SDSU sponsoring 2025 STEM festival at Petco Park
The March 1 event presents STEM for all ages in a day full of hands-on activities and demonstrations
San Diego State University returns to Petco Park for the free, family-friendly San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, March 1.
The festival offers interactive activities and engaging demonstrations that introduce attendees to an array of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics in fun and approachable ways. The event also features an Art Pavilion that showcases STEM-inspired artwork, a Cybersecurity Zone that emphasizes the importance of this growing field, and a College and Career Connections Pavilion to help prepare young students for careers in STEM.
SDSU students, staff and faculty will engage participants throughout the event, and senior Rodney Speight, a physics major and mathematics minor, will speak on his college experience in a panel discussion at 2 p.m. in the College and Career Connections Pavilion.
“The STEM festival is a great way to break down barriers by introducing people of all ages to STEM opportunities and fields they may not know even exist,” said Xavius Boone, chair of the Marine Ecology & Biology Student Association. “And most importantly it’s just a fun place to be, so I would encourage anyone who can make it to spend some time at the festival and experience new things.”
Here are some additional details on the organizations at the festival, and their planned activities:
Interactive Exhibits
Marine Ecology & Biology Student Association (MEBSA)
Go under the sea with members of SDSU’s Marine Ecology & Biology Student Association, joined by Assistant Professor Cat Schrankel’s lab. MEBSA conducts extensive outreach to educate the public on marine science issues while supporting students in the field. Schrankel’s lab leads projects including studying host-microbe interactions in sea urchins. MEBSA and the Schrankel lab will host a range of sea creatures, from sea stars and snails to urchins. Stop by for a firsthand experience of ocean life through touch tanks.
SDSU Center for Autism
SDSU Center for Autism conducts research and provides interdisciplinary training on autism spectrum and related disorders, while offering clinical and educational services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Members of the center will lead hands-on activities including brain puzzles and making brain neurons out of pipe cleaners.
Virtual Immersive Teaching and Learning (VITaL) Research Center
SDSU’s Virtual Immersive Teaching and Learning Research Center uses cutting-edge, immersive technologies to enhance STEM learning. The VITaL team will use virtual reality headsets to provide a unique way to learn about astronomy and health sciences. Stop by for an inside look at the planets and local constellations, as well as the human musculoskeletal and other bodily systems.
Society of Physics Students (SPS), Schwartz Astronomical Society (SAS) and Women in Physics (WiP)
SDSU’s Society of Physics Students creates a community of physics-interested students, hosting academic and professional events, as well as game nights and other events. Schwartz Astronomical Society hosts year-round events revolving around space, in addition to providing academic and community-building support for all students interested in life beyond earth. Women in Physics aims to support and inspire women and underrepresented groups in physics, putting on social, academic and professional events and activities each semester. These groups are joining forces to take attendees on a trip through the cosmos and some of the most mind-blowing phenomena governing life as we know it. Get an up-close, safe look at the sun using a specialized telescope and other astronomical instruments, and witness the strange science behind electromagnetism through a series of demonstrations.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
SDSU’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers aims to guide students aspiring to enter STEM fields, regularly organizing outreach projects with other chapters at local high schools and community colleges. SHPE will demonstrate coding through software and hardware demos using breadboards, Arduinos and LEDs.
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
The Society of Women Engineers at SDSU offers academic and social support for women in engineering, sharing their passion through community-wide outreach projects. Get groovy with SWE by creating lava lamp necklaces and, in the process, learning how liquid density works.
Cybersecurity Zone
Cybersecurity Center for Research and Education and Cyber Defense Team
A new addition to the festival is the Cybersecurity Zone, where SDSU’s Cybersecurity Center for Research and Education and Cyber Defense Team will showcase SDSU’s range of cyber initiatives. SDSU’s new cybersecurity center, led by computer science professor Rob Beverly, boosts SDSU’s cyber research and teaching capabilities, preparing students for critical roles in this growing field. The Cyber Defense Team allows students to develop a range of cybersecurity skills to attack and defend against hackers looking to wreak havoc on online systems.
These groups will show how cybersecurity works through a series of interactive activities, including decoding an encrypted message and playing through cyber demos.
Art Pavilion
SDSU School of Art and Design
Yin Yu, assistant professor of Interior Architecture from the School of Art and Design, will return to the festival’s Art Pavilion with Master’s of Fine Arts and undergraduate students to showcase their multisensory design installations. Explore typography and topography through heat-sensitive pigments and interact with responsive sculptures that represent nature’s repeating patterns. Attendees can even try on glasses intended to relieve symptoms of light-sensitive migraines.
College and Career Pavilion
SDSU Enrollment Services and Office of Educational Opportunity Programs, Outreach and Success (EOPOS)
Representatives of SDSU Enrollment Services and Office of Educational Opportunity Programs, Outreach and Success will answer questions and inform interested students and families on what SDSU has to offer in K-12 STEM programs and degree opportunities.
SDSU’s sponsorship of this event was made possible through a partnership of the College of Sciences, Division of Research and Innovation, College of Engineering, College of Arts and Letters, College of Education, College of Health and Human Services, Division of Academic Affairs, Division of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity and SDSU Imperial Valley.
Learn more about SDSU's ongoing investments in STEM research and teaching through the STEM Forward initiative.
