North Carolina Science Festival 2020 is a statewide collection of events in April, 2020, intended to ignite an interest in science in both kids and adults. Events take place at a number of venues in the Triangle, including universities, parks, museums, book stores and more.
You can see all the events here. Some events are free, some have a cost, and others are free after admission into the venue. Here is a list of some of the free events in the Triangle. Follow each link for more detailed information. Some require registration and may be filled up by the time you read this.
Some events are for kids, some for adults, some for teens, and some are for everyone.
Note: this is just a small sample of the free NC Science Festival events going on in the Triangle! Make sure to check them all out.
Carolina Science Cafe
Wednesday, April 1st, 2020
6 pm. to 7:50 p.m.
BackBar at Top of the Hill
100 E Franklin Street
Chapel Hill
Free
Carolina Science Cafe takes place the first Wednesday of every month. It’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s free, current science awareness program. Designed for adults, this program explores the science topics making national and international headlines and offers the chance to meet the experts behind the headlines.
You don’t need to register…just show up!
Each Carolina Science Cafe features an expert presentation and informal discussion. These programs are held at Top of the Hill restaurant’s “Back Bar,” which offers a relaxed environment to explore fascinating science topics. Beverages are available from Top of the Hill’s menu, and free appetizers – while they last – are provided by Sigma Xi.
UNC Science Expo
Saturday, April 4th, 2020
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
UNC Chapel Hill
W. Cameron Avenue
Chapel Hill
Free
On April 4, help UNC shut down beautiful Cameron Avenue for the 10th Anniversary of the UNC Science Expo! Join a sea of tents for dazzling science demos, delicious local food trucks, and bodacious stage performances as we celebrate all the research that happens right here on campus!
Hundreds of scientists and local STEM professionals will be here to share their research with fun, family-friendly table top activities and hands-on demonstrations.
This free event allows visitors to engage with scientists and researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds, including chemistry, physics, marine sciences, archaeology, and over 30 other organizations at UNC-Chapel Hill.
With over 125 tents, 7 stage performances, and 25 tours of 11 different labs, the 2019 UNC Science Expo offered 10,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds opportunities to pursue their passion for STEM. For 2020, we want to make it bigger and better than ever!
FIRST Robotics Competition State Championship
Saturday, April 4th, 2020
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Gore Arena — Campbell University
56 Main Street
Buies Creek, NC
Free for spectators
The FIRST North Carolina State Championship brings together the top 32 FIRST Robotics teams from across the state to compete in the 2020 Infinite Recharge game.
FIRST is teaming up with Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as part of the Star Wars: Force for Change philanthropic initiative to inspire the next generation of heroes and innovators, creating a place where collaboration and collective wisdom can elevate new ideas and foster growth. FIRST RISE empowers FIRST participants to explore the future of cities and architecture, building communities filled with inspiration, creativity, and – most importantly – hope.
Cheer on these amazing teams as they compete for honors, awards, and glory! The top 14 teams will advance to the national FIRST Championship in Houston April 15-18.
Artificial Intelligence Playground
Saturday, April 4th, 2020
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
1219 Broad Street
Durham
Come play with Artificial Intelligence and see AI in action through live demos. This family friendly event will feature computer vision, robotics, interactive machine learning programs, and the opportunity to speak with high school students about their current AI projects. Art, Technology and Design projects will also be on display. This is an open house style event, please come anytime! Open to the Public!
Sensory Friendly Science: Autism Awareness Day
Sunday, April 5th, 2020
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Museum of Life and Science
433 W Murray Avenue
Durham
Free with museum admission
Join the Museum of Life and Science and UNC TEACCH Autism Program and celebrate neurodiversity in this day-long event! Many different community organizations will share resources and information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related sensory sensitivities. Enjoy quieter train rides and hands-on experiments in The Lab. Learn about the Museum’s cool-down spaces and ASD support materials, like noise-cancelling headphones, visual schedules, and activity systems. Explore and appreciate the uniqueness of our brains!
YOU! The Future of Science
Sunday, April 5th, 2020
1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Kidzu Children’s Museum
201 S Estes Drive
Chapel Hill
Free
Join the fun! Explore different areas of science with tons of hands on activities. Try out engineering, aquatic ecology, physics, astronomy, and more at the Kidzu Science Fun Fair. The Future of science is bright and that future is YOU! Kidzu is “pay what you want” the first Sunday of every month.
The Great Blue Jay Nature Hunt
Monday, April 6th, 2020
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Blue Jay Point County Park
3200 Pleasant Union Church Road
Raleigh
Free
Take part in the 3rd Annual Great Blue Jay Nature Hunt! Pick up your search list, learn how to navigate the park, and then head out to find and photograph designated items throughout the park. For example, “take a picture of a tree shorter than you.” Document your successes on your smartphone–you are encouraged to use Google and apps to look up information and ID plants and animals before submitting photos of your 10 best finds.
Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Adults (16 and over), Families wtih kids average age 9 & up, and Families with kids average age 8 & under (some item locations are stroller-friendly). The hunt starts at the Education Center. Pre-registration is recommended as it will speed up your sign in process at the Hunt. Please arrive 15 minutes early to sign in if you have NOT pre-registered. More information and pre-registration.
Astronomy on Tap at Fullsteam
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Fullsteam Brewery
726 Rigsbee Avenue
Durham
Free
Enjoy fabulous Fullsteam beer and chat about astronomy on Tuesday, April 7th! Featured presenters are UNC graduate students Zack Hutchens and Mugdha Polimera.
Worms Eat My Garbage — Learn about vermicompost and bring home your own worm bin
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
South Wake Waste Management Facilities
6025 Old Smithfield Road
Apex
Free
Earthworms are the hardest working creatures on Earth. Learn how these amazing creatures keep our soils healthy, reduce waste, and help your garden grow.
Attend this free morning workshop to learn how to:
- Vermicompost at home
- Build and maintain your own worm bin
- Harvest vermicompost
- Take your own worm bin home
Limited to one worm bin per household. Household must be within Wake County, NC. Maximum of four members from each household may attend.
STEM & Sports Olympiad
Saturday, April 11th, 2020
11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Taylor Family YMCA
101 YMCA Drive, Cary
Free
STEM & Sports Olympiad is a one-day event that focuses on mental and physical challenges that engage the mind and the body. The Olympiad contests aim to foster an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math while at the same time use a variety of exercises and sports to improve student’s attention and focus as they compete with others. The participants will also have an opportunity to compete against their parents and mentors in this fun challenge. Students will answer questions and solve STEM challenges in one station and then move on to a station where they perform a light exercise challenge. Each student will have an opportunity to go through 12 different stations. Each student will have to complete a station before they are able to move on to the next station. Students will solve puzzles, work on circuit boards, build items using magformers, jump rope, do basketball drills and show off their hula hoop skills!
After the individual students compete then the main competition starts against the parents and volunteers. Teamwork is a required skill in most STEM careers today. Our STEM & Sports Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to get involved. Emphasis will be placed on active, hands-on group and individual participation. At the end of the Olympiad there will be an Olympic style ceremony where the winners will receive medals for participating in the challenge.
Earth Fair at NC State University
Monday, April 13th, 2020
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Talley Student Union
2610 Cates Avenue
Raleigh
Free
Celebrate Earth Day with the Wolfpack. This is an Earth-focused fair featuring exhibits, demonstrations and ideas on how you can make the world a better place. Bring a friend and come experience the breadth of sustainability, including learning about food, water, transportation, nature, wellness and so much more. This outdoor event on Stafford Commons is free, open to the public and sponsored by NC State’s University Sustainability Office.
RaptorLab at Research Triangle High School
Tuesday, April 21st, 2020
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Research Triangle High School
3106 E NC54
Research Triangle Park
Free
Join us for hands-on workshops and exhibits at Research Triangle High School’s RaptorLab! Explore the thermodynamics of rocket fuel, and interact with 3D printers and award winning robots. Experiment with candy in our biotech lab, examine specimens from our adopted urban stream, and much more! A student research symposium will feature projects completed in collaboration with local universities. Workshops and exhibits are free and appropriate for all ages.
Earth Day at Marbles
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Marbles Kids’ Museum
201 E Hargett Street
Raleigh
Free, after museum admission ($7 for adults, children and seniors; free for members and children under age 1)
Celebrate Earth Day at Marbles. Join us for Backyard Explorers at 10am and investigate sustainability by exploring plants, soil, recyclable materials, and how to keep our earth green for tomorrow.
Participate in our Rain Catch Ribbon Cutting at 10:30am as we debut our rain catch system in Sun Sprouts and learn about sustainable water use. Discover what sustainable water practices the future will bring.
Pop-up Earth Day play throughout the day. Get inspired by how you can help create a green future.
Statewide Star Party: Chapel Hill Public Library
Friday, April 24th, 2020
6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Chapel Hill Public Library
100 Library Drive
Chapel Hill
Free
Please join us for Statewide Star Party – Seeing the Universe. We’ll celebrate the Myths and Magic of the Universe with Stories Under the Stars in the Outdoor Classroom, stargazing on the Terrace with Morehead Planetarium and Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS) astronomers and their telescopes, hands-on activities, special perfomances, and a conversation with a NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador!
Statewide Star Party: Duke Teaching Observatory
Friday, April 24th, 2020
9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Duke Teaching Observatory
5003-5123 W Cornwallis Road
Durham
Free
Have you ever looked up on a clear night and thought about the lights you were seeing? Have you considered that every time you do so, you see millions, and maybe billions, of years into the past? Do you want to see these objects up close with your own eyes, learn more about what you see and how scientists see these objects, and have a conversation with friendly, knowledgeable physicists? Then join us, the Duke University Physics Department, during the Statewide Star Party as we help the Triangle community See the Universe at the Duke Teaching Observatory! We will have several 10″ Schmid-Cassegrain telescopes set up; because we are situated in a field within a forest, there will be minimal artificial light pollution, so you will be able to observe colorful planets, stars, and many deep-sky objects, including vibrant nebulae, galaxies, and awe-inspiring star clusters!
The Observatory is in Duke Forest, near Duke University’s West Campus – directions and parking information can be found at https://phy.duke.edu/duke-teaching-observatory. We will begin at 9 PM on Friday, April 24. For two hours, we will have several telescopes set up to view the night-sky in great detail as well as hands-on demonstration booths to teach families about the basic physics of the universe and the methods astronomers use to view the night sky in different ways. We encourage all visitors to bring blankets, chairs, binoculars, and even personal telescopes – there is plenty of space in the field to sit down, lay back, and simply look up. (You may spot a meteor here and there if you’re careful…)
In the case of a cloudy Friday night, we will postpone the party until Saturday, April 25 at the same time. If the weather is still not cooperating, we will move the event to the French Family Science Center on the Duke University’s campus, where we will still show families interactive demonstrations and let folks look through our powerful telescopes. Parking will be available in the Chemistry lot. We hope to see you there!
City Nature Challenge 2020
4 day period from April 24th to 27th, plus some in-person activities, to be announced soon
All over Raleigh
Free
Want to help show the rest of the world just how amazing North Carolina’s citizen scientists are? Join in the City Nature Challenge! This competition pits several American urban areas against each other to see who can document the most biodiversity on the iNaturalist app over a 4-day period. We’re going up against cities that are a lot bigger than we are (Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Hong Kong, London, and others), but North Carolina’s amazing biodiversity and the great wildlife we see every day can help us win!
You can participate in the City Nature Challenge throughout North Carolina by doing the following:
- Join us for in-person activities! See the full Activity Schedule on the event website (coming February 2020).
- Visit any outdoor space in North Carolina from April 24 to 27, take photos of the plants, animals, and fungi you see, and submit them to iNaturalist on your own! Download the iNaturalist smartphone app for Android or Apple and submit as you go or carry a camera with you and upload them through the website by May 3.
Triangle SciTech Expo
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
11 W Jones Street
Raleigh
Free
Featuring over fifty hands-on exhibits, games, crafts and activities, plus a series of presentations, Triangle SciTech Expo is a unique event that assembles scientists and technical professionals from universities, organizations, and industry to engage visitors of all ages in the excitement of science and technology. We provide leaders in SciTech fields a prominent opportunity to showcase innovations and research while engaging visitors in hands-on activities that actively spark their interest in STEM fields.
SciTech 2020 will focus on Planet Earth and will showcase how STEM is being used to study, preserve and protect our planet as we face huge challenges like the climate crisis, pollution, water shortages, and the loss of biodiversity.
Family Science Discovery Day
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Johnston Community College
245 College Road
Health Science Building
Smithfield
Free
Johnston Community College will host “Family Science Discovery Day” on Saturday April 25, 2020 from 10:00 – 1:00 pm on the JCC campus in the Health Sciences Building. On display will be engaging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focused activities and exhibits designed to stimulate scientific discovery and exploration for all ages. Come out and be engaged by interactive activities that explore major STEM areas! This event is free to everyone and no registration is required.
Statewide Star Party: White Deer
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
White Deer Park
2400 Aversboro Road
Garner
Free
Join us at White Deer Park for the 8th annual Statewide Star Party. This year’s theme is “Seeing the Universe.” We will have hands-on activities, crafts, and a story-time by the fire. Raleigh Astronomy Club will join us with their astronomy expertise and telescopes. Feel free to bring your own equipment and join in the skywatching fun. Don’t forget your flashlight! We also encourage a blanket or folding chair. Contact White Deer Park Nature Center at 919.661.6982 with questions.
Statewide Star Party: Wilkerson Nature Preserve
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Wilkerson Nature Preserve
5229 Awls Haven Drive
Raleigh
Free
Join us for an evening of stargazing in North Raleigh, with outdoor telescope observing, indoor activities, and presentations about the wonders of our universe for all ages! Come prepared for the dark (a red flashlight is recommended). Indoor astronomy activities in our Education Building with take place no matter the weather.
Statewide Star Party: Old North Durham Park
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Old North Durham Park
310 W Geer Street
Durham
Join Durham Parks and Recreation at Old north Durham Park to celebrate this year’s Statewide Star Party! Our knowledgeable staff and astronomers from CHAOS, NCCU, and NASA Ambassadors will provide high-powered binoculars and telescopes for high quality viewing, perfect for “Seeing the Universe”. There will also be lots of hands-on activities to explore and enjoy! Please dress for the weather. This program is free and does not require registration.
Statewide Star Party: The Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve
Mial Plantation Road
Raleigh
Free
Join Triangle Land Conservancy at the Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve, which is set to open to the public on April 25, 2020, for our Grand Opening and Statewide Star Party! Our 405-acre preserve is located away from city light pollution to allow you to see the universe through telescopes compliments of the Raleigh Astronomy Club, learn about the constellations, and enjoy hands-on activities from the Star Party kit perfect for all ages! Please check the TLC events page for registration details on March 1, 2020. The full address for the preserve and parking details will be sent to guests via confirmation email.
