MASSIVE DAYLONG SCIENCE CARNIVAL RETURNS TO THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY

The Philadelphia Science Festival Returns

With More Than 80 Events Over Nine Days: April 20-28

EVENT TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

PHILADELPHIA March 9, 2018—The Philadelphia Science Festival returns this spring to educate, inspire, and engage the region with the science and technology that surrounds our everyday world, April 20-28.   Organized and led by The Franklin Institute, in collaboration with 200 of the region’s premier science, cultural, and educational establishments and presented by The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) for the eighth consecutive year, the 2018 Philadelphia Science Festival offers more than 80 events over nine days in communities all across the region.  Throughout the nine-day Festival, Philadelphians can engage with the curiosities of science and technology through dozens of uniquely themed innovative events, self-guided tours, creative workshops, and stargazing parties.  Events take place across the region in parks, cafés, breweries, libraries, museums and other neighborhood venues— most of which are free.

Returning to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this year for the Festival’s grand finale is the free daylong Science Carnival on the Parkway, Saturday, April 28. Attracting more than 50,000 attendees in 2017, the massive outdoor science carnival is one of the most highly-anticipated festival events, providing a packed day of non-stop family-friendly activities, hands-on experiments, live performances, and explosive visuals from more than 150 exhibiting partners.

The Philadelphia Science Festival joins the celebration of the 125^th Anniversary of the historic Reading Terminal Market with two premier food science events, one for families and another designed for adults 21+. Our region’s finest institutions open their lab doors again this year for Be a Scientist—a day designed to provide unprecedented access to local scientists, conservators, paleontologists, architects, ecologists, nurses, and marine biologists, to illuminate the importance of their work.

Brand new for 2018! The Future of Food at Drexel Bistro (April 23), Brain Food: Science Night at the (Reading Terminal) Market (April 26), Beer Brunch: Fizzics Class at Yard’s Brewing Company (April 22), Science + Music at Christ Church Sanctuary (April 27), and Patent Pending at NextFab South (April 21). Festival Classics return in 2018, including Citywide Star Party (April 20), Science in the Park (April 21), Science Carnival on the Parkway (April 28), and Be a Scientist (April 22).  Festival Favorites promise to deliver exciting new twists for 2018, including Murder at the Mütter® (April 22), Naturepalooza on Earth Day (April 21), Science on Tap Untapped at National Mechanics (April 23), Fishtown Science Crawl (April 22), and Science at the Ballpark (pre-Festival event, April 9).

From vegetable gardens to beer gardens, from public parks to fossil parks, and from chemistry labs to tinker labs—the Philadelphia Science Festival invites attendees to get curious, get creative, and most of all GET NERDY. A full calendar of events for the 2018 Philadelphia Science Festival is available here, with tickets now on sale.

Each year, the Philadelphia Science Festival effectively leverages the collaboration of more than 200 of the region’s top STEM organizations to deliver hands-on science education to the community.“The Philadelphia Science  Festival is one of the most innovative and engaging ways for Philadelphians of all ages to interact with the region’s rich science community,” said Larry Dubinski, President and CEO, The Franklin Institute, lead organizer of the Festival.  “The Franklin Institute is proud to lead the Philadelphia Science Festival—nine days that impact and inspire more than 75,000 people each year and foster a continued passion and appreciation for science, technology, engineering, and math.”

“Dow has been a proud partner and sponsor of the Philadelphia Science Festival since its inception in 2011,” said Justin Land, Program Officer, Global Citizenship & Northeast Public Affairs Manager at Dow. “We believe strongly in cultivating the workforce of tomorrow, advancing STEM education and shedding light on STEM-related fields. The Festival gives our engaged STEM Ambassadors the platform and opportunity to spark curiosity and share their vast expertise around important STEM topics with thousands of young people from across the region.”

NOTE TO EDITORS: High-resolution photos of the Philadelphia Science Festival: 

https://www.fi.edu/press-room/press-kits/philadelphia-science-festival

About the Philadelphia Science Festival

Established in 2011 by The Franklin Institute as one of the first of its kind in the country, the Philadelphia Science Festival is a nine-day celebration of science and technology in everyday places—parks, restaurants, bars, libraries, and museums. It aims to inspire not only the next generation of scientists and engineers but also create homegrown citizen scientists. More than 200 partners collaborate to produce the Festival, which was founded by The Franklin Institute and is presented by The Dow Chemical Company. FMC, EMD Performance Materials Corporation, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Rowan University provide additional support in 2018. To learn more, visit PhilaScienceFestival.org. #GetNerdyPHL April 20-28.

About The Franklin Institute

Located in the heart of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute is a renowned and innovative leader in the field of science and technology learning, as well as a dynamic center of activity. Pennsylvania’s most visited museum, it is dedicated to creating a passion for learning about science by offering access to hands-on science education. For more information, visit www.fi.edu.

About Dow

The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) combines science and technology knowledge to develop premier materials science solutions that are essential to human progress. Dow has one of the strongest and broadest toolkits in the industry, with robust technology, asset integration, scale and competitive capabilities that enable it to address complex global issues. Dow’s market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of advanced materials, industrial intermediates, and plastics businesses deliver a broad range of differentiated technology-based products and solutions for customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, and consumer care. Dow is a subsidiary of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), a holding company comprised of Dow and DuPont with the intent to form three strong, independent, publicly traded companies in agriculture, materials science and specialty sectors. More information can be found at www.dow.com.

Disclaimer:  In exchange for this write up, FI has given us complimentary tickets.