Halloween-themed science exhibit in Pocatello seeking volunteers
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POCATELLO – An annual science exhibit that offers students a fun, spooky-themed, hands-on learning experience needs more volunteers to staff it.
The 2026 Haunted Science Laboratory, a family-friendly, interactive science exhibit full of interactive demonstrations, will have its public day on Oct. 24, but field trips will begin on Thursday, Oct. 15. With this day rapidly approaching, the event’s organizer says they’re looking for “extra hands” to help with set up, as well as to help run the event once it’s open.
Event organizer Steve Shropshire, Ph.D., of the Idaho State University physics department, said that the importance of volunteers for the event couldn’t be overstated.
“This would not be possible without volunteers,” Shropshire said.
The Haunted Science Laboratory started all the way back in the 1990s, as an activity run by ISU’s physics club during the university’s Halloween Carnival.
“It turned into a huge amount of work for a very short period of time, and not really impacting that many kids,” Shropshire said.
By around 2008, Shropshire said the club began to hold the event for longer, “bouncing around from location to location,” on the ISU campus, where we would open it up for field trips to local schools for, first, just a few days.
Over time, the event grew thanks to donations from the ISU College of Science and Engineering, the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello, and Don Wyckoff, Robert Richway and Chris Eckman, Shropshire said.
This year, the Haunted Science Lab will feature 50 interactive and educational science exhibits at the Bannock County Events Complex in Building B, near the covered grandstands.
While most of the slots for field trips are booked now, Shropshire said there is still some availability. The best way to inquire about availability is to email him at shrostev@isu.edu.
Tickets for the Haunted Science Lab’s public night cost $3 per person, or $7 per family.
When groups and families come to the Haunted Science Laboratory, Shropshire said there will be exhibits educating people about optics and light, motion and mechanics, electricity and magnetism and more.
While Shropshire said they still need more volunteers to help with setup, they’re primarily needed to staff the laboratory during school field trips. He said it was important to have plenty of volunteers during the field trips because they would assist the kids in interacting with the exhibits and make sure they were safe.
To volunteer, people should visit the Haunted Science Lab Volunteer sign-up form.
Shropshire said that those who volunteer and help the event run are helping children learn more about science in a more engaging way.
“We learn by doing. We learn by experiencing, and that’s kind of the goal here – to bring a bit more of that into people’s experience,” Shropshire said.