2026 STEAM Festival at Discovery Park

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, and Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Discovery Center and Heritage Park

Ready to challenge your mind?

Join Discovery Park of America for a weekend of hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics activities as part of the 2026 Tennessee STEAM Festival. As a featured event in the statewide festival, Discovery Park will offer activities designed to engage curious minds of all ages.

Guests will have opportunities to test their problem-solving skills, explore paleontology, learn about seismology and get a behind-the-scenes look at two of Discovery Park’s popular annual events.

You will discover:

• How to use problem-solving skills to complete an escape room challenge
• How paleontologists find, excavate, protect and transport fossils
• How everyday materials can be transformed into creative works of art
• How scientists measure the strength of earthquakes
• The basics of designing and building a cardboard boat

Schedule of Events

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Friday, October 16 

Dracula’s Cabin: An Escape Room Experience | 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Wade Cabin

• Bring your wits and test your abilities to create a vampire hunting kit! Be quick… the clock is ticking! 
• Be sure to sign up early at the Wade Cabin to lock in your time slot. 

Cardboard Boat Regatta & Canstruction 101 | 11 a.m.-noon | Chapel Lawn

• Discover the secrets behind two of Discovery Park’s most exciting competitions!
• Learn expert tips, then design and test a mini cardboard boat to see if it can stay afloat. 
• Get an inside look at our Canstruction competition, including the rules, design strategies and expectations for this charitable event.

Bring Back that Fossil | Time To Be Announced | Natural History Gallery 

• Find out how fossils make their way from the underground to the museum floor and learn how paleontologists find and dig up fossil specimens. Then, look at different ways to protect fossils in order to move them from one place to another. 

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Saturday, October 17

Dracula’s Cabin: An Escape Room Experience | 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Wade Cabin

• Bring your wits and test your abilities to create a vampire hunting kit! Be quick… the clock is ticking! 
• Be sure to sign up early at the Wade Cabin to lock in your time slot. 

Program to be Announced | Time to be Announced | Location to be announced

• Stay tuned for more details.

Rate that Quake | Time to be Announced | Regional History Gallery 

• Utilizing Discovery Park’s own Earthquake Simulator, come see seismology in action and learn the wide variety of ways that humans can measure earthquakes.

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[vc_column_text]The Tennessee STEAM Festival is a statewide celebration that encourages people of all ages to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics through interactive experiences and community events. Discovery Park of America is proud to be a featured event in the 2026 festival.

This event is included with Discovery Park admission or membership.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]