Celebrate STEAM at Georgia Tech Opens 2026 Atlanta Science Festival With Two Weeks of Events

A campus-wide kickoff for a region-wide science program

The 2026 Atlanta Science Festival opened with Celebrate STEAM, a free public event hosted on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus on Saturday, March 7, 2026. The launch event ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and was structured as a drop-in, open-house format spanning multiple campus locations.

Organizers positioned Celebrate STEAM as the festival’s entry point ahead of a broader schedule running March 7 through March 21, 2026. The festival is set to conclude with the Exploration Expo at Piedmont Park on Saturday, March 21, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Attendance and programming details from the launch event

Georgia Tech reported that Celebrate STEAM drew more than 4,000 attendees and featured more than 50 activities and demonstrations across the day. The programming emphasized hands-on interaction and direct engagement with researchers, students, and campus units working across science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

Activities described by organizers ranged from neuroscience demonstrations and robotics to engineering and design-focused exhibits, reflecting the event’s focus on both foundational science and applied research. The launch also included guest speakers discussing how STEAM fields connect to future workforce and innovation themes.

• Date and time: Saturday, March 7, 2026, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
• Location: Georgia Tech campus, Atlanta
• Format: Free, family-oriented, multi-site open house
• Scale: Over 4,000 attendees; more than 50 activities reported

How Celebrate STEAM fits into the wider festival calendar

The Atlanta Science Festival is scheduled as a two-week series of events across metro Atlanta. A 2026 festival fact sheet describes approximately 150 interactive and educational events during the March 7–21 window. Festival programming typically spans multiple venues and partners, combining demonstrations, talks, and community activities intended for varied age groups.

The festival’s culminating event, the Exploration Expo, is planned as an outdoor gathering in Piedmont Park on March 21. Festival materials describe the Expo as the capstone for the two-week run, consolidating exhibits and hands-on activities into a single, large-scale day.

Celebrate STEAM is designed as a public-facing entry to the festival’s schedule, using short, hands-on interactions to introduce visitors to a wider set of events running through March 21.

Accessibility and participation considerations

Festival and campus materials describe accessibility features for visitors with disabilities, including ramps and elevators across Georgia Tech facilities and ADA parking in visitor parking areas. Organizers also note that some demonstrations may involve standard lab or engineering risks and are presented with safety considerations typical for public STEM demonstrations.

With its reported attendance and campus-wide footprint, Celebrate STEAM functioned as both a public outreach event and an early indicator of participation levels for the broader 2026 Atlanta Science Festival schedule.