Scene from ScienceFest Discovery Day 2024/Courtesy photo
Scene from Discovery 2025 at Los Alamos ScienceFest/Curtesy photo
LOS ALAMOS MAINSTREET NEWS RELEASE
Received Sept. 18
Get ready for a week of science, creativity, discovery and hands-on fun as Los Alamos ScienceFest returns September 18–26, 2026, for its 19th year!
This year’s theme, “It’s All Elemental!”, celebrates the many ways science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, or STEAM, are connected to our everyday lives, our community, and the world around us. ScienceFest brings together local and regional organizations, businesses, educators, artists and scientists to create engaging experiences for people of all ages.
The festival’s premier event, Discovery Day, will take place on Saturday, September 26, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Fuller Lodge and Fuller Lodge Lawn in downtown Los Alamos. Visitors can explore hands-on science demonstrations, interactive activities, live performances, and more from a wide variety of STEAM partners. Additional Discovery Day activities will take place throughout downtown, including a STEMarts LiveCoding performance at SALA Event Center, an Electric Vehicle Show presented by PEEC, and the Bradbury Science Museum’s interactive Challenge Tomorrow trailers.
Discovery Day is designed to make science accessible, playful, and engaging for everyone. Attendees can experiment, ask questions, meet local scientists and educators, explore new technology, and discover connections between science and the arts, culture and community.
ScienceFest also offers activities throughout the week leading up to Discovery Day. Partner events include science story time and chemistry activities at Mesa Public Library, seed harvesting and astronomy programs with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center, an insect exploration walk, forest bathing at Bandelier National Monument, and a screening of Picture a Scientist at the SALA Event Center. Participants can also learn about New Mexico incentives for energy-efficient home improvements through a program presented by the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities and PEEC.
ScienceFest is also expanding its reach beyond Los Alamos this year through a regional pilot initiative developed in partnership with the Bradbury Science Museum. The initiative begins with the Los Luceros Annual Fall Festival on September 20 and includes additional regional programming such as the New Mexico Wildlife Center’s Ambassador Animal Tour and Valles Caldera National Preserve’s Scientific Discovery Day. The regional effort highlights the connections between science, culture, history, art, and the natural environment throughout northern New Mexico.
Scene from Discovery After Dark 2025. Courtesy photo
Scene From Discovery After Dark 2024/Courtesy photo
The festival concludes on Saturday, September 26, with the fourth annual Discovery After Dark: STEAM for Adults, taking place from 5-9 p.m. at various locations around downtown Los Alamos. Adults can play like kids again with interactive activities including button, keychain and magnet making at Samizdat Bookstore & Teahouse, a silent disco with mocktails and glow paint at Fuller Lodge, code-breaking games and an elemental scavenger hunt at the Bradbury Science Museum, lava-lamp activities at MainStreet Marketplace, and Play Like a Kid Again at STEAMLab featuring aerial silks, Magna-Tiles and bumper balls. The evening will also include an ASTROTour and Star Party at PEEC, one-act plays at Los Alamos Little Theatre and more!
With events taking place across Los Alamos and the surrounding region, there is something for everyone at this year’s ScienceFest. For the complete schedule and additional information, visit www.LosAlamosScienceFest.com.
Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District thanks ScienceFest sponsors, including Los Alamos County, N3B, UNMLA, Government Scientific Source, Enterprise Bank & Trust, XMission, Feynman Center for Innovation, LANL CPO, and Intellipop. Los Alamos ScienceFest would not be possible without the support of many partners, volunteers, and community organizations. 2026 partners include the Bradbury Science Museum, Pajarito Environmental Education Center, STEMarts Lab, Los Luceros Historical Site, New Mexico Wildlife Center, Los Alamos Teen Center, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Los Alamos STEAMLab, Pajarito Astronomers, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Bradbury Science Museum Association, Los Alamos Little Theatre, and Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities, Samizdat, MainStreet Marketplace, LACDC, and Los Alamos County: Community Services, Environmental Services/Zero Waste, Public Utilities, and many others.
About Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District:
As an award-winning district in the state of New Mexico, Los Alamos MainStreet & Creative District (LAMSCD) focuses on the town’s connections to a multi-layered history and cutting-edge science by facilitating community events, entrepreneurial programs and support for the local business community that contributes to the vitality of its two designated districts: one in downtown Los Alamos and one in the commercial area of White Rock. It also oversees MainStreet MarketPlace, a coworking and business development hub, and the Los Alamos Farmers’ Market. Visit LosAlamosMainStreet.com for more information.
Los Alamos MainStreet & Creative District is a program of Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation (LACDC), a private, not-for-profit economic and community development organization. LACDC serves as the umbrella organization for Los Alamos MainStreet & Creative District, Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce, Discover Los Alamos, Los Alamos Small Business Center, Mainstreet Marketplace, and Los Alamos Research Park.