Northern California’s biggest free science fair takes over UCSF’s Mission Bay campus for one day: 125+ hands-on experiments, demos, games, stage shows and science talks, with about 15,000 people expected. No tickets or registration needed, and it runs rain or shine. This is the festival’s 13th year, organized by UCSF’s Science & Health Education Partnership.
What Kids Can Do
- Drive robots through a maze and help one shoot a basketball in the Robot Zoo
- Walk through a giant inflatable lung and colon
- Watch a mini Mount Shasta “erupt” with cornstarch ash and crispy-rice lava bombs
- Look at stem cells and blood cells under real microscopes, and build a skeleton
- Shoot suction-cup arrows with members of the USA National Archery Team (new this year)
- Outdoor stage: Drag STEM Storytime (11:45am), two science magic shows, live reptiles and amphibians, and the Tiny Rock band (3:15pm)
Older kids (12+) can join free behind-the-scenes lab tours at 12:30pm and 2:30pm, but they need advance registration on the festival site and check-in 40 minutes early.
Planning the day? Read our Bay Area Science Festival with kids guide for the full stage schedule and a simple plan.
Getting There
Take Muni if you can: the T Third stop is about 230 meters from Koret Quad, and the 22, 15 and 55 buses also serve the campus. 4th Street is closed between 16th Street and Nelson Rising Lane from 8am to 6pm. Driving? Use the UCSF Community Center Garage (1625 Owens St) or the UCSF Third Street Garage (1650 Third St): $5 an hour, $35 daily max, paid with the PayByPhone app.
Good to Know
- Bring a water bottle (refill stations on site). Food trucks are there, or bring your own food.
- No pets, alcohol, smoking or drones.
- Most exhibits are on paved paths or indoors and wheelchair accessible; ADA parking is $7/day with a placard. It gets loud, so pack headphones for noise-sensitive kids.
- The exhibitor map goes up once the weather plan is set: festival map · accessibility FAQ
Date, hours, location and parking confirmed with the festival organizers on October 1, 2026.
Getting There
- MUCSF / Chase Center (16th Street)Muni Metro T · 0.2 mi, about 4 min walk
- MKing St & 4th StMuni Metro N · 0.5 mi, about 13 min walk
- BPowell Street BART1.4 mi, about 35 min walk
Transit directions, including buses
Nearest Muni Metro, streetcar and cable car stops and BART stations, from SFMTA and BART published stop data. Distances are straight-line, and walking times are our estimate. Buses aren’t listed here.
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Coming up Nearby
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Read More
Getting there by Muni
Straight-line distance from the venue; check SFMTA for times and service changes. From our Events by Muni data, October 1, 2026.
Source: Science & Health Education Partnership at UCSF ↗ · Checked against the official source on October 1, 2026. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.
Dates, times, prices and venue checked against the official source on .