The 2026 Science Events Summit is for anyone looking to have fun taking event organizing seriously. You don't need to be a full-time event organizer to fit in here, but you should be enthusiastic about talking shop when it comes to nourishing communities with live public events.
The Summit has always been a peer-to-peer meeting, so the program is designed to set you up for peer learning and inspiration. We have some intriguing panel conversations in the agenda, but we're just excited for the Summit's many interactive workshops and other events this year.
If you have a question about the 2026 program or future get togethers, please reach out to the Summit team.
The Summit Theme: Seeing All the Work, Telling the Whole Story, and Making the Most of Strategic Potential.
When someone thinks of live events, they think of the great energy of the event experience. But event organizers know the event experience is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath every event is a mass of decision-making, relationship-development, communication, coordination, careful negotiation, and sweat. You are invited to the 2026 Summit to take your time among supportive peers to surface all of the work it takes, to make that work part of your event story, and to make the most of the opportunities that unseen work offers up.
4:00 - 8:00PM Six-on-One Science Mini-fest with the Mississippi Science Festival. Pop in to local businesses near the Summit hotel, and join this neighborhood celebration. (Fondren Village).
6:00 - 9:00PM Gather at a classic outpost to meet and mingle with other Summit attendees. (Fondren Public).
Day-time programming is in "The Block", which contains The Capri and Highball Lanes
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and registration (The Block)
9:00 - 10:00 Summit opening mixer (Get to the Block by 9:00!)
10:15 - 12:00 Circular Panel on Summit Theme (The Capri, plenary session)
12:00 - 1:00 Catered lunch (The Block: included with registration)
1:15 - 2:00 Keystone conversation: Cultural Arts (The Capri)
2:00 - 2:15 Brief Break
2:15 - 3:00 Keystone conversation: Industry (The Capri)
3:00 - 4:30 Workshop: Seeing Strategic Potential (The Block)
4:30 - 6:00 Circular Bowling (Highball Lanes)
6:30 - 9:30 Summit Dinner (Mississippi Children's Museum, 6:30 first bus pick up at Homewood Suites, bus then cycles between hotel and Museum until 8:30)
8:30 - 11:00 Blue Monday in the Red Room (Hal & Mal's, starting 8:30 bus cycles through Museum, Hal&Mal's, hotel)
9:00 - 9:30 Coffee reception (Duling Hall)
9:30 - 11:00 Plenary workshop: Seeing All the Work
11:00 - 11:15 Brief Break
11:15 - 12:30 Plenary workshop: Telling the Whole Story
12:30 - 1:30 Catered lunch (provided with registration)
1:30 - 2:15 Concurrent meetings: Science Festival Alliance; Science Events in Mississippi; Science.Events Membership
2:15 - 2:30 Brief Break
2:30 - 3:45 Peer Learning Plenary (Duling Hall)
4:00 - 6:00 Summit closing reception (Apothecary, Brent's Drugs)
Fondren Village, 2905 Old Canton Rd, Jackson, MS.
Jackson is calling you! (You can tell because of the 601 area code). Piggy-backing off of Visit Jackson's 601 JXN Day, the Mississippi Science Festival is bringing the neighborhood together for a couple hours of family-friendly fun with local businesses. The activity is just a very short walk from Homewood Suites. You’ll know you arrived when you hit the activity outside at Fondren Village, but make sure to also stop in Soule, Conkrete Sneaker Boutique, and Neptune Bodywork.
Pre-registration is not required, open to the public.
Fondren Public, 2765 Old Canton Rd, Jackson, MS.
Immediately after mini-fest cross the street to the local watering hole Fondren Public, and meet up with other Summit attendees while enjoying refreshments and yard games.
Open to Summit attendees and their guests.
The Block, 3017 - 3025 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Doors open at 8:30. Grab your name tag and a coffee when you arrive (breakfast available at hotel for those staying at the Homewood). The Block is a 3 - 5 minute walk from the Homewood Suites.
The Block, 3017 - 3025 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Don't be late for this energetic Summit kick off, and dive into a cleverly devised networking game.
The Capri Theater, 3023 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Start digging into the Summit theme with 8 different panelists each getting 30 minutes at a panel set for 3. The mechanics of a Circular Panel may sound complicated at first, but we'll all get the hang of it quickly. Plus it gives us the chance to hear many different perspectives on the Summit theme: seeing, talking about, and getting strategic about the impacts that flow from the event organizing process.
Panelists: Stacey Baker, S.L. Baker; Monique Ealey, Mississippi Children's Museum; Anna Boyd Hawks, Mississippi Main Street Association; Elizabeth Michael, SOMA 501; Ivvet Modinou, Simons Foundation; Carleen Sabusap, MIT Museum; Jason Thompson, Fahrenheit Creative Group; Kari Wouk, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The Capri Theater, 3023 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Explore the Summit theme from the perspective of three unique cultural arts organizations working in Jackson.
Stephen Brown, Briarwoods Arts Center; Monique Ealey, Mississippi Children's Museum; Blaine Waide, The National Folk Festival;
Don't go far! We'll be starting up again in the Capri right at 2:15.
The Capri Theater, 3023 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Explore the Summit theme from the perspective of two remarkable fixtures of the Jackson business landscape.
Kim Lewis, Visit Jackson; Jen Simcox Lynch, Cathead Distillery
The Capri Theater, 3023 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
It's your turn! The Summit is about to shift into workshop mode. Grab your workbooks, role up your sleeves, and get ready to fan out into a classic bowling alley to connect your work to the Summit theme.
Highball Lanes, 3019 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Much of the day's program was dedicated to the Summit theme: Reflecting on the unseen work behind public events, articulating what that work is, and recognizing how it can yield powerful impact above and beyond the event experience. Taking inspiration from previous sessions, we'll join small assigned small groups to start making connections directly to your event organizing.
Highball Lanes, 3019 N. State St., Jackson, MS.
Transform your workshop group into a styling bowling team with this twist on the typical ten pin rules. Each group of 6 gets a lane, and each group member (that wants to) gets to bowl at least one frame as your team competes for the highest overall score at the Summit. The styling part? Bowling shoes, of course!
Mississippi Children's Museum, 2145 Museum Boulevard Jackson, MS.
No speeches, no schedule. Just friends, play, food, and an open bar in the lovely indoor/outdoor spaces of one of the best Children's Museums in the country. (Please bring Summit name tags for identification).
Summit Bus will pick up from Homewood Suites at 5:45 and 6:15 for the 10 - 15 minute drive to the Museum. The bus will pick up on the side of the hotel on the corner of State Street and Fondren Place. Summit Bus returns to Homewood Suites departing Children's Museum at 7:30 and 8:00. The 8:00 Summit Bus will go on to Hal & Mals (see below).
Hal & Mal's, 200 Commerce St, Jackson, MS.
Ask anyone in Jackson where to hear the Blues, and the Central Mississippi Blues Society's Monday sessions at Hal & Mal's is sure to come up. The 8:00 Summit Bus from the Children's Museum will drop off at Homewood Suites and Hal & Mal's. Return travel to Homewood Suites from Hal & Mal's (a 10-minute drive) to be announced soon.
Duling Hall, 622 Duling Ave, Jackson, MS.
Doors open at 9:00 with a light coffee reception (breakfast available at hotel for those staying at the Homewood). Duling Hall is a 5 minute walk from the Homewood Suites.
Remember to bring your workbook if you took it with you on Monday evening.
Duling Hall, 622 Duling Ave, Jackson, MS.
What is it that people don't see about your event organizing? Do you have someone specific in mind when you start to answer? Or maybe it's just someone who innocently remarks at the end of an event, "Now what do you do for the rest of the year?" After a couple examples you'll have the chance to share your thoughts, and learn what your peers are hearing when you do. Please start this session seated in your group from Monday.
Workshop design: the Summit team; Examples: Kelly Kirk, Neutrino Day; Erik MacIntosh, North Carolina Science Festival; Workshop faciliation: Jason Thompson, Fahrenheit Creative Group
Don't wander far! We'll keep the meeting on track by starting right at 11:15.
Duling Hall, 622 Duling Ave, Jackson, MS.
Now that you've had time to think about your unseen work, are you noticing anything even you overlooked? Is there strategic potential in that unseen work that you'd like to make the most of? How would you tell that story to the people that need to hear it? After a couple examples you'll have the chance to share your thoughts, and learn what your peers are hearing when you do. Please stay in your earlier groups for the rest of this workshop.
Workshop design: the Summit team; Examples: Rosa Inés Aristy, Houston Science Festival; Alan Goss, COSI Science Festival; Workshop faciliation: Jason Thompson, Fahrenheit Creative Group
Step into the conversation shaping the future of the Science Festival Alliance. We'll dive into our mission, branding, and resource-sharing strategies while exploring how we can grow stronger together. Whether you're excited to help lead the work ahead or simply want to share your perspective, join this meeting to help co-create the Alliance's next chapter.
Lauren Bell, St Pete Science Festival
We've been picking up momentum for working together in Mississippi, so while we're in the same room are there ideas or good models we've learned about from our out-of-state friends at the Summit?
Monique Ealey, Mississippi Children's Museum
The Science.Events community of practice is now just over two years old, and is starting to hit its stride. It is based on a free membership that just asks all members to participate Science.Events activity. So now that you've found your flock, what kind of activity would you like to participate in, or take the lead on, over the next year?
Carleen Sabusap, MIT Museum; Kari Wouk, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Don't go far! We're on the home stretch, and will start next right at 2:30.
Duling Hall, 622 Duling Ave, Jackson, MS.
Over the past 48 hours, we've had so many moments to learn together. Did you learn about a new event format or idea that impressed you? Did you feel something shift as you gained new insight or perspective? Do you have something you'd like to say to your community of peers before we go? Now's your chance to share!
Facilitators: Stacey Baker, S.L. Baker; Kellie Vinal.
The Apothecary at Brent's Drugs, 655 Dulling Ave, Jackson, MS.
Cross the street and you've made it! Drink in the refreshing feeling of accomplishment at the end of the Summit. If your team wins one of the coveted Summit trophies, you'll also be drinking in the sweet taste of victory. Either way, we'll all enjoy actual drinks at this original soda fountain with a surprising speak easy in the back.
Light food and open bar included with Summit registration.
