Photo: jencu/Flickr
This Sunday, June 17, we geek out as hard as we can with the first ever National GeekDad Day. That’s right, Wired has taken over Father’s Day — and asked that you join us. We’ve already had over 173,000 individuals sign up to pledge to celebrate and get geeky. What are you and your family going to do?
Don’t have anything planned yet for the fam? Never fear, we’ve partnered with museums and science centers around the country for this special day. We’ve listed interactive exhibits, activities and events below — all centered around science and technology for you and your little ones to explore and learn together.
But wait, there’s more. We want to see and hear about how you celebrate GeekDad Day. Share your images, videos and stories with us. We have a few ways you can do this: If you are on Instagram be sure to tag your pics with the hashtag #GeekDadDay; you can also tweet your images and videos at us with the same hashtag. Other ways to get at us: Share a link in the comments on our GeekDad Day Page and post your photos and videos over at the GeekDad Community Site.
Once the festivities are over, we’ll pull our favorites from everything you’ve shared with us. Keep an eye out for a gallery next week of showing how families everywhere got creative, learned and geeked out.
Arizona Science Center — 600 E. Washington st. Phoenix, AZ 85004
Free general admission (first 200 visitors get a sweet surprise!), 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Special hands-on activities throughout the day, including: baseball and light stick dissection, saltwater batter exploration, build an art bot, make electric play-doh, and paint your own masterpiece.
California Academy of Sciences, The Naturalist Center — 55 Music Concourse Dr., Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. 94118
Free with admission, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Bring the whole family to try their engineering skills with LEGO, explore nano science, and much more. Don’t miss a father-themed Science Story Adventures (2:30 p.m. in the classroom next door to the Naturalist Center) for the little visitors.
The Lawrence Hall of Science — 1 Centennial Drive Berkeley, CA 94720
FREE with admission, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Bring the family to make marble machines, experience Tony Hawk Rad Science, and see surfers catch the Ultimate Wave in 3-D.
Chabot Space & Science Center — 10000 Skyline Blvd. Oakland, CA 94619
Skyline Bistro Cafe, advance Reservations: $14 Adults & $7 Kids, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Treat your Dad to a delicious BBQ lunch and spend the afternoon building and racing solar cars, testing dad’s geek-factor, exploring interactive exhibits, taking a hike, watching a show and looking through our telescopes.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Denver, CO 80205
SCFD Community Free Day, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Celebrate your family’s geekiness with a plethora of activities: a paleopuppeteer, a tour of the Museum’s world famous wildlife dioramas, get your face painted, and see, touch, and learn about exotic and colorful animals. Pint-sized craft and science activities will also be on hand for younger visitors.
Saint Louis Science Center, 5050 Oakland Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110
11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Treat Dad, and the whole family to see one or all of the special exhibits happening: Immerse yourself in models of molecules in Amazing Nano Worlds!, an exhibition exploring the world of nanotechnology, an OMNIMAX Theater film or one of the Planetarium shows.
Liberty Science Center, Liberty State Park, 222 Jersey City Boulevard Jersey City, NJ 07305 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Bring the family and dad to a day chock full of bubbles, animals, and glow-in-the-dark festivities! Be a detective in the dark — learn about UV light, create a chemical concoction to make an instant glow in a test tube and more! Get up close and personal with animals habitats and artifacts such as turtle shells, snake shed, and sea stars.
NYSCI Celebrates National GeekDad Day, 47-01 111th Street Queens, NY 11368
Free with NYSCI admission, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Inventor’s Workshop will be open to you and your family, where everyone will be able to use old building materials, tools, and a variety of loose parts to design objects, activities, and inventions. Recommended for ages 6–14.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), 1945 SE Water Ave. Portland, OR 97214-3354
Turbine Hall, Free with museum admission, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Bring your broken or unwanted toys to Toy Tune-Up, the tinker’s workshop. You’ll take it apart, see how it works, and maybe even fix it! Tools and safety glasses provided. Also, see OMSI’s real working steam engine in action, and learn about how steam powered the industrial revolution. Facilitated by the original Steampunk, Physics Educator Craig Reed.
Space Center Houston, 1601 NASA Parkway Houston, TX 77058
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
The live stage show, “It’s All Relative: A Journey Through Space Time” a story of an astronaut’s adventure through time and space will premiere specifically for Geek Dad day. Be sure to check out the 130,000 lb. full-scale shuttle replica, take a tour of mission control and the astronaut training facilities, examine the science of fear in our new summer exhibit Goosebumps, and see the brand-new feature film Human Destiny.
Kids Discovery Museum, 301 Ravine Lane Northeast, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Free with admission or membership, noon-4 p.m.
Dads and Grandpas enjoy FREE admission
Explore Science Hall, check out the DinoBot exhibit, create recycled inventions, and make a robot or a spaceship … imagination is the limit!.
Tech Shop, Nationwide
Tech shop is hosting events and activities at Menlo Park, California. San Jose, California. San Francisco, and Detroit, Michigan. Please see the site for all of the cool offerings they have scheduled.
Homepage Images: jencu/Flickr
