What is Science Hack Day?
Science Hack Day is a two-day-all-night event where anyone excited about making weird, silly or serious things with science comes together in the same physical space to see what they can prototype within 24 consecutive hours. The mission of Science Hack Day is to get excited and make things with science. Designers, developers, scientists and anyone excited about making things with science are welcome to attend – no experience in science or hacking is necessary, just an insatiable curiosity. The event is entirely free to attend, organized by volunteers, and supported via sponsors.

People organically form multidisciplinary teams over the course of a weekend: particle physicists team up with designers, marketers join forces with rocket scientists, writers collaborate with molecular biologists, and developers partner with school kids. Science Hack Day is inherently about mashing up ideas, mediums, industries and people to create sparks for future ideas, collaborations and inspirations to launch from. To date, there have been over 60 Science Hack Day events across 22 countries around the globe and dozens more are being planned.

What is a hack?
A hack is a quick solution to a problem – maybe not the most elegant solution, but often the cleverest.

Can I organize a Science Hack Day in my city?
Yes! Anyone can create a Science Hack Day in their city – there’s an open set of guidelines for how to get started at http://sciencehackday.org/howto.

Is there a good summary report of Science Hack Day that I can share with others?
In 2015, we celebrated our 50th Science Hack Day event and created a report summarizing the 50 events. The video above is also a great summary of what the event is like! You can see the complete list of where Science Hack Day events have taken place so far on the home page of this site.

What’s the origin of Science Hack Day?
In 2010, Ariel Waldman was frustrated that there was a lot of science data being made open, but that no one was doing anything interesting with it. She put together a panel at SXSW that year to share her frustration with others. Jeremy Keith was sitting in the audience and became so inspired by this problem that he organized the first Science Hack Day later that year in London. Encouraged by what Jeremy had started, Ariel took the torch to make Science Hack Day a global phenomenon. She re-created the event in San Francisco, and published open instructions that anyone could adopt. Ariel continues to instigate events across the globe, supporting people in creating a Science Hack Day in their own city. The torch is now carried by the dozens of organizers of Science Hack Day worldwide who have made it what it is today.

More questions?
Want to chat more about Science Hack Day? Email Ariel Waldman at ariel@sciencehackday.org.