The World Science Festival is a production of the Science Festival Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City. The Foundation’s mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.
The World Science Festival’s signature event is an annual celebration and exploration of science that launched in 2008. Hailed a “new cultural institution,” by The New York Times, the Festival has featured such luminaries as: Stephen Hawking, Edward O. Wilson, Sir Paul Nurse, Harold Varmus, James Watson, Anna Deavere Smith, Francis Collins, Bobby McFerrin, David Baltimore, Chuck Close, Saul Perlmutter, Liev Schreiber, Daniel Dennett, John Hockenberry, Eric Lander, Philip Glass, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Charlie Kaufman, Sylvia Earle, Yo-Yo Ma, Oliver Sacks, Mary-Claire King, William Phillips, Paul Davies, Elizabeth Vargas, Sir Roger Penrose, Charlie Rose, Lisa P. Jackson, John Lithgow, Vinton Cerf, Glenn Close, Jeffrey Eugenides, Bill T. Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Elaine Fuchs, and Walter Isaacson. The first five Festivals have attracted almost one million visitors, and millions more have viewed the programs online. The World Science Festival also produces year-round live programming in New York City, nationally and internationally.