It’s BACK! NextGenSTEM Fest is a different STEM festival In 2026, we will build on the momentum established in 2025 and plan for an even more exciting day! The inaugural NextGen STEMFest was a day-long, community-focused STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) event held on May 10th, 2025, at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA. It was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), celebrating the 75th year of the NSF's role in incubating and supporting innovation and discovery that have improved the lives of so many. The festival hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and the event is suitable for all ages! and it’s FREE to the public! To learn all about the Fest, exhibitors and the planned activities and workshops, visit: NextGenSTEMFest.org View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize At the NextGen STEMFest, come let your curiosity wander with interactive learning activities and experiences from some of the world's top STEM companies and University research labs. You will see and learn about regenerative medicine, new biotechnologies, hear from young people about their college STEM experiences, learn about physical computing, and more. You can sign up to learn how to use a laser, how to 3D print nearly anything, and screen printing at Massachusetts’ only youth-led innovation maker-space, the Charles River Collaboratory, located at the Charles River Museum of Industry &Innovation. While you are at NextGen STEMFest, you can also visit the Charles River Museum, which will be free for visitors all day! 2026 Exhibitors For more on what each exhibitor will be showcasing, visit nextgenstemfest.org/about-nextgen-stemfest/2026-exhibitors Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) AIKreate Autodesk Blue Hill Observatory Boston College Hatchery Boston Dynamics Boston Society of Civil Engineers (BSCES) Boston Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Brilliant Labs Cape Cod Museum of Natural History Climable Da Vinci Jr Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Ecotarium Einstein's Workshop EnergyTeachers.org Framingham State University Christa McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science Learning GBH Education Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Lasell College Lesley College Make It Labs Mass Association for Women in Science Mass Bay Community College Mass Life Sciences Center (MLSC) Mathworks Merrimack College STEM National Energy Education Development (NEED) New England Section of Optica Northeastern Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE) Nurturing Minds Pathway BioMedX (PBX) Power Tracker Record Robotics Rethink Learning Labs Sugar Labs TERC: NeuroVivid The Baby Sharks, Team 33574 The Learning and Brain Development Lab (LBDL) The Pipetting Pigeon ThermoFisher Scientific Waltham High School Robotics Team Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC) Wheaton College Youth Development...
The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation is located in Waltham, MA in the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill complex, a National Historical Landmark.
