World Science Festival in NYC

Explore your inner astronaut, architect, rocket scientist, facial recognition guru and more at the World Science Festival, with two weeks of FREE and ticketed events in NYC, including some specifically for kids.

Last year’s successful City of Science has been renamed, and its mission broadened, to reflect the growing importance of science in our lives, and the participation of international experts to the program.

Two weeks of events at locations throughout NYC start on May 30.

SEE ALSO Download FREE calendars, posters, games and more from NASA

SEE ALSO Guide to free and cheap NYC summer events for kids and families

There are programs on the future of sustainable design, the possibility of regenerating a lost limb, better cooking through chemistry, and more.

Click here for information about individual events and to purchase tickets. Some events are already sold out.

The FREE events include:

Free Science in the Square, three days of events in Times Square on Thursday to Saturday, June 1-3, with activities to inspire awareness about our planet, including the issues of flooding and drought, which many scientists believe will be a signature climate issue in the 21st century.

Free stargazing in Brooklyn Bridge Park with “science guy” Bill Nye, including UP! Umbrella Project, a participatory experience created by Pilobolus in collaboration with MIT Distributed Robotics. Armed with an LED-lighted umbrella, create your own exploding stars and a total eclipse, along with physicists and astronomers in a larger-than-life celebration of our universe. Astronauts Yvonne Cagle and Leland Melvin will also be on hand for space exploration and autograph signing.

Free Ultimate Science Sunday at NYU, an action-packed day of robots, catapults, wind tunnels, telescopes.  It’s on our list of the best summer events for kids. 

Free Great Fish Count at 17 locations  locations in NYC, Westchester and New Jersey on Saturday, June 3. New York’s waterways are teeming with life — and it’s up to you to find it. Led by top marine scientists and biologists, the Great Fish Count gives attendees of all ages the chance to strap on a pair of waders, cast a net, and discover the underwater world in your own backyard.  FREE, but registration is encouraged to guarantee space and to manage equipment.

Here are the locations for the Great Fish Count and their sponsors:.

Manhattan

• Fort Washington Park / Summer on the Hudson & NYC Parks | 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
• Hudson River Park @ Pier 25 / The River Project & Lilac Preservation Project | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
• Hudson River Park @ Pier 84 / Hudson River Park Trust | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
• Inwood Hill Park /NYC Parks | 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• Lower East Side Ecology Center  | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Randall’s Island Park / Randall’s Island Park Alliance  | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Brooklyn

• Brooklyn Bridge Park / Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy & Brooklyn Bridge Park  | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
• Bush Terminal Piers Park / Sunset Park* | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Kaiser Park, Coney Island / NYSMEA & Brooklyn Marine STEAM Education Alliance, NYCDOE | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Valentino Pier, Red Hook | 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Bronx

• Concrete Plant Park, Bronx River / Bronx River Alliance | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Queens

• Bayswater Park / Rockaway Waterfront Alliance | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Frank Charles Park / National Parks Service | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Gantry State Park, East River / NYS DEC** | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Staten Island

• Lemon Creek Park, NYC Parks / NOAA  | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Yonkers

• Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

New Jersey

• Englewood Boat Basin / Palisades Interstate Park in NJ & NYACK College | 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM