Genoa Science Festival 2026: dates, workshops and programme

The Genoa Science Festival, scheduled for 22 October–1 November 2026, has come to an end. Here is a selection from its programme: ideas, experiments and questions to keep exploring after the festival.

The keyword of 2026 is Prospects. An invitation to move your gaze, look for another explanation, let yourself be surprised by what seemed already known. To participate you don't need to get prepared on every topic. A question that we want to follow a little deeper may suffice.

Eleven days, with many doors to open

The 24th edition takes place from 22 October to 1° November. The Municipality of Genoa indicates 254 events in 38 places: 105 conferences, 101 workshops, 12 exhibitions, 6 shows and 30 special events. A program that crosses different disciplines and spaces of the city.

Palazzo Ducale is one of the headquarters. The path of the Festival is then extended to other city places, with proposals for different ages and interests. The advice is to choose first some appointments and check their address, duration and mode of access: the enthusiasm works better when we don't spend half a day looking for the room.

Robots can learn from nature

The inaugural conference of Barbara Mazzolai, of the Italian Institute of Technology, is dedicated to bio-inspired robots. It was held on October 22 under the title Nature by Nature. The starting point of research is to observe living beings and to understand what solutions might suggest to technology.

It is a fascinating idea also for those who, hearing about robots, imagine only metal and circuits. A plant or an animal can become a subject of study to design something new. The careful observation arrives before the invention.

In the inaugural day there was also Look up!, meeting on space with Andrea Patassa and Emilio Cozzi. Two different openings, united by the desire to understand: look close, in the natural world, and raise your eyes to what is beyond the Earth.

The beauty of the labs is to be able to enter with a question

The Festival presents the workshops as activities based on participation. It's the part of the program to explore if you want to experience, follow an experiment or see a phenomenon closely, rather than just listen to the explanation.

When you choose, read the tab to the bottom. The recommended age is important, especially if you accompany children of different ages. Check if the activity requires a reservation and leave a little margin before the next appointment. A question born at the end may deserve a few more minutes.

It can also be an opportunity to share a discovery without turning it into a school test. Asking what has intrigued you?It leaves room for unexpected answers. Maybe the detail left in a child's mind will be exactly what we missed.

Four videos to see the research at work

In the official program of 23 October, Perspectives appear in 4 acts, at the Teatro Carlo Felice, Auditorium Eugenio Montale. The proposal connects energy, environment, nutrition and restoration through four films and in-depth interventions.

Among the themes are nuclear fusion, robots for environmental sustainability, innovation in a mill and the restoration of an artwork. The card indicates a recommended age from twenty years and free entry until seats last, with references for information and bookings.

It is an example of how broad the meaning of science can be: questions also enter what we eat, the energy we use, the works we try to preserve. To choose an appointment, we can start from a piece of our daily life.

How much it costs and what it is free

The Gen Z initiative at the Festival provides free conferences for the under 18, university students and members of the ITS Academy Liguri. This facility does not equal free access to all activities. For laboratories, exhibitions and other appointments, the specific conditions must be verified.

Tickets and subscriptions are available online; the Municipality also reports the Infopoint in the inner courtyard of Palazzo Ducale, where to ask for directions. Before buying, check availability of the seats and activities included. Prices should be read in the updated official page, avoiding using the tariffs of previous editions.

A day that also leaves room for surprise

If you go to the family, you can build a light path: a chosen activity together, a break and time to talk about it. Trying to do everything is likely to make us run right where it would be nice to stop.

The wonder, sometimes, comes when someone shows us a detail and then lets us look. In a magazine that loves to tell about creation, scientific curiosity also finds its home: observing with care can make our amazement for the world deeper.

And if you come back from Genoa with an extra question, take it with you. Look for a book, ask a competent person, try to understand better. A day at the Festival may end; the curiosity it has lit can continue much longer.