UCLA's Free Exploring Your Universe Science Festival Returns November 8 With 86 Booths, 18 Talks and Planetarium Shows
Exploring Your Universe, the annual science festival at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), returns on Sunday, November 8, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m. at UCLA's Court of Sciences in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. Organizers say this year's festival features 86 interactive science booths and 18 science talks, with 450 planetarium tickets available. All activities are free of charge and materials are provided.
Started in 2009 and organized entirely by a graduate student volunteer committee, the festival is described by UCLA as the largest science outreach event on campus, welcoming thousands of visitors from the Los Angeles community each year and designed for K-12 students and the general public.
The 2026 talks run 15 minutes each with time for questions, on topics including Rocket Science 101, the science of the northern lights, exploring distant worlds, fast-charging batteries and cosmic collisions at the hearts of galaxies. Talks held in Young Hall CS50 are livestreamed from noon to 5 p.m. on the event's official YouTube channel.
The festival opens with the presentation of the 2026 Science and Education Pioneer Award. UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry announced that this year's recipient is Distinguished Professor Neil Garg. The ceremony takes place at noon in Young Hall CS50 and will be livestreamed, and Garg gives a family-friendly lecture, Organic Chemistry in the Movies, at 3 p.m. in Young Hall CS76.
The festival is held at UCLA's Court of Sciences, 617 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles. The full talk schedule and booth information are on the official site, exploringyouruniverse.ucla.edu. (Source: Exploring Your Universe official site and UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry)
Source: UCLA「探索你的宇宙」科学节官网与UCLA化学与生物化学系
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：UCLA地标建筑Royce Hall实景（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0）
