The mission of the Science Festival Alliance (SFA) is to foster a professional community dedicated to more and better science and technology festivals. SFA membership provides a way for diverse science and technology focused festivals to actively participate in and benefit from this community. The specific terms of membership may evolve over time but the main goal will remain the same: fostering mutually beneficial relationships and exchanges among festival professionals.

Science festival initiatives become members of the SFA in order to fully participate in the international conversation about how to make the most of the festival format. Membership allows festivals to selflessly share knowledge, resources, and contacts with other members, knowing that those benefiting from this sharing have committed to similarly help others. Membership in the SFA should improve a festival’s ability to serve it’s community, and festivals take pride in membership. However, membership is not equivalent to certification, or an endorsement of the overall quality of a festival initiative.

Curious about moving forward with a potential festival? Check out the Organize a Festival page to get started.

Current members

There are currently about four-dozen members of the Science Festival Alliance. Each of these members is an independently organized festival initiative. Science festivals are the unique products of the communities that they serve, and the members of the SFA vary widely in scale and scope. For an aggregate snapshot of member activity, see our latest Annual Report.

View Current SFA Members on the Festival Map

Who can be a member

This is an organizational membership for festival initiatives dedicated primarily to science, technology, engineering, and/or math. Membership is not a legal or exclusive contract. All members remain independently organized, and participation in specific SFA initiatives is never compulsory.

Festivals are generally understood to be recurring (often annual) celebrations that rally many collaborators and stakeholders to provide a wide range of activities, events, and programs for a community over a limited period of time. Most SFA members run multi-day, multi-venue, massively collaborative festivals that directly involve STEM practitioners in public outreach.

Benefits of membership

• Networking opportunities. Chances are that no one else at your organization produces a STEM festival, but that is no reason to go it alone. Join the SFA and take part in a supportive community of science festival professionals.
• Science festival gatherings and news. Members are invited to SFA meetings throughout the year, and regularly receive updates and news related to the science events sector.
• Access to resources. SFA members trust each other and are often eager to share inspiration, advice, and contacts that are.
• Get noticed. Members are highlighted in SFA communications and materials, and part of strategic conversations with national collaborators.
• Collaborative projects. Membership provides for the potential to participate in multi-festival projects, and seek joint funding opportunities.
• Take the initiative. Members can initiate their own collaborative projects and festival working groups.

Becoming and staying a member

Instead of financial dues, SFA membership is based on active participation in the SFA network, referred to as “to-dos.” To become and remain a member in good standing, festivals must:

1. annually update basic organizational information about their festival, including a report on “to-dos” activity; and
2. pass an annual review of this information by the Membership Committee based on a comparison with the activity of other SFA members.

For an involved description of the specifics of membership, see the SFA’s Membership Toolkit.

Please contact the Science Festival Alliance to consider membership for an emerging or existing festival.