About the Festival
The Beckman Arts & Science Family Festival invites innovators of all ages to explore the connections between science and the arts during a FREE day of engaging performances, interactive exhibits and hands-on activities from local STEM/STEAM organizations, along with festival food and family-friendly fun!
When: March 16, 2024 from 12:30pm-3:30pm
Where: Julianne and George Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
““The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation is committed to encouraging our next generation to approach science and technology with curiosity and excitement to unlock the full creative potential of tomorrow’s inventors and explorers. We are proud to partner with Segerstrom Center for the Arts and so many different organizations across Orange County who will be bringing their unique approaches to engaging young minds in STEM to the Argyros Plaza. This venue offers a unique setting to host such a variety of hands-on activities in a relaxed, festival-style event to make STEM approachable and fun! We hope to see you there!”
Local STEM/STEAM organizations bring hands-on exhibits and demonstrations to engage kids of all ages in learning and experiencing science and engineering programs.
Performance Schedule, Participating Organizations, and Activities:
https://www.scfta.org/events/2024/beckman-arts-and-science-festival
From SCFTA.org:
The Festival will bring together local science and education-based organizations that will provide a variety of interactive activities. Below is a list of our community partners participating in the Festival:
- Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
- Bionerds, Inc.
- Brain Builders STEM Education
- Bytes and Bots
- Challenge Island Irvine
- Child Creativity Lab
- Columbia Memorial Space Center
- Discovery Cube
- Environmental Nature Center
- Girl Scouts of Orange County
- Girls IN Focus
- Irvine Public Schools Foundation
- Kaiser Permanente
- Mesa Water
- Orange County 4-H
- Orange County Boy Scouts of America
- Orange County Science and Engineering Fair (OCSEF)
- Play-Well TEKnologies
- Santa Ana Zoo
- Science Heads Inc.
- Shared Science
Activities provided by our community partners will include Lego car racing, live animal encounters, a walk-through solar system, robotic soccer, make and take projects including LED creations, magnetic robots and sundial watches, flipbook animation, wind turbines, and so much more!
Event Performances and Activities
Featuring performances of Polyglot Theatre’s BEES at 1:00pm and 2:00pm
Explore a buzzing, humming hive of activity, as three human-sized Bees busy themselves in the creation of a community alongside children who transform into bees as they play. The bees are fascinating, strange and beautiful, traversing invisible pathways and mapping delicate patterns across the performance space.
Inspired by the mysterious life and work of bees, this re-imagining of public space involves the slow uncovering of an intricate unseen world. Children are immersed in the sounds, shapes and scents of the bee world, from their familiar buzz to honeycomb houses. Bees uses ritual, non-verbal communication and the secret world of bee movement to provide a range of access points for children to participate.
Other festival activities include FREE mini train rides around campus, balloon twisters, airbrush tattoos and a bubble play station provided by BubblePOP.
Event Food
Food & beverages will be available to purchase at George’s Café as well as local food trucks. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own refreshments, however outside alcohol, glass containers, tables, barbecues, and food preparation will not be permitted on the Plaza.
