FREE Visit Lauderdale Science Festival at the Museum of Discovery and Science

Celebrate a FREE day of STEM exploration at the annual Visit Lauderdale Science Festival at the Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) and neighboring Esplanade Park on Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.! From thrilling science shows to hands-on makerspace workshops, family fun awaits at this indoor and outdoor science expo designed to highlight the critical role of STEM in education and ignite curiosity and enthusiasm in young minds.

The Visit Lauderdale Science Festival will open with a colorful, ooey, gooey celebratory start as Joe Cox, president and CEO of MODS, gets SLIMED in the name of science! The action then moves across the museum grounds and the adjacent Esplanade Park as live science shows, nationally renowned science presenters, gravity-defying acrobatics and interactive challenges prepare to amaze and astound participants.

This year’s festival highlights include:

• Spheres Bubble Show: A dazzling performance where science meets artistry—experience the physics of bubbles like never before.
• We Flip Science Acrobats: Science and spectacle collide! Witness Newton’s Second Law in action as acrobats climb towering stacks of chairs to test the laws of physics.
• It’s Not Magic, It’s Science: Explore how science creates illusions that seem magical but are grounded in reality.
• Oobleck Run: Race across a pool of non-Newtonian fluid and discover the surprising science of solid-liquid hybrids.

Kids of all ages are invited to unleash their creativity with these engaging STEM activities featuring special hands-on Makerspace Workshops including:

• Coding Bracelets: Learn binary code and create a bracelet with your initials encoded in black and white beads.
• Mini Makerspace: Early learners can explore the foundations of engineering through tinkering and tool use.
• Baking Ratios: Master math and science through baking! Guests take home a mini kit to make shortbread cookies while learning the magic of ratios.
• Lichtenberg Figures: Explore the beauty of electrical discharges and create your own artwork inspired by lightning.
• Diving Deep: Witness the science of pressure and buoyancy through interactive Cartesian diver experiments.
• Cradle to Career: Discover career pathways with hands-on activities tied to STEM fields.

Get ready to experiment, build, and explore with a variety of Interactive Science Demos and Challenges:

• Earthquake Engineer: Construct a structure that can survive our earthquake simulation table.
• Bristle Bots: Build your own tiny vibrating robot and watch it scuttle around.
• Balloon Hover Boards: Engineer a hover board using balloons and learn about air pressure.
• Sublimation Station: Witness the magic of dry ice sublimation with fog-filled bubbles you can touch.
• Sound Wave Generator: Visualize sound waves as they create mesmerizing patterns in a tube filled with beads.
• Da Vinci Bridge: Build a self-supporting bridge using only interlocking beams – no glue required!

In the Innovation Showcase, explore groundbreaking scientific advancements presented by local industries and universities, showcasing the cutting-edge work happening in our community. And, in the Science Cafés, families will connect with leading STEM professionals and learn about cutting-edge research. This year’s speakers will be Joseph Alexander, an expert on how sharks and rays use their unique skin to glide through the water; Dr. Laura Fontenas, who will share groundbreaking neurobiology research aimed at repairing spinal injuries, Dr. Afeefa Abdool-Ghany, an environmental engineering and sustainability expert and others to be announced.

Plus, visitors will have free one-day access to MODS’ world-class, educational and inspiring exhibits that shape our world and fuel innovation including the new Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: The Exhibit, presented locally by Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans. Children will unravel the secrets of world-famous heroes in this new exhibit that brings to life the acclaimed PBS KIDS^® TV series, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum which follows kid adventurers Xavier Riddle, his little sister Yadina, and best friend Brad as they tackle everyday problems by doing something extraordinary: traveling back in time to learn from real-life inspirational figures when they were kids. The PBS KIDS^® TV series, Xavier Riddle and The Secret Museum is based on the highly acclaimed children’s book series Ordinary People Change the World by #1 New York Times bestselling author and South Florida resident Brad Meltzer and award-winning letterer and illustrator Chris Eliopoulos. Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: The Exhibit is a national traveling exhibit created by The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum in collaboration with 9 Story Media Group, Inc. and is locally sponsored by Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans.

Closing out the Visit Lauderdale Science Festival with a bang will be a colorful explosion of science featuring liquid nitrogen and hundreds of pit balls.

The Visit Lauderdale Science Festival is also sponsored by Florida Prepaid College Savings Plan (Platinum Sponsor), Community Foundation of Broward, MacGillivray Freeman Educational Foundation, UKG (Gold Sponsors) Centuric Technologies, Florida Philanthropic Network, Publix Super Markets Charities (Silver Sponsors), Broward MPO, M&T Bank (Copper Sponsors), Xpress Entertainment (In-Kind Sponsor).

For more information and to reserve tickets, visit mods.org/sciencefest.