Become a science.events member!

You’re passionate about live, in-person events.

You’re interested in finding others like you.

You’re curious about how “science” fits into things, even if you don't use the word often.

Sounds like you belong here!

Our membership is in beta! Whether you’re here to share your work, get inspired by other events, or join a workshop, your feedback will help us make Science.Events even better. Thanks for your patience while we keep building the site, forum, and programs to support our whole community.

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Membership is free.

All members must meet three criteria.

1. Members are people (not organizations or events)

We welcome new members with an orientation and introductions to other members. Whole teams can also sign up one-by-one and affiliate with a single Event Initiative. This allows members to stay connected regardless of the status of their event or organization.

2. Members are active participants

We want a lively community, not a bloated directory. Members connect with other members at least once a year (e.g. via email, events and conversations hosted on Zoom and Discord, or the Science Events Summit - whatever makes the network helpful to you). You’ll be assigned to a Regional Group led by a Captain who can introduce you to other members and share your voice among the community.

3. Members are affiliated with an ongoing event*

Members are affiliated with at least one live, in-person event that connects public audiences and science/STEM in some way. In order to maintain sustained yearly engagement among our members, events listed on Science.Events must have some kind of long-term life-span. For example:

● an annually recurring festival

● a recurring event series

● the new event series you are hoping to get started, etc.

● all of the public events associated with an organization

We call these “Ongoing Event Initiatives (OEI)”* to distinguish from one-time events. If this doesn’t fit your situation, tell us why you're interested in joining, and we'll find an arrangement that does.

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What to Expect

‍1. Complete a member profile.

2. Affiliate with a registered Ongoing Event Initiative or add a new one.

Whether you’re joining a team already on Science.Events or listing a new OEI, we’ll reach out to say hello and verify your event’s information. That means no bots, organizations not running public science events, or otherwise unauthorized individuals accessing our member’s only area.

3. Ways to connect with other members.

● We’ll connect you with a Regional Captain by email - your local guide to our online community

● Check out upcoming events listed at science.events/soon

● Jump into the discussion via Discord (through the member’s only area, accessible after approval.)

It’s really free? What’s the catch?

Membership is free. If there is a catch, it's that we only want members that are interested in sharing and participating. But this should come naturally for you: Presumably it is one of the main reasons you would want to join in the first place. That participation can take many forms as long as it involves substantial contact with other members at some point in a given year. There are four check-ins with all members every year, and you should respond to at least one of those. Once a year all members are asked to provide information about their event activity by filling out a very short survey (the current version only has five required questions).

I’m still not sure. Can't I just skip membership?

Maybe you're just not a "joiner." We get it. We can still be friends.

But membership helps us all know who's been invited when members get together, or when conversations take place in a members-only space. And when we do get together, members are the ones that can set the agenda.

Plus, as great as the localized impact of your events is, it makes for an even better story when you can show that this impact is also part of something taking place on a grand scale. Science.events is working to help us all tell that story.

Wait, what am I joining exactly?

There is a little bit of awkwardness around the name of this thing. "Science.Events" is just a URL, and not necessarily the best name for a living community of practice. At the same time, Science.Events as a website with a members-only section is the primary platform we're all using to stay organized. And these are still early days. Science.Events launched in 2024. We're building the boat as we sail it, and we're doing that together. So is this a professional association? An incubator for cultural action? A research and knowledge sharing forum? We're not worrying about the right label right now. Instead, we're trying to keep things minimally organized without getting in the way of the real thing: Getting good people together.

I feel like this should be for me, but I don’t seem to fit

You've made it this far, so surely you're interested enough in this to just give it a go. But if there is something about the way things are set up that makes you feel like you are excluded, please reach out to us, and we'll do what we can do be accommodating.

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What about the Science Festival Alliance?

It's still alive and well! The festivals belonging to the Alliance can now be found at both Science.Events and sciencefestivals.org. Individuals affiliated with Alliance festivals start their membership here at Science.Events, and Alliance conversations and convenings use the Science.Events platform.