On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Saint Louis Science Center buzzed with curiosity, creativity, and the unmistakable energy of engineering in action. SciFest: Engineering Expo—sponsored by Presenting Sponsor Boeing and Supporting Sponsor Mastercard—brought together more than 3,770 guests with over 360 STEM professionals for a free, all-day celebration of the STEM concepts and experts that shape our world.
Across the Science Center, from the Oakland Building to the McDonnell Planetarium, the campus transformed into a hands-on engineering playground. Guests explored an impressive range of disciplines and engineering applications—aviation and aerospace with Boeing, neuroscience and medical imaging with Washington University’s SPECTRA, bridge construction and VR with the American Society of Civil Engineers, and even quantum science and superconductors with Missouri University of Science & Technology.
A “robodog” greeted guests from Energy Stage. Drones zipped through a cage course. And “Wendy the Weaver”—an agentic AI being from Woven Home Care—offered a potential look at artificial intelligence’s role in healthcare. In a termite-hunting activity, guests could even explore how great apes utilize engineering concepts to find food.
On the Lower Level, the Energy Stage hosted a packed lineup of presentations throughout the day, allowing guests to hear firsthand from experts at Missouri S&T Astrophysics, Boeing, Washington University Energy and Chemical Engineering, and the new University of Missouri–St. Louis School of Engineering, among others. These presentations gave attendees a look at cutting-edge research and real-world applications straight from the engineers and experts behind them.
Families, students, and curious minds of all ages immersed themselves in activities like bridge building and testing, electric circuit design, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, rocket components, and even a seismic shake table simulator. The OMNIMAX® Theater also showed a mid-day screening of Deep Sky, a breathtaking look at the James Webb Space Telescope and the incredible engineering behind it.
The FIRST Robotics Hall drew attendees eager to test their own robotics skills, while the McDonnell Planetarium offered a chance to design Mars rovers and handle real space rock samples, as well as see how a bioreactor works to produce food, water, and oxygen in space.
This year’s SciFest: Engineering Expo demonstrated once again that science and engineering are all around us, and there’s no better place to explore them than at the Saint Louis Science Center.
Special thanks to SciFest: Engineering Expo’s Presenting Sponsor Boeing and Supporting Sponsor Mastercard for their generous support! And thank you to each of the STEM experts, professionals, and organizations who shared their time and expertise to inspire and build up the next generation of engineers.
