January 14, 2025

Hahn welcomed City of STEM and Downey leaders to Board of Supervisors meeting on the occasion of the declaration. L to R: Roger Bradley (Downey City Manager); Benjamin Dickow (Columbia Memorial Space Center); Supervisor Hahn; Daphne Bradford (founder, Mother of Many); Hector Sosa (Mayor of Downey).

Los Angeles, CA – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to officially declare the City of STEM + Los Angeles Maker Faire as the Official Science Festival of Los Angeles County. The annual event is co-hosted by the Columbia Memorial Space Center, located in the City of Downey, and the Los Angeles Public Library. This year’s event takes place on April 12th and will be held in Exposition Park for the first time.

“Some of the greatest accomplishments in the fields of science, math, and engineering in our nation’s history happened right here in Los Angeles County. City of STEM is helping us ensure that we remain the home of its bright future too,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Thousands of future scientists, engineers, creators, and innovators from across LA County are going to find the inspiration and guidance they need at our new Official Science Festival.”

City of STEM brings together over 200 organizations and vendors and over 20,000 attendees from across Los Angeles County for expert panel discussions, workshops, mainstage entertainment, VIPs, special guests, and live music. The event, launched in 2015, was previously held at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey. In 2023, City of STEM was combined with the Los Angeles Maker Faire, where inventors and creators gather to showcase their projects and gadgets.

“We are excited to welcome The City of STEM + Los Angeles Maker Faire to the 2nd District’s Exposition Park for the first time. Exposition Park is a central location easily accessible by public transit and at the nexus of science, culture, and the arts. I look forward to more young people from diverse communities accessing STEM education and resources at the Official Science Fair of Los Angeles County” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.

“We want to thank the County of Los Angeles for recognizing City of STEM as the official celebration of science and innovation in the County. LA County has a long legacy of leading the county in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), from building the spaceships that went to the moon to the early development the internet at UCLA,” said Benjamin Dickow, President and Executive Director of the Columbia Memorial Space Center. “That leadership continues and City of STEM, with its month of events and programs and its huge festival City of STEM + LA Maker Faire on April 12, brings awareness of this regional leadership to tens of thousands of Southern Californians.”

The Columbia Memorial Space Center, opened in 2009, is owned and operated by the City of Downey and was built on the site of the former NASA Downey facility where the Apollo modules were built.