What's on

Inside the Discovery Tent, our giant marquee in Prince’s Gardens, you’ll meet scientists, medics, engineers and geologists and see the incredible research they do. Work alongside them to do experiments and explore new ideas.

Enjoy world class acts from the Royal Albert Hall, DJs, Cèilidh dancing and more! Hosted by Portobello Radio

Science, art and musical performances aren't restricted to the Festival stages. Our streets will come alive across the weekend with roaming performers, including a giant octopus, a climate change mythbusting machine, Brazilian drumming, and more!

Drop in and enjoy a show outdoors. The programme is packed with interactive performances, music and science shows especially for families.

Step inside an immersive and interactive digital art piece that explores the strangeness of the quantum world and challenges perceptions of our role in shaping reality itself.

Take a VR journey through space and time, where immersive soundscapes and stunning images transport you to both modern and prehistoric worlds.

Create your own butterfly wings while learning how climate change affects these delicate structures. Once your wings are ready, take flight and join our Butterfly Carnival Parade!

Working alongside professional mural artists and Imperial climate scientists, create a collective artwork and posters drawing attention to climate change and what we can do about it.

Join us to test your knowledge about German(y) and win exciting prizes!

Paint the northern lights with astronomers mapping auroras across the solar system.

Explore the thrilling world of chemical engineering with our nonstop popcorn making machine! Enjoy fresh snacks while discovering how continuous processes can an old-school operation. See what engineering is all about!

Step into a space where uncertainty is the norm. The Young Producers invite you to explore the quantum world through this immersive installation that will challenge your understanding of reality.

Explore the expression of identity, ideas and stories through collage and photomontage techniques with the V&A's Creative Resident Michael Akuagwu.

Pick up a petri dish, choose your fabric and create your own textile art to take home inspired by the fascinating world of the vaginal microbiome.

This interactive installation from students at the Royal College of Art invites you to experience how landscapes remember, how histories linger, and how sensory alliances can expand our perception of seemingly familiar places!

Explore the errors of our past and discover the future of collaborative storytelling and connective puzzle-solving with an experimental treasure hunt designed by students at the Royal College of Art

Creativity and Science collide in Paint Lab, transforming Exhibition Road into a live art gallery. Ten artists create works inspired by Imperial scientists exploring touch, 3D sound, and perception.

Grab a drink from the bar before settling into a game of mathematical bingo, challenge your balance with Tai Chi or test out your dance moves! This event is for ages 18+.

Make and decorate your own wind capturing, spinning paper turbines with experts from Imperial College London's Energy Futures Lab.

Visit our fun-packed tent for stories, craft making, sing-alongs and movement sessions aimed at children aged under 5 and their families.

Have you every wondered what lies beneath the surface of the water? Discover some of the different creatures that live in the Natural History Museum pond.

Create unique colourful designs using inks, absorbent paper and water, and watch your masterpiece become part of a giant chromatography wall that will grow throughout the weekend.

Discover the magic of materials science by creating your own kaleidoscope! Using paper cups, polarising films and sticky tape, explore how light interacts with materials to reveal dazzling patterns.

Drop by The Royal Parks' tents to get up close and personal with some of the parks' hard-working wildlife and to investigate the mix of habitats that keep everything in balance.

Learn how to reduce your furry friends climate pawprint with planet-friendly food and eco-safe medicines. Small changes make a big difference—let’s go green together!"

Create wearable art inspired by your senses with artist Gayle Chong Kwan. Combine images from the V&A with recycled packaging, before adding colours to make your art. Then wear your creations around the Festival!

Get to know the story of little alien Wuschel and its exciting journey to Germany (illustrated by Axel Scheffler) and then craft your very own Wuschel!

Discover Viridescent Window, the winning mural of the 2025 Grantham Climate Art Prize. Designed by 19-year-old Plaifah Chaisen and painted by Michelle Meola, it envisions a greener, more sustainable future.

Engage with what it’s like to experience vision loss through games, vision simulation glasses, and interactive activities and understand the Imperial research focused on prevention and protecting sight.

Experience innovation in the 1851der tent. Meet the Royal Commission’s scientists and designers and see their work in action - all part of the amazing legacy of the original Great Exhibition of 1851.

Discover future inventions by London schoolchildren from the Great Exhibition² project. Be inspired by young innovators, explore their creations, or unleash your own creativity at our invention table with hands-on modelling clay fun!

Learn more about seagrass conservation, go underwater using VR, then make nutrient balls to feed and secure UK’s seagrass meadows.

Join us within an interactive storytelling lab where the physical and virtual blur, and you can help shape the next generation of immersive environments.

Discover how technology helps people move again after injury. Try out a prosthetic leg, before sharing your own vision of what future prosthetics could look like.

Discover the beautiful library at the Goethe-Institut and secure a free membership!

Help create a ‘mosaic of hope’ through wax rubbings, polaroid photography, self-reflection and sensory interactions with the V&A, one of the most famous buildings on Exhibition Road.

Join us to explore the future of food. You’ll find out what foods you may be eating in the future to ensure you get all the nutrients you need and what crops we’ll need to grow to feed an increasing population.

Make your own cell key rings and protein jewellery while chemical biologists demonstrate how they make their own artificial cells in the lab!

Come along and try your hand at being a scientist! Conduct your own Cell Painting experiment, challenge yourself to analyse the results, and see if you can compete with the robot!

Enjoy algea textiles, play a tiny hero card game, and learn how engineers are transforming microbes into living colour factories

Climb like a gecko, reflect like a beetle, or sense heat like a dog's nose as you explore the potential of nature-inspired materials.

Discover the invisible world of materials! Explore how we use nanotechnology to explore the natural world and shape the technology of tomorrow, through interactive games, crayon rubbings and 3D-printed models.

Ever wondered how moving across the world can impact the health of you and your children? Step into the Gene Home and find out!

Join us to discover bioluminescent plants through the microscope and try hands-on experiments. Learn how plants defend themselves, and how our research tackles climate change and protects global food supplies.

Come along to our Maths Exploratorium, a playful, hands-on marquee where numbers meet adventure - no maths skills needed, just curiosity!

Join us for a unique artistic encounter with terrestrial planets in our Solar System, Venus, Earth, and Mars!

Join a wildlife treasure hunt and make wildflower seed bombs as we discover the hidden biodiversity in London's green spaces, connect with nature, and contribute to urban wildlife research.

From traditional tales to stunning new picture books, let’s explore wonderful stories in French told all around the world.

Explore bold new flavors and ingredients as chefs and scientists create innovative dishes for you to sample right there and then!

Join Discover South Kensington for short tours of the neighbourhood and discover some of the secrets behind the brilliant facades of Exhibition Road in London’s arts and science district!

Escape the Festival hustle and bustle with a relaxing yoga workshop inspired by the insect movements studied at Imperial College London.

Welcome to the Supermarket of the Future! Solve puzzles, collect the right groceries, and get through the check out on time to secure the prestigious RoboShopper title.

Join a 'walkshop' around South Kensington to hear how London's plants and animals are being affected by climate change and discuss the actions being taken to protect them.

Come see chemistry brought to life through amazing reactions, slime and explosions at this family-friendly science show!

This walk through South Kensington explores ways to boost your wellbeing by connecting with nature, engaging with art and culture, or sharing experiences with others.

Explore some of the quantum realm's strangest elements through dance! From quantum tunnelling to strange superposition and spooky entanglement, strut your funky stuff like a quantum particle!

Join a unique reimagining of a Gaelic folk dance, exploring the mysterious living worlds beneath our feet.

Join the curator of the V&A's new ‘Design and Disability’ exhibition to explore how disabled people are hacking, redesigning and subverting design.

Join this fascinating walking tour celebrating Victorian women's hidden contributions to South Kensington's built environment.

Enjoy the story of little alien Wuschel and its exciting journey to Germany (illustrated by Axel Scheffler) before crafting your own Wuschel!

Why do we age and what can science realistically do about it? Explore how our bodies work and how we can best look after them to live longer, healthier lives.

Discover the French language and culture through playful activities such as songs and games provided by a certified young learners teacher from the Institut Français.

Join quantum physicists and artists as they explore how quantum inspires creativity, how both fields visualize and communicate it, and how quantum imagery and language have shaped mainstream art and culture.

Move, groove, and discover the science behind dance in this joyful and inclusive Bollywood dance workshop.

From black holes to human consciousness, Imperial scientists compete for public votes as they pitch what they think is the strangest object in the cosmos.

Discover the beautiful Royal Parks at the top of Exhibition Road, explore the Albert Memorial and the 1851 Great Exhibition site, uncovering its lasting impact on Exhibition Road’s cultural institutions.

Get a taste for urban agriculture and learn how to join the capital's food-producing revolution in this lively panel discussion.

What is driving the demand for more human-like machines, and what roles might they play in our future society?

Families with neurodivergent members can book onto a quieter, calmer exploration of the Family Fun Zone with fewer crowds.

Stretch, move, and play your way into learning German with the Goethe-Institut London!

Experience a performance and discussion of Harold Offeh’s unique work with psychiatric wards, aiming to bring colour, culture and art to these clinical surroundings

Join Britain’s first astronaut, Dr Helen Sharman, and an expert panel discussing the engineering marvels that could power humanity to new worlds

Join our Biology Ballerina for an exploration of the natural world and humanity's impact through pliés and pirouettes.

How gay is nature? Join the author of 'A Little Gay Natural History' to explore the diversity of sexual behaviour in the natural world, which science has tried to cover up or ignore!

From our backyards to London’s royal parks, explore how climate change and London’s unique microclimate will affect the way we garden.

Join one of the world’s most celebrated heart surgeons to discuss a career innovating in the operating theatre.