Atlanta Science Festival's Exploration Expo

Atlanta Science Festival’s
Exploration Expo
Saturday, March 26, 2022, 10am-4pm at Piedmont Park

Atlanta’s biggest interactive science event is FREE and open to adults, families, and children of all ages and interests. No registration is necessary. Touch a human brain! Look inside a jet engine! Pen your own science haiku! Have a non-Newtonian Dance Party! Make your own sunscreen! Control a robot with your brain! Compose music with a potato! Meet frogs, lizards, snakes… and scientists!

With 75 hands-on, interactive science booths from local organizations, universities, and companies, we’ll be showing off Atlanta science at this year’s Exploration Expo. Additional information including an exhibitor list, map, and parking info is available below.

COVID Precautions

We encourage everyone at the Expo to:

be completely vaccinated
wear masks in crowded areas when social distancing is not possible
stay at least six feet apart when possible

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

Exhibitors

Download the Expo Map & Exhibitor List
or see confirmed exhibitors below [bold indicates sponsor]:

Agnes Scott College
Trees and Me

American Chemical Society – Georgia Local Section
Chemistry in Your Pocket

Atlanta Section of IEEE
The Engineer’s Workshop

Burns & McDonnell
Fun With Circuits

Club SciKidz

Delta Air Lines

Delta Community Credit Union

Dekalb Agriculture Technology and Environment Charter School

Emory University – Center for Selective C-H Functionalization
Catalyst Carnival

Emory University – ChEmory
Fun with Funky Fluids

Emory University – Child Study Center
Can You Guess What Your Brain is Thinking?

Emory University – Department of Chemistry
Decoding Color Clues

Emory University – Department of Physics
Physics for All

Emory University – Herbarium
Smell the World

Emory University – Pi Alpha Chemical Society
Make Your Own Bouncy Ball!

Emory University – Saikawa Lab
Earth & Sky: Stay Healthy with Soil + Air Quality

Emory University – Wildlife Disease Association
Rabies, Raccoons, and Robots – Oh my!

Emory University – Association for Women in Science
Outstanding Women in STEM: Radiation, DNA, and Enzymes

Emory University – HERCULES Exposome Research Center
Mapping Your Exposome

Fernbank Museum
Fernbank on the Go!

Fulton County Public Library
Pop-Up Library

Georgia Gwinnett College – SST, Chemistry
Hands-on Fun with GGC Chemistry

Georgia Gwinnett College – Exercise Science and Physical Education
Fitness Assessment and Biometric Screening

Georgia Natural Gas & Centennial Academy

Georgia Power
Energy In Motion

Georgia Reptile Society
Become a Reptile Naturalist

Georgia State University – CBN – Neuroscience Institute
Your Brain on Bugs

Georgia State University – Department of Physics and Astronomy
Radiation: from Bananas to Cosmic Rays

Georgia State University – Geosciences
The Earth & You: Maps, Hazards, and Human Impacts

Georgia State University & Emory – Neuroscience
Touch-A-Brain, Build-A-Brain, and More!

Georgia Tech
Be a Data Point

Georgia Tech – Beekeeping at GT
Science of Beekeeping

Georgia Tech – Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection
Living Light: The Science of Bioluminescence

Georgia Tech – College of Sciences – Biological Sciences
The Social Insects

Georgia Tech – Comp. Neural Eng. Training Program
Brain-Controlled Claw Machine

Georgia Tech – Little Einsteins Organization
Exploring Intermolecular Forces!

Georgia Tech – School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Playing Mother Nature

Georgia Tech – Space Enthusiasts
How Big Is the Solar System, Really?

Georgia Tech – Student Polymer Network
Polymer Demo: Where’s the Water?

Georgia Tech – The Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS)
What is Blood Composed of?

Georgia Tech – UGA Marine Extension and Sea Grant
Marsh Madness

Georgia Tech & Emory – Laboratory for Synthetic Immunity
Catching Cancer with Pee!

Georgia Tech & Emory University
Science.Art.Wonder

Georgia Tech & Emory University – BME HealthReach
Science for EveryBODY

Georgia Tech Research Institute
The Science of Toys

Guerilla Haiku Movement
Sci-ku – the Magic of Science Related Haiku

IEEE USA

Johns Creek Environmental Campus
The Journey of our Water

Johnson STEM Activity Center
Programmable Robot Ball

Kennesaw State University – Anthropology and Psychology
Brain Games and Bone Puzzles

Lockheed Martin

Marcus Autism Center
Understanding Autistic Experiences.

Mercer University & Health Sciences Center
The Mercer Science Workshop

Micron Technology

NCR
Heatmap Coin Collection

PCOM Georgia
Heroic Hands within Healthcare

Piedmont Park Conservancy
Avian Adventures!

Science for Georgia
#SpeakUpForScience

STE(A)M Truck
Tinkering, Technology and Tools: A Makerspace for YOU!

The Amphibian Foundation
Critter Celebration

The Happy Black Parent
Creating Optical Illusions!

The Next IT Girl
What’s Inside A Computer?

UPS
Delivering Technology and Engineering

US Army

U.S. Geological Survey
Surface-water and Groundwater Quality

Viral Solutions

Woodward Academy
STEAM at Woodward

Zoo Atlanta
The Biofact Museum!

Zones

Encounter Zone, brought to you by Emory University: Encounter color-changing gold nanoparticles, have a non-Newtonian dance party, test air and soil quality, learn about a raccoon vaccination campaign, and meet remarkable women in science.
Discover Zone, brought to you by Mercer University & Mercer Health Sciences Center: Discover heart and lung sounds, make your own sunscreen, see how facial recognition software works, and check out careers in cybersecurity.
Invent Zone, brought to you by Georgia Tech: Invent your own nanosensor, see the biology behind bees, wonder at bioluminescent organisms, control a robot with your brain, and simulate an earthquake.
Thrive Zone, brought to you by Microsoft: Touch a human brain, test household items for radioactivity, learn how geoscientists save the world, learn how coronavirus infects humans and how vaccines protect us.
STEAM Zone, brought to you by your own creativity: Express your love of science in a science haiku, paint a piece of the live mural, and compose a musical masterpiece with potatoes.
Curious Kids Zone, brought to you by the Atlanta Section of IEEE: Dig for fossils, discover biofacts, touch snakes and lizards, make slushies and bath bombs, find free science books, and see how you measure up to local birds!
Power-Up Zone, brought to you by Georgia Power: Take a break from the science — grab a bite to eat and have a seat at this oasis of tables. Then put on some VR goggles and see what it’s like to work on power lines, how to check your home for energy efficiency, and explore drones and electric vehicles.

Pink Ping-Pong Big-Bang!

At precisely 12:00pm, thousands of pink ping-pong balls will launch into the skies, heralding the day’s science celebrations. Help us countdown to an explosion of science in The Meadow.

Create!

Contribute to our live mural with Science.Art.Wonder!
Express your love of science through haiku with Guerilla Sciku!

Food/Drink

Food and drink is available for purchase on site from a variety of food trucks and vendors, listed below. Complimentary water is available at stations throughout the Expo. Seating is available at the Power Up Zone and on tables throughout the park; we recommend bringing a picnic blanket and snacks!

Atl’lian Ice • Atlanta Seafood Company • C-Bo’s BBQ & Southern Cuisine Cereal and Cream • Da Hole in the Wall • Good Azz Food Truck • Henri’s Bakery • Jalapeno Corn Dogs • King of Pops • Kona Ice • Love at Wurst Site • My Vietnamese Mobile • Parlay Savory Saloon • Patty Wagon • Repicci’s Italian Ice • Snowie Atlanta • Sunshine Alchemy • Superios Vegan • Tacos & Tequilas • The Mad Greek

SPREAD THE WORD!

Share the flyer, and follow, like, tweet away with #AtlSciFest.

NO PETS

All pets, including dogs, cats, snakes, birds, pigs, etc., are prohibited in our festival area – leash or no leash – unless part of a planned festival program or assisting persons with disabilities. This is for the pet’s protection as well as for the protection of festival patrons. See City of Atlanta’s guidelines.

You may enjoy the other parts of Piedmont Park with pets, per the Piedmont Park’s guidelines.

IN CASE OF RAIN

This event is rain or shine, so bring your umbrellas and galoshes, and prepare to experience the joy of science while atmospheric water vapor condenses into liquid water droplets and falls under gravity.

In the case of severe weather (>30mph winds, lightning, tornado, etc.), stay tuned to our website and social media channels for event status updates.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Expo will take place in Piedmont Park near the intersection of 10th Street and Charles Allen Drive – see map. Past year’s events drew over 20,000 people, so it’s going to be crowded and parking will be limited.

We STRONGLY urge you to use MARTA, taxi, carpool/rideshare, Beltline, etc.
MARTA – use Midtown stop, and walk east along 10th Street into the Park.
Parking Garage – Piedmont Park shares a parking deck with the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the rate is typically based on the amount of time you spend in the park. The garage is off of Monroe Drive on Worchester Drive, or visitors can enter off Piedmont Avenue at the Atlanta Botanical Garden entrance. The park is accessed from the lowest floor. Address to Parking Garage: 1320 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30306
See map of other nearby parking options

ACCESSIBILITY

Piedmont Park is ADA compliant. The parking deck shared between Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden, has ADA spaces for parking. Wheelchairs are not provided and must be brought in by the park visitor. The Expo event is less than 0.2 miles from the parking deck along paved pathways.

Most Expo exhibits are located along a paved pathway and are wheelchair accessible. Some exhibits are located in The Meadow on the grass, which can be accessed via the paved walkway that runs the perimeter of The Meadow.

ADA-compliant portable restrooms are available in each of the three restroom locations within the Expo footprint.

Atlanta Science Festival Expo COVID Policies

We encourage everyone at the Expo to:

be completely vaccinated
wear masks in crowded areas when social distancing is not possible
stay at least six feet apart when possible

These policies are intended to keep Exhibitors, Volunteers, ASF Staff, and Attendees safe while attending the Atlanta Science Festival Expo. As of March 1, 2022, several counties in the metro Atlanta area are at a Low COVID-19 Community Level. However, because the Expo is an event with several thousand attendees where social distancing is not always possible, we encourage all attendees, exhibitors, and volunteers to wear masks and to follow CDC guidelines to protect themselves and others – this includes social distancing where possible, staying home if you feel sick, and getting completely vaccinated.

Knowing that some individuals are at higher risk of getting sick, we ask all to practice kindness and to be respectful of others by maintaining six feet distance from one another when possible.

Exhibit tents will be spaced apart to maximize social distancing, and if weather permits, tent walls will be open on three sides to maximize airflow.

All Exhibitors, Volunteers, and ASF Staff are encouraged to:

wear masks while interacting with others
(*unvaccinated exhibitors are required to wear a mask)
respectfully promote social distancing, especially in crowded areas
regularly wipe down frequently touched items with provided disinfectant wipes.

Last updated March 1, 2022. Please note that our policies may change as the situation evolves. For information about individual Festival events prior to Expo, please see the webpage for each individual event.