Pewaukee Public Library and the Wisconsin Science Festival

Article and photos submitted by Jenny Wegener, Head of Youth Services, Pewaukee Public Library

Have you ever thought…

“I wish I could reach a wider community.”
“I wish I could get some help promoting my programs.”
“I wish people would check out these great nonfiction titles.”
“I wish someone would give me a cool t-shirt.”

Stop wishing and do something about it! Participate in the Wisconsin Science Festival and reach a wider community, benefit from state-wide promotion, and increase interest in your 500’s! Oh, and yes, you can get a shirt, too!

The Wisconsin Science Festival took place again on October 20th to 23rd. This fabulously eclectic celebration of community and science is produced by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and Morgridge Institute for Research. 

Science Festival events take place all over the state, in 2015 there were 285 events spread over 89 locations and 36 communities. An amazing 37,000 people attended Wisconsin Science Festival events last year.

Libraries are a natural partner for the Science Festival because we are havens for learning and curiosity. Partnering with the Wisconsin Science Festival gives you access to free publicity – your event will be on their web page, included in the directory of events, and you will be able to order free promotional materials. Because of the state-wide promotion, you may find that your events are attended by community members who are not familiar with your library – this is your chance to impress them! Display all of your nicest science books and boost your circulation numbers!




Participation is easy: just do an event that fits your comfort level. A great way to start out is to offer a science program from a performer or local expert. In Pewaukee, we’ve grown our offerings to include “Hands-On” science in the morning, a special program in the afternoon, and, because we have an active astronomy club, a star-gazing event in the evening. Do what you can afford in staff time and programming money. You may even want to consider “killing off” your Halloween program and doing SCIENCE instead!