World Science Festival Brisbane returns in 2026 with a celebration of curiosity and cosmic wonder
Clear your calendars and prepare to get curious – World Science Festival Brisbane is back in 2026. From March 20–29, the city will buzz with big ideas, mind-blowing discoveries and a whole lot of wonder as science steps out of the lab and into the streets.
Across ten action-packed days and nights, more than 100 events will transform Queensland Museum Kurilpa, the Queensland Cultural Centre, Fish Lane and beyond into a playground for thinkers, dreamers and discoverers of all ages. Expect thought-provoking talks, hands-on experiments, live performances and family fun that prove science is anything but boring.
Among the headline acts, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki brings his boundless enthusiasm to answer questions and debunk myths in Dr Karl: Live, while Leigh Sales AM and Annabel Crabb return with An Afternoon of Science – a witty, warm and wildly entertaining deep-dive into science. NASA engineer and National Geographic star Tracy Drain will explore the mysteries of the universe and interstellar travel in Cosmic Adventures, and world-renowned physicist Brian Greene will take audiences on an immersive journey through the origins of the cosmos in Listening to the Big Bang.
Music lovers can also experience the connection between melody and mathematics in Australia Youth Orchestra: Beautiful Equations, a collaboration between internationally acclaimed saxophonist Jonathan Radford and Professor Yang-Hui He, a fellow at the London Institute specialising in AI-guided mathematics.
Adding even more wonder, World Science Festival Brisbane 2026 will see the Australian premiere of Bat Night Market, a futuristic fusion of science, art and imagination straight from Taiwan.
You might like
Queensland Museum CEO Dr Jim Thompson says the festival is about making science “accessible, exciting and something we all belong to.”
“The festival has turned Brisbane, and Queensland, into a playground of ideas. We’ve watched young minds light up with discovery, and whole communities engage with science in ways that are deeply personal, powerful, and fun,” Dr Thompson said. “We invite everyone to come and be curious, to ask big questions and explore big ideas.”
With regional events planned for Ipswich, Toowoomba, Chinchilla and Townsville, World Science Festival Brisbane will stretch right across Queensland. Tickets for select events are on sale now, with the full program to be unveiled on Thursday January 29, 2026.
For details, head to the World Science Festival Brisbane website.
This article was written in partnership with our friends at Queensland Museum.