FUTUREFEST | SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

LIVE PERFORMANCES
& ENTERTAINMENT

SEPTEMBER 23 | 12:00PM - 5:00PM
VETERANS PLAZA SILVER SPRING

FREE PARKING & ADMISSION
ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

About KIDfest

The DC Region’s largest annual family festival celebrating creativity and innovation.

As part of KID Museum’s ongoing effort to expose children and adults alike to the power of hands-on maker learning, KIDfest inspires them to find their own “spark.” 15,000+ gather at the festival each year to explore STEM, arts and creative pursuits of all kinds, and to experience one of the best local festivals as voted by Bethesda Magazine.

Come see how we’re cultivating a community of creative makers and innovators, and inspiring all ages to invent their future. Robotics, engineering, biotechnology, interactive art, and much more—the future starts here!

GET INVOLVED

Attending KIDfest? You can let us (and your friends) know you’re coming here, and also be sure to enter the KIDfest raffle. 

What to Expect

EXHIBITS

Explore. Build. Play. From STEM to arts and culture and beyond.

KIDTALKS

Hear from visionary innovators, industry experts, and thought leaders.

OUTDOOR STAGE

Enjoy music and theatrical performances, presentations, interviews, and more.

CODING AT KIDFEST

Jam and program: you’ll find a variety of fun coding activities for all skill levels.

KID MUSEUM

Discover the power of KID Museum’s hands-on, maker-based learning experiences.

FULL PROGRAM

Coming soon for 2018!

2018 Exhibits

  • The Blair Robot Project
  • Gear 4-H Club – 4-H Robotics Club
  • Inventors 4H – Giant Robot Operation Game
  • Kid Maker – Flutey Tooty
  • KID Museum – Robotics & Electronics
  • KinderLab Robotics – KIBO STEAM Robotics
  • Makers Generation – Artificial Intelligence
  • PARO Therapeutic Robot
  • Poolesville High School Robotics – Team 4099
  • STEM Academy – Robotics, Circuits, Machines
  • Whitman Robotics (FIRST Robotics Competition Team)
  • Wizards.exe (FIRST Tech Challenge Team)
  • Central Japan Railway – SC-Maglev World
  • Friends of Peirce Mill – A Machine for the 21st Century
  • GU Maker Hub/GWU Innovation Center – Maker Cart
  • KID Museum – Invent the Future
  • KID Museum – Giant Automaton
  • KID Museum – Super Mario Pipe Dream
  • KID Museum – Pinball Wizard
  • Whittle School – Bobsled Design Challenge
  • Montgomery College – Makerspace & Fab Lab
  • Naval Engineers – Designing Ships for Rescues
  • Pella Windows & Doors – Window to the Future
  • Pepco – Hand Crank Generators
  • Teen Blacksmith – Backyard Blacksmith
  • University of Maryland Libraries – Makerspace
  • MD STEM Festival – Agrownomics
  • AoPS Academy – The Math in STEM
  • Little Veterinarian School – Being an Animal Doctor
  • Boston Museum of Science
  • Chat With a Changemaker
  • Emergent BioSolutions – Candy DNA Modeling
  • Girl Scouts – Planetarium
  • L.L.Bean
  • Manna Food Center – Waste Free Kitchen
  • NASA – Hubble Space Telescope
  • Science, Naturally! – Have We Got a Mystery for You!
  • SoaPen
  • Washington Episcopal School – Build a Terrarium
  • Activity Rocket – Innovator Bookmarks
  • CKC Farming – Flower Petal Watercolors
  • Community Forklift – Whimsical Windchimes
  • HoloTats
  • Jewish Pop-Ups to Pop In – Recycled Material Mosaic
  • Kid Maker – Pipe-Cleaner Ninja
  • KID Museum – 3D Printing & Textile Art
  • KID Museum – Loom Creation
  • KID Museum – Culture & Making
  • Montgomery County Public Libraries – Libraries Rock!
  • Montgomery County Recreation – Hat Crafting
  • Music Discovery Lab
  • Small Things Matter – Crafting Monster Stuffies
  • ByteKnack – Computational Thinking Made Fun!
  • Bullis School – Smile for the 3D Camera!
  • Capitol Interactive – Virtually There
  • Curiosity Stream
  • Gadget Lab
  • HacDC
  • Idea Lab Kids – Circuit Bugs
  • iTapArcade – Handheld Game Programming
  • Johns Hopkins University – Handheld Fans
  • Lunii – My Fabulous Storyteller
  • Marymount eNABLE

 

KIDtalks Speakers

KIDtalks at KIDfest are your chance to hear from visionaries in our midst! Join us for a series of inspiring talks (similar to TED talks) by local innovators and industry leaders.

1:00pm – Crystal Icenhour, Aperiomics
2:00pm – Sunny Wicks, Lockheed Martin
2:30pm – Elizabeth Dale-Deines and Nora Atkinson, Renwick Gallery
3:00pm – Elizabeth Hendricks North, CuriosityStream
3:30pm – Julie Lenzer, UM Ventures
4:00pm – Alycia Weinberger, Carnegie Institution for Science

 

Let us know you're coming!

Coding Jams

Discover the fun and creativity in coding at these FREE sessions! Drop-in at the scheduled times (no registration required) to create short animations, interactive stories, or simple video games using Scratch programming. All levels of experience are welcome, and family participation is encouraged!

12:30pm – 2:15pm – 2nd – 4th Grade
2:30pm – 4:30pm – 5th – 8th Grade

(sessions located in the Silver Spring Civic Center)

KIDfest Blog

KIDfest

KIDfest Highlights (2018)

Thank you to the thousands of people who came out to KIDfest, KID Museum’s signature…
KIDfest

KIDtalks at KIDfest: Alycia Weinberger

Lucky for us, Earth possesses the right temperature, atmosphere, and size to support life. But…
KIDfest

KID Museum Activities at KIDfest

KIDfest is KID Museum’s signature event—a mega-reflection of what we do year-round. Among the 80+…

Read more

Social Media | #kidfest

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2018 Sponsors

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Location

Veterans Plaza
1 Veterans Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910

From Metro
Red line to the Silver Spring Metro Station
Exit on Wayne Avenue, and walk three short blocks north to the intersection
of Wayne and Fenton Street.
Turn left on Fenton and the festival will be at the next intersection with Ellsworth Drive.

From 495
Take 495 to Colesville Road South (Exit 30B).
After approximately 1.5 miles turn left onto Spring Street (which becomes Cedar
Street).
Turn right onto Ellsworth Drive.
A Montgomery County Parking Garage is available at no cost on Ellsworth.

Directions