2026 Festival Event Schedule!

All events are totally free, but some events are limited in space and require prior registration. These events are shown with an asterisk (*) and you can use the associated eventbrite link to access the event’s free registration page. All event registrations can also be found on the main website page by clicking the Register For Events buttons.

Wednesday, September 23

Rare Plant Field Trip led by the Utah Native Plant Society*
Wednesday September 23rd, 8 AM – 12 PM – Location will be provided when you register*
A fantastic opportunity to learn more about Utah’s incredible rare plants with expert botanists from the Utah Native Plant Society and the Bureau of Land Management! Learn about our native rare plants, how they survive and how they interact with other parts of the ecosystem, as well as gather new insight about the spectacularly diverse flora of our state! The event will include driving to a rare-plant rich location and then short walks looking at our amazing native and rare plants.

*This event requires pre-registration due to space limitations. Once you pre-register, you will be given information on where to meet and any other details. To pre-register, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/moab-festival-of-science-90617481983

Zak Podmore, author of “Life After Dead Pool” and “Confluence”, in partnership with Grand County Public Library and Back of Beyond Books
Wednesday September 23rd, 7 – 8:30 PM – Grand County Library (257 East Center St.)
Environmental journalist Zak Podmore explores the complex challenges ahead for Lake Powell and the Colorado River, and reframes the loss of Lake Powell as a turning point for a more sustainable future. Through an arresting mix of science and storytelling, Zak’s book “Life After Dead Pool” addresses the notion that the West’s water challenges are unsolvable and invites us to consider ways forward to a secure a future for the Colorado River. Zak will share his thoughts on where we stand with Lake Powell and the Colorado River, and ways forward.

Thursday, September 24

Back-to-Back Talks by Megan Bartley and Andy Larsen
Thursday September 24, 6 – 7 PM ~ Grand County Library (257 East Center St.)
Megan Bartley – The Protection Paradox: When Dangerous Allies Increase Your Chance of Survival
Megan is an Evolutionary Anthropologist. Humans possess a remarkable capacity to cooperate, even with strangers and between groups, a trait that distinguishes us among most other primates. An influential hypothesis suggests this trait evolved because individuals who formed social bonds with helpful, cooperative partners had a better chance of survival. A cornerstone of this argument is evidence that infants prefer characters who help rather than hinder others. This finding hasn’t held up consistently when other labs try to repeat it, suggesting we may be missing a piece of the puzzle. Across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and among our closest ape relatives, perceived threats to safety and security reliably shift social preference toward more aggressive social partners, a pattern supported by several lines of evidence. Megan’s early data suggest this pattern may be present in human infants as well. If so, this finding may be the missing puzzle piece. Megan will talk about her PhD research and describe how patterns across human societies that run contrary to an innate preference for partners who help others, including why bullying often leads to popularity, and why perceived danger increases support for authoritarian leaders.
Talk by Andy Larsen – Measuring Moab: A grab bag of stats on a changing Moab and Grand County
Andy Larsen is a data columnist at The Salt Lake Tribune. His work uses data, reporting, and explanatory writing to make complicated questions about Utah and the world easier to understand. While some might think data and their analysis using statistics is not too exciting, this approach to understanding and reporting on our complicated world is actually incredibly powerful. Come learn more about how the press uses data and statistics to ask questions and find answer for some of the most complicated parts of our world.

Movie Night: “The Beaver Believers”, in partnership with Grand County Public Library
Thursday September 24, 7 – 9 PM~ Star Hall (159 East Center St.)
The documentary follows five scientists and a hairdresser working to restore North American beavers to western U.S. watersheds. The film features local Moab scientist Mary O’Brien and shows how beavers act as a keystone species to help fight climate change, reduce droughts, and restore wetlands.

Friday, September 25

Lisbon Valley Mine Tour*
Friday September 25, ~10 AM – 1 PM including drive time – meeting point and other details will be provided when you register*
Take this special opportunity to see what’s happening at the Lisbon Valley Mine! The Lisbon Valley Mine is the only sandstone-hosted copper deposit producing in the western hemisphere. Mining copper from sandstone is special in that it allows for incredibly pure copper. In fact, the Lisbon Valley Mine is able to produce 99.999% pure copper cathode that is used for wiring, electronics, and green energy applications. The mine is a zero discharge facility and the pits are backfilled as mining progresses. Lisbon Valley Mining Company also practices concurrent reclamation meaning that disturbed areas are regraded to their original slopes and revegetated. Come learn more about the science and history of the Lisbon Valley Mine, which represents a unique example of the interplay between geology and human activity throughout canyon country.

Friday September 25, Moab Mingle
3 – 5 PM ~ Moab Museum Lawn
(lawn next to 118 E Center St.)
Join regional educators, geologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, biologists, astronomers, biogeochemists, ecologists other scientists, and science aficionados on the Moab Museum Lawn (lan next to the Museum of Moab at 118 East Center St.) for the Science Mingle. Refreshments will be provided!

Keynote Event: Expert Panel on the Past, Present, and Future of the Colorado River
Friday September 25, 7 – 8:30 PM ~ Star Hall (159 East Center St.)
The Colorado River is changing before our eyes—and few people have watched those changes as closely as Mike DeHoff, Cari Johnson, Zak Podmore, and John Weisheit. Join four people who have spent decades exploring, studying, documenting, and telling the story of this iconic river, past, present, and future. They’ll share what they’re seeing on the ground, what the science is telling us, and what it means for the river’s future. Come for the expert perspectives, stay for the lively conversation, and leave with a whole new perspective on the river running through our backyard.

Mike DeHoff is a Moab-based river runner, welder, and co-founder and principal investigator of the Returning Rapids Project (https://www.returningrapids.com/about). Mike has been studying the Colorado River from a boat for decades and is now leading and organizing research that helps understand how low water is affecting the return of rapids in Cataract Canyon, how towering sediments left behind as Lake Powell retreated are altering ecosystem recover, and insights into the overall state of and access to the Colorado River.

Dr. Cari Johnson is a Professor of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah and brings innovative methods and multidisciplinary approaches to understanding how the Colorado River is changing above and below the Glen Canyon Dam (https://profiles.faculty.utah.edu/u0337126). Cari explores rates of change, geomorphic and sedimentologic expressions, and controls on connected fluvial-delta-lacustrine systems as revealed by the Glen Canyon Dam ‘experiment’.

Zak Podmore is an award-winning environmental journalist and author based in Bluff, Utah, with more than a decade of reporting on western water, public lands, and conservation (https://zakpodmore.com). He was formerly the southern Utah reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune and has written two powerful books about the Colorado River: Confluence: Navigating the Personal and Political on Rivers of the New West (2019) and Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the rebirth of the Colorado River (2024).

John Weisheit is a Colorado River icon, serving as one of the most longstanding and influential figures in Moab’s Colorado River conservation community (https://www.livingrivers.org). He is co-founder and executive director of Living Rivers, is a Colorado Riverkeeper for the Waterkeeper Alliance, and is a river guide, river historian, researcher, and conservationist with a powerfully deep understanding of the history and legalities of the Colorado River and its water.

Saturday, September 26

The Summit Summit, Science of the La Sals, IN the La Sals, in partnership with Science Moab*
Saturday September 26, 9:30 AM – 1 PM ~ Geyser Pass Winter Trailhead, more location specifics will be provided to registered participants*
Don’t miss the Summit Summit: a fun-filled morning of science about the La Sal Mountains…IN the La Sal Mountains! Join us for a series of three short walk-and-talks led by alpine scientists, followed by a complimentary lunch. Guest speakers Dr. Colin Tucker, Anthony Culpepper, Jared Trader, Dr. Mike Allen, Dr. Edith Allen, and Dr. Tim Pearce will speak over the course of three sessions about a wide range of alpine climate and ecology topics: from climate change monitoring to soil health to some of the unique organisms that call alpine regions home.

Attendees can expect to walk up to two miles on uneven terrain, and also spend time seated outside. Please bring water, walking shoes, a camp chair, and any clothing and supplies you need to be comfortable and safe in the mountains.

Complimentary coffee and bagged lunches will be provided for attendees by Science Moab!

STEAM StoryTime about the Water Cycle, in partnership with the Grand County Library
Saturday September 26, 10:30 – 11:30 AM ~ Grand County Library (257 East Center St.)
Bring your little ones to the Grand County Library for a StoryTime event focused on the Water Cycle and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)! Join us for science, stories, activities, and crafts. Children of all ages welcome (including of course big kids, also called adults!).

Lichen Hike with Dr. Steve Leavitt
Saturday September 26, 3 – 4 PM ~ Sand Flats Recreation Area Echo Campground
Come learn about lichens from the world-renowned expert Dr. Steve Leavitt, a Professor from Brigham Young University. Steve is Festival Favorite due to his deep knowledge and phenomenally engaging (and hilarious) communication style. Steve will guide a walk in Sand Flats exploring desert lichen ecology and talking about their recent data from the area – cool!

Please carpool if you can – parking will be limited.

Talk “One day in the Life of a Gopher: Recovery of Mount St. Helens and the Importance of Biodiversity” with Dr. Mike Allen, in partnership with the Canyonlands Natural History Association
Saturday September 26, 6 PM ~ The MIC (Moab Information Center, 25 East Center St.)
Dr. Mike Allen is a prominent soil and ecosystem scientist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Riverside. He is well known for his work on mycorrhizal fungi, plant–soil interactions, desert ecology, ecosystem restoration, and belowground responses to environmental change. Join Mike to learn how, in one day, pocket gophers affected the successional trajectory of areas devastated by the explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens, May 1980. Their impact is still evident today! On a destroyed landscape, scientists wondered how life could be restored—so they brought in gophers to dig around in specific areas for a single day. Now, more than four decades later, the benefits from those 24 hours remain visible. Ask Mike says, “Who would have predicted you could toss a gopher in for a day and see a residual effect 40 years later?”. Come learn more about this amazing science story!

Sunday, September 27

Geology Hike with Will Leggett*
Sunday September 27, 9 AM – 12 PM ~ Millcreek BLM parking lot at the end of Powerhouse Lane*
The Geology hike is led by National Park Service geologist Will Leggett and is a huge favorite of the Festival due to his phenomenal knowledge and incredibly understanding and engaging communication style. The hike starts at Powerhouse Lane and goes above Mill Creek Canyon, so it is somewhat strenuous, but Will stops frequently to talk about the geology and how geologic forces forged Moab’s unique landscape.

*This event requires pre-registration due to space limitations. Once you pre-register, you will be given more information on where to meet and any other details. To pre-register, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/geology-hike-of-millcreek-tickets-2000997668893

Papermaking workshop with Kate Aitchison*
Sunday September 27, 10 AM – 1 PM ~ Location will be provided to registered participants*
Join artist Kate Aitchison and scientist Brooke Osborne in making paper using invasive plant species and recycled textiles! Ever wonder what we should do with all the invasive plants or think it would be so cool to put them to a different use? Well one option is to make paper!

The Lichens of Porcupine Rim with Dr. Steve Leavitt*
Sunday September 27, 10 AM – 12 PM ~ Location will be provided to registered participants*
Join the amazing lichenologist Dr. Steve Levitt to learn about the lichens (and soak in the views) of Porcupine Rim!

A Wetlands Walk and Talk*
Sunday September 27, 2 PM – 5 PM ~ Matheson Wetlands (parking lot at the western end of 400N)*
Have you been watching the West’s intense fire season wondering how wildfire could affect Moab? Are you curious about what “fire fuels mitigation” actually means and how it interacts with ecosystems and wildlife? Or, do you just want an excuse to spend a peaceful afternoon ambling through Moab’s wetlands?

Join us for an interactive walk-and-talk event in the Matheson Wetlands! Experts from Rim to Rim Restoration, Moab Valley Fire Department, and the Utah Department of Natural Resources will be discussing wildfire, ecosystems, restoration, and how all three intersect right in our backyard. This will be a casual, discussion-based event that leaves you looking at Moab’s riparian ecosystems with new eyes.

Please come ready for a 1.5-mile walk on uneven ground. Bring water, sun protection, and a lightweight folding stool if you have.

*Learn more and RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSegsH7BQVc6u1rXCm6_i-KbuX3g47D5p4GvcLDeiZ3P3AmFIg/viewform

Science Trivia!
Sunday September 27, 7 PM ~ Location Will Be Announced Shortly
1393 N Hwy 191, Moab, UT 84532
The best way to wrap up any festival is with Science Trivia! Team up with your friends or folks you meet at the bar to compete in this super fun Festival event finale, hosted by Moab Pub Trivia! Want to give your team that extra edge? Attending other Moab Festival of Science events will fill your brain full of neat science facts to get you ready to compete.