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The next IdeaFestival Bowling Green
will be February 11, 2020!

School groups and individuals are invited to attend.
Registration will open on December 2 and close on January 29 or sooner if we sell out.
All participants must be registered in order to attend.
If you are on our email list, you will be notified when registration is open. Click the button above to get on our email list.
Tickets will be $15. This cost includes lunch.
Schools receive one free chaperone ticket for every 10 students plus a free bus driver ticket.
Schools are limited to 50 students.
Payment or a Puchase Order will be due January 30.
For more information, see our FAQ page or contact erika.solberg@wku.edu.

Speakers | Minds-on, Hands-on Activities | Sponsors | Past Festivals | About | FAQ

Now in our seventh year, IdeaFestival Bowling Green is an annual one-day celebration of ideas and imagination designed to inspire the next generation of creators, thinkers, and innovators. Hosted by The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU since 2014 and created in cooperation with the original IdeaFestival® in Louisville, our event brings passionate and motivated middle and high school students and interested community members from throughout the region to the WKU campus for a morning of speaker sessions and an afternoon of minds-on, hands-on activities. The whole day highlights innovation, curiosity, entrepreneurship, community engagement, and creativity across a variety of fields.

For more on IdeaFestival Bowling Green, watch below!
Video courtesy of Vid Monster Productions.

Watch below to see what happened at IFBG 2019!
Video courtesy of Vid Monster Productions.

IdeaFestival Bowling Green: The Future Is Now

was held February 13, 2019 at Western Kentucky University

See all the videos from IFBG 2019 on our YouTube channel!

You can also see all the speaker session videos from 2019 here.

Read what participants said about IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2019:

It was insanely inspirational.
I had a wonderful experience at IdeaFestival. I loved getting to meet people who had the same ideas as me.
It's about experiences and opportunities for the students!
The awesome advice that the speakers gave inspired me to retry a lot of things that I wouldn't have previously.
I will remember the passion the speakers hold for their topics, and the amount of devotion they held for working towards their goals and not giving up on them.
I loved the hands-on activities, and I also liked how the students could travel at their leisure between the activities.
The event was rich in young presenters.
I can’t wait to go again!

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @ideafestivalbg
and on YouTube
at IdeaFestival Bowling Green

IdeaFestival Bowling Green 2019 Sponsors

The Vid Monster vision is to redefine the consumer's experience, one city at a time, through effective creative content and promotional solutions, and to capture and share the special moments that happen within our community. We are a video production and photography company that focuses on telling stories in new and innovative ways. From small business and corporate, to weddings and special moments, to music videos and documentaries, we can create it all.

At AT&T, we’re bringing it all together. We deliver advanced mobile services, next-generation TV, high-speed internet and smart solutions for people and businesses. That’s why we’re investing to be a global leader in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry.

Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce

Incorporated in 1935, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is a 5-Star Accredited Chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was named the 2009 Chamber of the Year by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. As the fourth largest chamber in Kentucky, the Chamber serves as a premier business advocate for its more than 1,200 partners and is the driving force for economic development in South Central Kentucky. Its primary goals are to promote growth and success in the business community, reaching its small business partners and those in large industries alike. With leadership programs, governmental relations projects, educational initiatives and involvement opportunities, the Chamber aims to support the community and its neighbors in order to enhance the business climate and continue to grow the region.

The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky is a residential program for bright, highly motivated Kentucky high school students who have demonstrated interest in pursuing advanced careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Housed on the campus of Western Kentucky University, students take college classes, engage in faculty-led research, and have the ability to study abroad while living in a supportive community of like-minded peers.
In short, students in Kentucky can apply for our program during their sophomore year of high school, and if accepted, they will spend their junior and senior year on WKU’s main campus while remaining enrolled in their sending school. Furthermore, the tuition, meals and housing costs for our students are covered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, so any student in the state is eligible to apply if the program meets their interests and abilities.
Interested in learning more about The Gatton Academy’s application process? Visit us at https://www.wku.edu/academy/admissions/instructions/index.php.