Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

10/12/2026

Step right up to the best (free!) show in town! The WhySci Variety Show is back and better than ever! Come on by to the Majestic Theatre in Madison on Thursday, October 22nd for comedy, science talks, physics demos, live music, and more, hosted by the wonderful Ben Rush from Amalgam Improv! Doors and bar open at 6:30pm.

Tickets are free but registration is requested - visit wiscifest.org/whysci to learn more!

10/06/2026

The 25th Annual Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration is less than three weeks away, kicking off on October 15! We can’t wait to hear about what your favorite events will be this year. Pursuing the entire four-day lineup can feel overwhelming, so we’re here to help. Each week, we’ll feature some of the Fall Celebration highlights based on genre. Swipe through to see just a few of the stellar S.T.E.M. books we’ll be hosting this year!

View the full schedule: https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/event-schedule

10/02/2026

Thank you to our super krypton sponsors - Boyle Fredrickson, CityCast Madison, Fox47, and Underground Printing!

Check out the hundreds of events as part of the 2026 Wisconsin Science Festival, October 15-25th Statewide, at wiscifest.org!

10/02/2026

ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT! This workshop focuses on absorbing information from colleagues and listening for understanding. Activities focus on listening to partners beyond words and distilling messages to core values and beliefs for building bridges with collaborators and the public.
UPCOMING-November 18: Stage Presence.

09/29/2026

Free workshop – better science communication through improv!. This workshop focuses on absorbing information from colleagues and listening for understanding. Activities focus on listening to partners beyond words and distilling messages to core values and beliefs for building bridges with collaborators and the public. These workshops are designed for graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty in STEM-related fields.
Space is limited – RSVP required!

09/29/2026

Join us for an engaging faculty seminar as Plant Pathology Associate Professor Claudia Solís-Lemus presents 'Evolving Methods for a Tangled Tree of Life' on Tuesday, October 27, at 2 pm. She will be introduced with a lay explanation by WID Writer in Residence Michelle Wildgen, author of W**e People. The event will take place in the Orchard View Room, Discovery Building, UW–Madison Campus, and is free and open to the public.

09/28/2026

hank you to our stellar copper sponsors - Brothers Molloy Events, SHINE Technologies, Adams Outdoor, 4imprint, and WMTV15!

Check out the hundreds of events as part of the 2026 Wisconsin Science Festival, October 15-25th Statewide, at wiscifest.org!

09/25/2026

3 Essentials Every Entrepreneur Needs

Entrepreneurship is more than a career—it's a mindset fueled by three key elements:

💡Passion – The drive to innovate.
💡Perseverance – The grit to overcome challenges.
💡Follow-through – The action to make ideas real.

Professor Jon Eckhardt's research highlights how these traits shape successful entrepreneurs, and he’s helping connect emerging innovators with the tools to bring their ideas to life. The next great creator could be you!

Listen to more insights: https://business.wisc.edu/faculty-research/ -in

09/24/2026

Check out Madison Locally Sourced about how Science is For all of Us, written by WID Writer-in-Residence Michelle Wildgen. The feature explores how the Wisconsin Science Festival uses hands-on science, art, comedy and community partnerships to reach people who may not think of themselves as “science people."

Title photo: Why Sci Variety Show (2025). Photograph by Romulo Ueda It’s not every day somebody gets to snap on some gloves and examine a preserved human brain, but this and plenty of equally fascinating discoveries are a common sight at the Wisconsin Science Festival. The festival, October 15 to ...

09/24/2026

UW–Madison’s new Gnotobiotic Shared Resource (GSR) is expanding opportunities for researchers to study the microbiome in germ-free and gnotobiotic mouse models. The centralized facility was established with a $1 million gift from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) through the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research’s Microbiome Initiative.

The GSR was recently highlighted at the WID-hosted UW–Madison Microbiome Symposium, where this year’s “Gut-Brain Axis” theme reflected the work of many researchers using the facility to study how the gut microbiome may influence neurological function.

“The GSR is an amazing gift to the campus,” says Wisconsin Institute for Discovery director and GSR user Jo Handelsman. “Relatively few campuses have gnotobiotic facilities for general use. Usually they are located in one research group which must coordinate their own training, personnel, and maintenance of colonies. The UW–Madison GSR makes possible new avenues of microbiome investigation for our researchers.”

Inaugural Microbiome Symposium Showcased Interdisciplinary Work Enabled by Campus Germ-Free Mouse Facility Posted September 10, 2026 By Martel DenHartog, Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub Manager, Handelsman Lab, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Last spring, over 130 scientists spanning 40+ departments conv...