World Science Festival Brisbane 2026

World Science Festival Brisbane returns for 10 days with a program full of big ideas, bold conversations and unforgettable experiences, from Friday 20 March to Sunday 29 March and tickets are now on sale.

From the mysteries of the cosmos to the hidden worlds within our own bodies, the festival delivers a vibrant program of more than 100 events, celebrating the powerful meeting point of science, art, technology and storytelling.

Across the ten days, Brisbane will become a living laboratory of ideas where space missions meet music, forensics becomes performance, and curiosity takes centre stage, with events to be hosted at Queensland Museum Kurilpa, QPAC, QAGOMA, Fish Lane, Sir Thomas Planetarium, and beyond. 

The festival continues to offer a wide range of free, family-friendly events, including hands-on science activities for curious minds of all ages, outdoor installations and pop-up experiences across South Bank and interactive talks and demonstrations designed for families and young explorers.

This year's festival will present the Australian premiere of Bat Night Market in 2026 a spectacular experience direct from Taiwan, commissioned by LIFT and Taipei Performing Arts Centre. This futuristic night market blends science, creativity and imagination into a sensory celebration of culture and innovation.

Other festival highlights include:

Blast Off: Exploring Other Worlds! – UQ Impact Series: Could life exist beyond Earth? Tracy Drain joins Australian astrobiologist Dr David Flannery and other experts to unpack missions to the Moon, Mars and Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, and explore why humanity is driven to reach for the stars.

Forensics: The Science of Blood, Body Bags and Biohazards – UQ Impact Series: From crime scenes to body farms, this gripping panel explores how forensic science uncovers the truth one fingerprint, blood drop or mystery powder at a time.

Julia Baird: Healthy Microbiome, Happy Brain? – UQ Impact Series: What do your guts have to do with your brain? Leading researchers explore the rapidly evolving science linking the gut microbiome to mental health, neurological disease and wellbeing.

Science Smackdown: The Ultimate Debate – UQ Impact Series: Back by popular demand, this uncensored Saturday night showdown returns, hosted by Natasha Mitchell. Expect sharp minds, bold arguments, plenty of laughs and a champion crowned by the audience.

Australia Youth Orchestra: Beautiful Equations – UQ Impact Series: Where maths meets music, this striking performance reveals the patterns, structures and equations hidden inside sound from Stravinsky to surprising scientific harmony.

National Geographic Live: Cosmic Adventures with Tracy Drain: Go behind the scenes of spacecraft builds with celebrated aerospace engineer and National Geographic Explorer Tracy Drain, as she reveals how robotic missions help us understand our cosmic backyard and answer some of the universe’s biggest questions.

LUME – A Cosmic Experience at the Planetarium: Inside the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, constellations shine, nebulae bloom, and the Milky Way unfurls across the dome as original soundscapes by K Mak pulse and shimmer. Guided by narration, audiences voyage from photon to galaxy, tracing light across space and time. Part concert, part cosmic storytelling, LUME invites you to lean back, look up, and wonder!

The Science of Sex: Big Ideas with Natasha Mitchell: Sex is fun, complicated and essential for survival yet for centuries it was largely ignored by science. This lively panel dives into the weird, wonderful and revealing science of sex.

DIGITAL DETOX: Birdwatching Walk with Hugh Possingham: Step away from screens and reconnect with nature through curated walks led by scientists and ecological experts, encouraging mindful observation and a deeper appreciation of the natural world.

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