own Dippin' Dots with liquid nitrogen, pitch in on a trail restoration project, go inside a hydroelectric power plant, learn about artesian wells and mineral springs, check out a television news studio, laugh as real scientists perform stand-up comedy, tour a crime lab and much, much more. There are events for all ages- adults, kids, teens and families - and most are absolutely free (some events may have a small fee to help the hosts cover their costs).
This year the festival gets an early start with a special pre-festival event on Friday, October 5th, 8 pm at the Ivywild School Gymnasium. It's "Science Riot" : cheer on local scientists turned comedians as they attempt standup for the first time and wax hilarious about their topics of expertise. Cool Science will also be there to give a little preview of our upcoming festival events. Find out more and purchase your tickets here.
The festival also features a very special showcase event, "STEAM at the MAC" (Wednesday, October 17th, 5 - 8 pm) where you can learn how heat and altitude affect cooking from a master chef, explore the mechanical and electrical wonders of vintage pinball machines, watch demonstrations of glass blowing and metal welding by master artisans and tour the resources of the Manitou Art Center's marvelous Maker Space. And speaking of makers, the Colorado Springs Mini Maker Faire at Library 21c (Saturday, October 20th, 10 am - 4 pm) is part of the greatest show and tell on Earth!
You can find more information about the special events and let us know what you think about the festival on our Facebook page.
Below is the full calendar of festival events. You can view it as a list (default) or by week or month. You can also select which events are displayed by target audience (that's the little down arrow on the right side at the top). Click on any event title for a detailed description and a link to pre-register or purchase tickets. Note that most events require a reservation (so we know how many people to expect) and some also require a small reservation "ticket" purchase to insure that the reservations only go to those who really intend to show up. [If you wish to bring a school or other group contact us and we may waive part or all of this fee.] You may also choose to show up without a reservation on the day of the event in case there is space available, but we make no guarantee that you will get in.
You can also download a PDF (647KB) of our festival events flyer, but note that some of the information may be outdated. The information below is the most current.
Note: Early copies of our printed festival events flyer incorrectly listed "The Mineral Springs and Geology of Manitou" on October 19th. The correct date is Saturday, October 20th (details below).
If this calendar is too wide for your mobile phone screen in portrait mode, try requesting a desktop version of the page. If it still doesn't fit, this page may work better.
