Are science festivals worth it?

Large-scale science festivals can be resource intensive. They often require a significant fund-raising effort (they seem to end up costing roughly $10 per person served, roughly the same as most science centers). But they also depend on the energies of a whole community of partners and collaborators. Are they worth the money and time? Evaluations conducted by the Science Festival Alliance have already shown some of the unique benefits of the festival format. Strengths include reaching new audiences, and involving researchers directly in public outreach. We will soon make these and additional findings public. However, two recent initiatives are taking festival impacts beyond the once-a-year celebration, and extending the benefits–and value–of science festivals to the rest of the calendar year. 1. Festival as match-maker between attendees and year-round programs This year the San Diego Science Festival kicked off a year-round outreach effort at its main event: EXPO Day in a downtown baseball stadium. Throughout the entire EXPO, including at most exhibitors tables, could be found a printed booklet called simply “What’s Next?” This booklet provides listings for science activities produced by festival partners throughout the next year, and was also distributed through local partners and public schools. With an accompanying web component, San Diego will be tracking how festival attendees use this resource to build on the interest and momentum created by the grand spectacle of the San Diego Science Festival. 2. Festival as match-maker between regional stakeholders For its remarkably successful first celebration this year, the Philadelphia Science Festival insisted that any programming by partners be the result of a collaboration of more than one institution. For example, when eight organizations proposed forensic-based activities for festival programs, the festival asked them to all work together on one large murder mystery night. This emphasis on collaboration helps to ensure that festival activity is not just the same programs that an organization does every week. But it also established new working relationships among Philadelphia organizations with an interest in science and engineering outreach. Philadelphia will be tracking how these new connections between festival collaborators spark new approaches to programming throughout the rest of the year.