Community activities

The Department of Physics and Astronomy host weekly Astronomy open houses on Wednesday evenings. These events, open to all, give you a chance to discover everything you've wanted to know about the sky!

In addition to the regular Wednesday night open houses, they also invite groups of 20 to visit our dome facility for daytime tours.

Ideafest is the university’s annual research festival, showcasing the ideas of faculty, students and staff.

Each year, new and emerging research is explained, debated, re-worked and brought to life in panels, workshops, exhibits, presentations, performances, and tours. This event offers a chance to explore and celebrate UVic scholarship and attracts thousands of participants from both the on-campus and greater Victoria communities.

Our Café Scientifique series bridges the research-to-public gap with casual community lectures inspired by the early coffeehouses of 18th century France. Sponsored and hosted by UVic's Faculty of Science, these free evening cafés provide an opportunity to learn about exciting new discoveries in modern science and meet experts in the field. 

Let's Talk Science provides science outreach to children and youth, in classrooms and the community. 

Community groups, libraries, summer camps, after-school programs and community festivals can request volunteers to incorporate hands-on STEM learning in their programs. 

The UVic Speakers Bureau is a community service provided by volunteer speakers from among the faculty, staff, graduate students and retirees who teach, conduct research, study and work at the University of Victoria.

Through the bureau, experts and knowledgeable individuals from UVic make themselves available to speak to community groups, schools, clubs and other organizations throughout Greater Victoria and southern Vancouver Island.

The University of Victoria, Ocean Networks Canada, and Camosun College host an annual in-person Science Rendezvous event each spring on Vancouver Island: SciRenYYJ