SciFest: The Great Outdoors Expo

Welcome to SciFest: The Great Outdoors Expo!

Discover a deeper appreciation for the great outdoors at our all-day, free event! Meet and engage with STEM experts and organizations related to outside life, activity, work, and play. Explore and enjoy!

Check out free activities and experiences like these and more!

• Naval submarine technology and celestial navigation
• Sun safety and outdoor safety preparedness and protection
• Animal identification, exploration, and live encounters (reptiles, rabbits and more!)
• Drone flight in a flight cage
• Aerodynamics, flight, and aviation activities
• Plants and nature-related demos and interactives
• Trains and transportation science and innovation
• Astronomy, astrophysics and telescope demos
• Vehicle design and technology
• Outdoor applications of 3D-printing
• Superconductor hockey challenge

Special Presentations at Energy Stage

10:15 AM – Exploring the Night Sky, Resources and Techniques
Discover how to view stars in the night sky using maps and other materials.
Jim Small, St. Louis Astronomical Society

11:15 AM – Romeo and Zooliet Puppets and Performers
Meet the puppeteers and explore STEM concepts behind larger-than-life, outdoor theater puppet making and operation.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

12:15 PM – All Aboard and All About Trains
Explore steam, diesel, and electric trains and the science and technology behind them.
Walter Yee, National Museum of Transportation

1:15 PM – Endangered Wolf Center Animals and Animal Care
Learn more about eight different canid species and the work being done to help them at the Endangered Wolf Center.
Amina Carbone, Endangered Wolf Center

2:15 PM – Rainforest Connections
Learn how the rainforest touches and impacts our lives here, and how that impact goes both ways.
Tori Green, Friends of the Rainforest

3:15 PM – Finding Owls in Your Neighborhood
Find out how to best look and listen for owls in the places where you live.
Mark H. X. Glenshaw, Naturalist

The Great Outdoors Expo Partners and Activities:

FIRST FLOOR

• Discover how to navigate following the stars and how a submarine can make fresh water from salt water—US Navy
• Learn more about insects and do a conservation craft—Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House
• Examine different kinds of trains and the STEM concepts that make them go—National Museum of Transportation
• Find out what happens at a raptor hospital—World Bird Sanctuary
• Explore Sun safety and protection with SPOTS – Sun Protection Taught by Students
• Learn how animals can be tracked in the wild using tracks and traces like prints, scents and scat—Endangered Wolf Center
• Get a close-up look at mosquitoes, ticks, and disease prevention—Saint Louis County Department of Public Health Vector-Borne Disease Prevention Program
• Experience 3D printing in product design and manufacturing in outdoor applications—Saint Louis University Center for Advanced Manufacturing
• Check out a “Habitat Magnification Station”—Missouri State Parks
• Engineer miniature sculptures—Laumeier Sculpture Park
• Meet a live rabbit while learning the difference between wild and domestic house rabbits—Missouri House Rabbit Rescue
• Do a leaf identification and matching activity—Miss Missouri Outdoors

LIFE SCIENCE LAB

• Do a bat identification activity—The Nature Institute
• Learn more about research with bison, turtles, insects, plants, and mussels—Saint Louis University Biology
• Check out reptiles and reptile science—Saint Louis Herpetological Society

GROW GALLERY

• Pilot a drone in a drone cage—AirCRAFT Lab, Saint Louis University
• Meet and learn about aquatic arthropods—Lincoln University of Missouri
• Examine native prairie plants and their role in supporting agriculture—Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

LOWER LEVEL

• Experiment with catapults and vortex cannons—Scouting America
• Practice outdoor safety and disaster preparedness skills—SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Trauma
• Check out weird and wonderful MO wildlife—Missouri Department of Conservation
• Do crafts and activities related to aspects of field research in Africa—Congo Apes and Living Earth Collaborative, Washington University
• Learn more about outdoor time and eye health (myopia management)—Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, The University of Missouri
• See how electric vehicles and AC motors work—Gateway Electric Vehicle Association
• Examine migratory bird eggs, skulls, feathers, and owl wings and pellets—Audubon Center at Riverlands
• Engage in aviation and aerodynamics activities— GSLFIA (Greater St. Louis Flight Instructors Association)
• Try out a Butterfly Bonanza activity connecting butterflies and host plants—Friends of the Rainforest

PLANETARIUM

• Discover STEM concepts behind space telescopes including one NASA is launching later this year—AstroMusers
• Play superconductor hockey and do astronomy activities—Missouri S&T Physics Department
• Take a closer look at the surface of the Moon and what makes it unique—WashU Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
• Make your own Star Wheel to learn what stars to look for year-round—Challenger Learning Center
• Learn something new about space food—NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors
• Find out what it would it be like to go camping on the Moon—St. Louis Space Frontier
• Participate in activities related to prevention of light pollution—DarkSky Missouri
• Learn how to use a library telescope and binoculars—Library Telescope Program
• Take home a stargazing map and learn more about how to view the night sky—St. Louis Astronomical Society

OMNIMAX® THEATER

Catch a showing of Wild Asia 10am, 1:15pm (Tickets required. Member benefits apply.

Life At Extremes

BE SWEPT AWAY ON AN EPIC JOURNEY ACROSS THE WORLD’S LARGEST CONTINENT WHOSE EXTREME LANDSCAPES HAVE PUSHED WILDLIFE TO THE LIMIT!

Atop the world’s tallest peaks of the Himalayas, get an intimate look at elusive Snow Leopards and Tiger moms in Nepal raising their young. Witness a Tibetan Fox ‘hide-and-seek hunting’ amongst yaks on an ancient plateau, catch glimpses of the secretive red panda in its remote forest stronghold, meet the remarkable long-eared jumping Jerboa in the harsh Gobi Desert, and fly alongside beautiful songbirds feeding on “sapcicles” in northern Japan. In the world’s richest coral seas of the Pacific, discover the cute-yet-deadly Sea Bunny and be immersed in an unbelievable shark feeding frenzy, that’s never been filmed before. Each story reveals the incredible ways in which wildlife has adapted to thrive in these challenging habitats.

Produced by the world-renowned wildlife storytellers at the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, Wild Asia: Life at Extremes is a giant screen immersive experience for all ages featuring amazing biodiversity, never-seen-before animals, and heartwarming behaviors across spectacular landscapes and mesmerizing seas.

EXPERIENCE FLIGHT

Experience the thrill of The Great Outdoors with immersive VR and simulator adventures. (Tickets required. Height restrictions and member benefits apply)

THE BLUE WHALE STORY

Dive beneath the surface and have a whale of a time exploring the world of the largest animal on Earth. (Tickets required, member benefits apply)

The story of the largest creatures to have ever lived on Earth comes alive. Discover a story bigger than all of us when you see The Blue Whale Story special exhibition.

The Blue Whale Story is an immersive experience for guests of all ages.

Get Tickets

Learn More about The Blue Whale Story

Mark your calendar and join us for our 2026 SciFest events

• August 8, 2026: Play and Creativity Expo
• November 14, 2026: Sci-FEAST

SciFest: Connect with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professionals gathered exclusively for a series of day-long science and technology themed events.  Meet local scientists, engineers and other experts for a personal, close-up look at cutting-edge, creative STEM applications. Learn more about our other SciFest events.

Parking: Regular price at the Oakland Lot. McDonnell Planetarium parking is FREE
Location: Entire Science Center Campus

Science Center Membership Special: Purchase a Family level Membership or above and save $10 during today’s SciFest event!