The 2026 Atlanta Science Festival wants to help you trust science again

There won’t be any quizzes during the Atlanta Science Festival.

Don’t expect to take a test or write an essay, either. If attendees walk away without retaining the details of the science they learned, that’s completely OK, according to Meisa Salaita, co-founder of the Atlanta Science Festival.

“I honestly don’t care that much about the content knowledge that people are walking away with,” she said. “I just want you to feel excited about the things that you heard about, and maybe later, when you do have to learn about it in some sort of structured environment, you’re more open to it and it feels more connected to you.”

Inspiring excitement around science is what fueled Salaita to begin the festival in 2014. She has a Ph.D. in chemistry, and she was baffled that her friends and family members weren’t as excited about the world of science as she was.

Salaita decided that she would do whatever she could to make science resonate with others just as much as it resonated with her.

Her solution was the annual Atlanta Science Festival, which returns March 7-21. The two-week extravaganza will feature around 150 events and activities hosted by partner organizations in Atlanta that showcase how science intersects with the world around us.

The festival culminates in a free Exploration Expo on March 21, where more than 100 organizations, universities and companies will set up hands-on exhibitions in Piedmont Park for people of all ages to explore, experiment and learn.

The Atlanta Science Festival returns for its 13th year with more than 150 events and 100 exhibits to teach kids and adults all about science. (Courtesy of Atlanta Science Festival)

This year’s theme is “Science for the People,” a nod to the importance of connecting people with the science happening in Atlanta, Salaita said.

She said many in the scientific community have felt backlash against science and scientific progress these past few years, especially in Atlanta as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and universities face more and more budget cuts.

“We want to stand up for science is the feeling that we have, and the scientific work that’s being done by institutions like the CDC is truly for the people,” Salaita said.

Part of changing people’s perception of science lies in fostering connections and building trust with the people behind the research and experiments that impact everyday lives, whether they’re building a piece of Delta’s planes, researching vaccines or just making a cup of good coffee.

“When you have a warmer feeling toward science, the scientific enterprise, toward the scientists, you’re just more likely to trust them,” Salaita said.

And to find someone trustworthy, you have to think of them as “competent and warm,” Salaita explained. While it may be easy to think of scientists as competent, associating them with warmth is a little more challenging.

That’s why these in-person events, she said, where kids and adults interact with scientists on a personal level and learn to share in their curiosity, are so important.

The in-person events, where kids and adults interact with scientists on a personal level and learn to share in their curiosity, are so important, Meisa Salaita, co-founder of the Atlanta Science Festival, says. (Courtesy of Atlanta Science Festival)

Making events and demonstrations open to children is particularly vital to the future of science, Salaita said. Festival events aim to be accessible both in location and cost, and activities and exhibitions try to bring underrepresented groups in science to the forefront.

She doesn’t necessarily expect kids to decide to become scientists after the festival, but “we just want them to feel like they could if they want.”

“We want them to feel a sense of trust when they see themselves in a scientist,” Salaita said. “’Hey, that scientist is like me. They’re going to look out for somebody like me.’”

The events taking place over the two week festival range from a behind-the-scenes tour of Oakland Cemetery focused on how grave sites are preserved, to a program on fire ecology, followed by a performance of Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” on piano and violin, to a class on latte art at Opo Coffee.

Jonathan Pascual of Opo Coffee has been offering coffee classes through the Atlanta Science Festival for about six years. When most people think of coffee, he said, they assume that creating a good espresso or latte is “magic.” In reality, it’s science (and plenty of practice).

“People don’t understand just how much goes into pulling a shot of coffee or steaming a pitcher of milk,” he said.

At the end of the two weeks during the Exploration Expo, attendees will get to touch a brain, watch the robot dog from UPS in action and discover how far a sneeze can travel.

Making events and demonstrations at the Atlanta Science Festival open to children is particularly vital to the future of science, Meisa Salaita says. (Courtesy of Atlanta Science Festival)

There’s something incredibly moving about seeing something happen right in front of you, Salaita said. No video or photo can really replace that “sense of awe” from witnessing science in person.

“I think a lot of people are just really excited to share their passion — just as I was many years ago in chemistry — to share their passion for what they do and get other people excited about it,” she said.

If You Go

Atlanta Science Festival Events. March 7-21. A searchable schedule of events and prices is available at atlantasciencefestival.org.