Haunted Science Laboratory Opens to the Public October 24

Now’s your chance to see science’s not-so-spooky side.

The Idaho State University physics program and Kiwanis Club of Pocatello’s Haunted Science Laboratory will be open to the public on Saturday, October 24, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Bannock County Event Center, Commercial Building B, just north of the Pocatello Downs Grandstand. The Haunted Science Lab features a Van de Graaff generator, lasers, and multiple educational and interactive science activities designed to delight, fright, and educate kids of all ages. Some exhibits use the same principles as Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, but they are explained. 

"This will be a great opportunity to build on the Halloween spirit to spark and reinforce interest in science,” said Steve Shropshire, professor of physics at Idaho State University. “Every exhibit and activity illustrates topics in the Idaho State science education standards, but with a spooky, but frightless twist. We have something for all ages, and you are never too old to learn something new."

Admission is $5 per person or $10 per family (limit 6), and attendees can pay in cash, by credit card, or via Venmo. All proceeds go to Kiwanis-supported charities that benefit children in Southeast Idaho.

For over a decade, Idaho State’s physics program and the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello have hosted the Haunted Science Laboratory as a free field trip for local schools before opening it to the public. In 2025, nearly 2,000 local students and adults from across the region visited the Haunted Science Laboratory on a field trip, and when it opened to the public, more than 200 visitors stopped by the lab.

If you have questions about the event, contact Steve Shropshire at (208) 282-2212 or coseoutreach@isu.edu.

More on ISU’s physics program can be found at isu.edu/physics.