Science Festivals

Science Festivals

Explore STEM Through Interactive Family Experiences at a Science Festival

This program is designed for elementary and middle school students and their parents and caregivers.

National PTA’s STEM + Families initiative provides fun, hands-on experiences that allow parents and caregivers to learn alongside elementary and middle school students. Our programs reinforce the value of family support for education while introducing new ideas, important skills and career possibilities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The STEM + Families Science Festival program, sponsored by Bayer Fund, aims to:

Empower PTAs with information on hosting hands-on science experiments that bring students and families together

Provide families with ready-to-go activity guides

Help all kids experience and explore activities and careers in STEM

PTA’s vision is for all students to have the family and community support they need to access and pursue opportunities and careers in the STEM fields.

Host a STEM + Families Science Festival Program

We encourage local PTAs to host a STEM + Families Science Festival Program to promote opportunities for families to participate in interactive, hands-on science activities and to inspire kids and families to pursue careers in STEM!

STEM + Families Science Festival Program Toolkit

Bring together students and families to participate in shared, hands-on science experiments and to promote career opportunities in STEM fields such as Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science! This toolkit includes helpful step-by-step instructions and sample templates that you can use to make planning an In-Person Science Festival easy.

Potential program costs: Experiment materials, inclusive promotional materials and resources, refreshments, gift certificates, transportation.

STEP 1: Plan Your Event

Form a planning committee by inviting parents/caregivers and teachers of STEM subjects to join. Recruit at least 10-15 volunteers to help during the Science Festival. This can include community volunteers and/or STEM partners and professionals that are invited to participate. Organize your tasks, create a budget and schedule deadlines. Reach out to local partners to gain donations.

General Planning

Getting Volunteers

Hosting events like this is also a great way to recruit new PTA members! Consider having recruitment flyers like this one at your event (en español).

Experiments and Materials

Start by using the Activities Overview (en español) resource to review the available activities, their potential cost, target grade level, and other useful information. Determine which activities best align with your vision for your Science Festival event.

Then, use the Materials List (en español) in combination with the experiment guides below to determine your necessary supplies and potential cost.

Finally, use the Experiment Guides below to help your volunteers facilitate each experiment. Each guide provides instructions for set-up on the front, and a script for facilitation on the back.

You can also use our short and entertaining video guides to help prepare for an experiment, or to share as promo for your event. Video guides are available for all Science Festivals activities linked in the playlist below.

Science Festivals Experiment Video Guides (en español)

Biology Experiments

Catching a Bird
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Fast Reactions
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

It’s All in the Taste Buds
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Journey Through the Bloodstream
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Nails for Breakfast
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Chemistry Experiments

Alka-Rockets
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Cool Colors
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Dancing Raisins
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Acids and Bases
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Inflate-a-Balloon
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Materials Science Experiments

Balloon Skewers
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Bubbling Lava Lamps
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Sticky Slime
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Strange Acting Goop
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

Unpoppable Bubbles
Experiment Guide | Guía de experimentos

STEP 2: Promote Your Event

Utilize as many platforms as possible for promoting your event. Translate documents into languages your school community speaks.

STEP 3: Host Your Event

Ensure that everything goes smoothly at your Science Festival! Offer take-aways to parents who attend to help them retain and build on what they learned.

STEP 4: Celebrating Impact

Be sure to thank your PTA, school staff, community partners and parent volunteers. Gather feedback, report your results to National PTA and use the findings to plan your next event. National PTA recommends offering an incentive for completing the survey (e.g., enter names into a drawing for a $50 gift card donated by a local merchant).

Share your program successes with @NationalPTA and your entire school community. Tag us with hashtag #HowWePTA and find example success stories at PTA.org/HowWePTA.

Invite your school community to provide feedback about the program at PTA.org/Survey.

Volunteer Thank You Letter (en español)
Participant Survey. Use the toggle button at the top of the form to switch from English to Spanish.

At-Home STEM + Families Science Festival Resources

You can also utilize the Science Festivals activities at home! Whether you're a PTA leader providing STEM kits to your community or a parent wanting to engage your child's creativity and curiosity at home, these activities are a great option.

The Science Festivals Experiment Guides, found under the Experiments and Materials tab above, include instructions, activating questions and scientific explanations for each activity. You can use these guides in conjunction with the STEM Kits tab in the Materials List to curate at-home STEM kits.

Additionally, our Science Festivals Video Guides playlist has short, entertaining video walk-throughs of each activity so you can follow along at home.

Science Festivals Survey

Share with National PTA

Invite your school community to provide feedback about the program at PTA.org/Survey. If you are providing printed, paper copies of this survey, please mail completed surveys to National PTA Programs at 1250 N. Pitt Street, Alexandria VA 22314 or scan and provide a shared link or attachment to Programs@PTA.org.

TAKE SURVEY