About Magazine Podcasts Events
Museum Hours:Wednesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm

Events

The Science History Institute produces a wide range of in-person and virtual events that are free and open to the public. From exhibition openings and talks, to museum tours and late-night activities, our programming is aimed at science history lovers, students, industry professionals, scholars, educators, and the scientifically curious.
Featured

Disneyland and the Rise of Automation

Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 6pm-8pm EDT
Learn More

Filter events

Event Types
  • Beckman Center
  • Classes & Workshops
  • Conferences & Symposia
  • Drop-In Tours
  • Fellow in Focus
  • First Fridays
  • For Families
  • Free
  • Hybrid
  • Joseph Priestley Society
  • Library Programs & Activities
  • Museum Programs & Activities
  • Online
  • Performances
  • Programs, Lectures & Talks
  • Science and Society
  • Science on Tap
  • Stories of Science
  • Touch Tours
Thomas Paine and Joseph Priestley are seated at a table with guns, knives, a dish says phospherous, a gun butt says "Royal Electric fluid." A winged puti grins at them squatting in the center of the table. Books on treason, murders, assistination, revolution, etc. surround them. At Priestley's feat are packages of brimstone, axe and pickax. On the walls are scenes of execution and assassinations.
Aug
15
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Revolutionary Ideas with Thomas Paine!

Join us as we welcome Thomas Paine—patriot, pamphleteer, AND SCIENTIST—as presented by reenactor Dean Howarth.

More
Aug
22
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
color illustration of quartz samples
Aug
29
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Color and Light

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
student notebook showing illustrations and explanations of experiments
Sep
04
Fri
5pm-7pm
First Fridays
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities

First Friday: Take Note

School is back in session, so make the Science History Institute your first field trip!

More
Porter Chemcraft Chemistry Lab featuring Atomic Energy
Sep
05
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Back to School

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
advertisement featuring a uniformed woman with a lunchbox
Sep
12
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Back to School

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
periodic table with neon colors and black background
Sep
26
Sat
10am-5pm
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities
Stories of Science

Stories of Science: Back to School

Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science!

More
A stamp with a coin featuring Alfred Nobel's profile
Oct
02
Fri
5pm-7pm
First Fridays
For Families
Free
Museum Programs & Activities

First Friday: And the Nobel Goes To…

It’s Nobel Prize Week! Celebrate with us and see what’s behind one of the most coveted science awards.

More