2025 Events and Activities
Join us for a full day of hands-on activities, live science performances, underground connections, and tours throughout the City of Lead, South Dakota.
Timed and featured events
Events & Activities
Events by location summary
Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center
Your event headquarters!
Registration and tour sign-up
Underground livestream from the DUNE Caverns at 10:00 AM
A special panel with visiting scientists from around the world at 11:00 AM
SURF 101: all about America's Underground Lab at 1:00 PM
Virtual and augmented reality
Live science demonstrations by Fermilab, Black Hills Energy, and others
Homestake Opera House
Engage with scientists, performers, and educators starting at 9 AM until 5 PM
Professor Sko’s energetic science shows
Live aerial arts performances
Handley Center
Experience hands-on STEM activities for all ages from 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Little Shop of Physics
Museum of Geology
The Mammoth Site
and more!
Tours
Enjoy tours starting at 9 AM until 3:30 PM
Historic Yates Hoistroom
Tour the historic, 85-year-old Yates Hoistroom and get a behind-the-scenes look at the massive machinery that powers the elevator system carrying people and equipment nearly a mile underground.
Book your tour at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center! Registration will remain open until tours are full.
Morning Tours: 9 AM–12 PM | Registration opens at 8:30 AM
Afternoon Tours: 1–3:30 PM | Registration opens at 11:00 AM
Feed Your Curiosity—and Yourself!
Take a break and refuel! Food trucks and local restaurants will be open throughout Lead.
Alphabetical listing of tables, booths and activities.
| Activity Name | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Artist in Residence | Artists Chris Combs and Gina Gibson will host an art table at the visitor center. | Visitor Center |
| Augmented Reality | Use your smartphone to unlock hidden layers of science with augmented reality—explore the Open Cut in 3D or walk around virtual models of cutting-edge experiments like LZ. | Visitor Center |
| Bacterial Biofilms | A hands-on demonstration exploring bacterial biofilms—what they are, how they form, where they are found, and their impact on society. | Handley Center |
| Black Hills Underground Campus | A display featuring the Black Hills Underground Campus, including lead bricks and radiation demos. | Handley Center |
| Black Hills Energy | Visit the bucket truck outside and try on tools of the lineman at the Visitor Center. Meet Louie the Lightning Bug and learn more about electricity! | Visitor Center parking lot |
| Block Coding with Robots | A hands-on introduction to block coding with Dash and Sphero Bolt robots. | Handley Center |
| CASPAR | Informational booth about the CASPAR experiment, potentially with a small hands-on demonstration. | Handley Center |
| Civil/Environmental Engineering – Hands-On Demo | Visitors will engage with hands-on activities centered around civil and environmental engineering concepts, including a potential stream table demonstration. | Handley Center |
| Clothe-a-Kid | Families can register for the Clothe-a-Kid program and participate in a creative sun-powered photography activity using photosensitive paper. | Handley Center |
| Coeur Wharf Science Experiments | Team members will demonstrate a variety of science experiments for public interaction and exploration. | Handley Center |
| Connecting to the Environment – BHSU Staff | A hands-on activity encouraging families to learn about the South Dakota ecosystem and sustainability, developed through the statewide E-CORE grant. | Handley Center |
| Cupcake Core Sampling | Kids will explore geology by sampling cupcake “cores” with straws to simulate how scientists study Earth's layers. | Handley Center |
| Dakota Gold | Informational table explaining mining operations and current projects. | Visitor Center |
| Dewatering Exhibit | A permanent exhibit on dewatering processes, located inside the Visitor Center. | Visitor Center |
| Explore the Solar System | Attendees will journey through the solar system using NASA Eyes, located next to the Journey Planetarium booth. | Handley Center |
| Fermi-science | Enjoy Standard Model activities, quantum coloring pages, a quantum puzzle that reveals a dilution refrigerator with an aluminum cavity, and a spectroscopy activity! | Handley Center |
| Geology of the Open Cut | Posters and rock samples will help visitors learn about the geology of the Open Cut through discussion with a subject expert. | Visitor Center |
| Ink & Imagination | Participants will create colorful, alcohol-diffused Sharpie art to explore chemical reactions and the intersection of science and creativity. | Handley Center |
| Journey Museum Portable Planetarium | Visitors will enter a dome theater to experience a guided, projected journey through the solar system. | Handley Center |
| LBNF/DUNE – Indoor Table at Visitor Center | Educational materials and video content from Fermilab and LBNF/DUNE, positioned near an electrical outlet for multimedia use. | Visitor Center |
| LBNF/DUNE – Outdoor Display of L-Beam Model | A steel L-beam model and air cart used in underground shaft operations will be displayed outdoors near the Visitor Center. | Visitor Center parking lot |
| Little Shop of Physics | A traveling science exhibit featuring hands-on physics demonstrations. Setup will be located in the Hampton Parking Garage. | Hampton Inn |
| Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream | Join SD Mines as they demonstrate the properties of liquid nitrogen while making instant ice cream—a cold treat with a cool science twist. | Handley Center parking lot |
| Make Your Own DNA Bracelet! | A creative activity where kids design colorful bracelets based on the DNA sequences of animals and plants, learning genetic basics through fun patterns. | Handley Center |
| Microfossils and Megafauna | Explores how scientists reconstruct ancient environments using fossil evidence, from microscopic remains to large prehistoric animals. | Handley Center |
| Monument Health Lead-Deadwood Health Care Display | Features free health screenings including blood pressure and oxygen saturation, along with an inflatable display of the heart and lungs. | Handley Center |
| Muon Detector – Seeing Unseen Particles | A demonstration showing how classrooms worldwide use cosmic ray muon detectors to explore the universe’s invisible particles. | Handley Center |
| Neiman | Hands-on activity space around forestry. | Handley Center |
| Neutrino Alley – Oak Ridge National Laboratory | A display showcasing neutrino detection at Neutrino Alley near the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. | Handley Center |
| Neutrino Detector 5000 | Step into the dark and discover the unseen! Kids will uncover hidden stamps representing the three types of neutrinos—electron, muon, and tau. Just like neutrinos that pass through us undetected every second, these stamps are invisible to the naked eye... until science lights the way! | Visitor Center |
| Pangea | An interactive display showing how continents fit together in the past and explaining the scientific evidence for continental drift. | Handley Center |
| Virtual Reality | Try out our VR goggles and journey into America's Underground Lab. | Visitor Center |