by Dot Cannon

Magic is set to happen in Irvine this weekend.

That’s because this Saturday, April 27th, you and your whole family are invited to the OC STEAM Fest!

Hosted by Irvine Public Schools Foundation, OC STEAM Fest offers a kaleidoscope of performances, family activities and creative projects.

And all of them have to do with science, technology, engineering, art and math–a/k/a S.T.E.A.M.

So, what sorts of activities might kids and “big kids” alike get into, at the OC STEAM Fest?

Well, you might just like to create a robot, courtesy of groups including Bytes & Bots and Altair Solar.  Or, maybe designing a game would be more your thing.   (Irvine’s Code Ninjas or Code REVKids, among other exhibitors, could help in that department.)

Prefer live music or the spoken word?  Check out UCI Jodaiko Drumming or a musical-theatre performance by Irvine Unified School District.  In the spoken-word area, ModernBrain Speech & Debate is hosting “Speech Jeopardy”!

Those are just a few of more than 50 booths and interactive activities available from 2:00 to 7:00 pm, this Saturday in Irvine’s Orange County Great Park.

And some new events are on the 2019 schedule.

A Dino Fossil Dig,  water rockets and an Esports Tournament are all new this year.   And for the 2019 edition of OC STEAM Fest, the Wyland Foundation’s Mobil Learning Center will be on hand.

Tickets, for children ages four through seventeen, will be available at the door for $15.  (We “taller kids” 18+, get in free, as do kids ages 3 and under.  And this is fun for a great cause: all proceeds from the event directly benefit the students in the Irvine Unified School District.

See you on STEAM-powered Saturday, in Irvine!

OC STEAM Fest happens from 2 pm to 7 pm at Orange County Great Park, 8000 Great Park Boulevard, near Marine Way and Ridge Valley.  Admission is $15 for kids ages 4-17; ages 18+ are free, as are kids 3 and under.  Here’s the link for park directions (Orange County Great Park is huge!).