Maker Play
Oct 31, 2026 · Daejeon
Overview
Maker Play 2026, hosted by the National Science Museum, is a hands-on participatory festival where visitors learn scientific principles through the process of making and experiencing things themselves, while building creativity and imagination. Through about 50 hands-on booths covering fields such as craft-making, robots, coding, and AI, visitors can experience maker culture in an easy and fun way. The festival also lets visitors take part in marionette performances using puppets they made themselves, and enjoy Mandle Racing, in which participants build cars and sailboats from various materials and race them. A hands-on space where families build go-karts and swing cars together is also available, making this a science and culture festival where the whole family can share the joy of science and creativity.
Why go
Maker Play is a one-day, hands-on science festival at the National Science Museum in Daejeon, with about 50 booths covering crafts, robotics, coding, and AI. Visitors can build and race their own creations in "Mandle Racing" and perform with marionettes they made themselves, making it a strong pick for curious kids and science-minded families.
Getting there from Seoul
Take the KTX or SRT from Seoul Station (or Yongsan Station) to Daejeon Station, a ride of roughly 50 minutes to just over an hour. From Daejeon Station, continue by taxi or local bus to the National Science Museum in Yuseong-gu (Guseong-dong). Express or intercity buses from Seoul's bus terminals to Daejeon are also an option.
Tips
- The festival runs for a single day (31 October 2026), so plan the trip around that date in advance.
- It's a participatory event with around 50 hands-on booths, so budget extra time rather than just walking through.
- The go-kart and swing car building area is set up for families to build together, so it's worth bringing kids along.
Best for: families, children, science enthusiasts, hands-on/maker activities.
Other festivals in Daejeon
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Citywide Energy Walk Festival
Nov 15, 2026
The Citywide Energy Walk Festival is an eco-friendly energy participation program organized to commemorate the 2026 Daejeon World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-9). It is an event where participants can walk together through downtown Daejeon in the fall, experience the value of energy and the environment firsthand, and reflect on a sustainable future.
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Daejeon Seo-gu Book Festival
Oct 24, 2026
The Seo-gu Book Festival is Seo-gu, Daejeon's signature reading festival that shares the joy of books and reading with local residents. Held every autumn, it creates a space for communication that connects books and people, culture and the community, through a variety of reading culture programs that the whole family can enjoy and take part in together. Alongside a rich lineup of stage programs such as meet-the-author sessions, performances, and concerts, it presents exhibitions where books and art come together, including book curation and original picture book illustration exhibits. It also runs special events such as recycling of discarded books and an outdoor library, as well as a range of reading experience programs including storytelling and reading-related craft activities, and aims to be a festival built together with the community through partnerships with local universities, bookstores, and arts organizations. In addition, participatory programs that the whole family can enjoy, such as a stamp tour, are being added to expand opportunities to enjoy reading and experience culture and the arts. Through books as a medium, the Seo-gu Book Festival broadens communication and empathy across generations, and stands as a leading reading culture festival that spreads reading culture in the region and raises the cultural value of libraries.
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Dates and programs can change. Check the official site before you go. Official site