2026 Wyoming State Science Fair Activities
This page provides information about two optional extracurricular opportunities offered in conjunction with the Wyoming State Science Fair.
A long-standing favorite, Pizza and Planetarium will take place on Sunday, March 1. Students are invited to enjoy pizza and physics demonstrations, followed by a planetarium show. Pre-registration is required. See below for details and how and when to sign up.
Returning for another year, Teacher STEM Experiences are designed to showcase the unique STEM opportunities, facilities, and resources available on the University of Wyoming campus. These experiences may include guided tours, demonstrations, and highlights of UW programs and spaces that support STEM learning.
Teacher STEM Experiences are open to teachers and other adult chaperones of Science Fair students and are scheduled during a time when students remain with their projects.
The experiences will take place on Monday, March 2, from 10:15–11:15 a.m. and pre-registration is required. Additional details are provided below.
Pizza and Planetarium
Join the Wyoming NASA Space Grant and the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy on the evening of Sunday, March 1 for pizza, physics demos, and a planetarium show; a Wyoming State Science Fair favorite!
As in recent years, attendees will pre-register online to help us manage timing and group flow.
We have space to accommodate all participants; however, time preferences will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Pre-registration opens at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 11.
To pre-register your students, visit:
Pizza & Demos
You may sign up for pizza & demos at 5:30, 6:30, or 7:30.
Planetarium
You may sign up for the Planetarium at 6:30, 7:30, or 8:30
You may sign up for both the Pizza and Demos session AND the Planetarium show, but be sure to not sign up for them at the same time!
You will also have the option to visit the STAR observatory on the rooftop of the Physical Science Building after the Planetarium show!
(Weather permitting)
Teacher STEM Experiences
For teachers, parents, and chaperones of students at the Wyoming State Science Fair
While your students wow the judges, take an hour (10:15-11:15am) on Monday, March 2nd to participate in one of our STEM experiences!
How Ideas Become Experiments: Inside SCROLL and CASI
The experience is designed to be interactive and conversational, with plenty of time for questions about the spaces, how the instruments work, the types of research they support, how high school students eventually connect to these tools through coursework and undergraduate research experiences, and the STEM career pathways that rely on advanced scientific instrumentation.
Seeing Science Differently: Virtual Reality and Visualization at UW
Tiny Creatures, Extreme Science: Inside the Wyoming Water Bears Lab
In this session, participants will meet an undergraduate researcher working in the Wyoming Water Bears Lab and explore how scientists study life in extreme environments. Josie, a student researcher working under Dr. Thomas Boothby, will share her work investigating how the gut microbiome of Ramazzottius varieornatus (a tardigrade, or “water bear”) helps it survive extreme stressors such as radiation and complete desiccation.
Come meet Josie and her incredible water bears—microscopic creatures that can survive being completely dried out, exposed to intense radiation, and still come back to life. This engaging session brings authentic undergraduate research to life through one of biology’s most fascinating (and resilient) organisms.