FAQs
The day will begin with registration from 8-9:00 a.m. CST at Van Meter Hall. Starting at 9:00 a.m. CST, there will be two speaker sessions with a break in between. Around 11:30, participants will start to go to lunch in shifts and start to explore the activities at the Downing Student Union. The activities will be open until 2:30 CST. If your school needs to leave early, we can schedule you for one of the earlier lunchtimes, but the activities will not be available until 11:30.
Tickets are $25. This cost includes lunch. Schools receive one free chaperone ticket for every 10 students plus a free bus driver ticket.
IdeaFestival Bowling Green is designed for middle and high school students and interested community members, but there is no age requirement. We ask that all participants be mature enough to be attentive during the speaker sessions, be respectful of the activities space, etc.
Anyone can attend! Individual registration is available.
Registration is open as of November 1. (Those on our email list receive a notification when registration opens. You can click the Request Information button on our homepage to get on our email list.) After registration is open, there will be a Registration button added to our homepage that will take you to the registration form. Note: The Center for Gifted Studies will be closed for WKU's winter break December 16 - January 5. Any registrations received during that time will be processed when we reopen in the order in which they were submitted.
Payment is due by January 13. For schools, a purchase order sent to us by January 14 is satisfactory as long as it is understood that the amount on the PO is the amount that will be paid to us even if the number of participants changes. Anyone who has not paid by that date will be moved off the registration list in order to accommodate those on the wait list.
We will have a waiting list and notify you on January 17 if we can fit your group in.
Please be as accurate as you can when you register and notify us if your numbers change before the payment deadline of January 13. If you bring fewer students than you registered, we cannot provide refunds after January 13. On the day of the event, if you bring more students than you registered and provide payment for them, we will attempt to accommodate them but cannot guarantee we will have space. We encourage schools whose students are paying for their own tickets to set a student payment deadline before January 13 to make sure you have an accurate count. Contact us with any questions or concerns.
Lunch is provided to all IFBG participants at Fresh Food Company, the main cafeteria on campus, located on the first floor of the Downing Student Union (DSU); the cost of lunch at Fresh is included in the cost of the ticket. When participants check into the festival in the morning, they will be provided with a lunch pass to use at Fresh (please note: we cannot replace lost lunch passes). Participants can get lunch during the activities time; activities will be located on the third floor of DSU. Because WKU classes will be in session, the cafeteria may be crowded. We will designate lunch times to each school group to help with overcrowding.
Other options: We know that some participants will be eager to try out some restaurants not normally
available to them. Please note, however, that we cannot reimburse you if you do not
eat at Fresh Food Company. Also, eating at a location other than Fresh could reduce
the time you have to spend at the activities. All campus restaurants will be operating
on a normal schedule. Links to a list of restaurants, map, and hours of operation
can be found on the WKU Restaurant Group webpage: https://www.wku.edu/wkurg/
Will food be available before lunch?
The morning speaker sessions will be at Van Meter Hall. There are no restaurants or
coffee shops in Van Meter, so you will need to eat breakfast (and get coffee as needed!)
before you arrive. No food or drink is permitted inside the auditorium.
Is there a choice of speaker sessions?
All participants will see all speakers.
Will all the activities be the same as last year?
No; although some may be the same, some of our returning activity creators will be
changing things up. We also will have new activity creators with new experiences to
share. Additionally, we encourage participants to take the opportunity to talk to
the creators about their work and career paths; to reflect on how ideas in the speaker
sessions apply to the minds-on, hands-on activities; and to share their own ideas
with other participants.
May participants bring cell phones?
Yes; we trust our participants to use their technology sensibly and respectfully.
During the speaker sessions, we encourage the audience to submit questions to speakers
via Twitter, and we love when participants take photos of activities, especially when
they tag us. We are @giftedstudies on Twitter and Bluesky, we are on Instagram we are @giftedstudieswku, and on Facebook we are The Center for Gifted Studies. For all posts, use the hashtag #IFBG26.
Where do we park?
Parking information will be sent out and also posted here in late January/early February.
Where will we be on campus?
Our morning speaker sessions will be in Van Meter Hall, which is at the top of the
hill on campus. After, participants will walk down the hill to Downing Student Union
for lunch and activities, where they will stay for the remainder of the festival.
See the WKU campus map.
What if I have questions about accessibility and accommodations?
Please let us know on the registration form if anyone in your group will need assistance
getting from Van Meter Hall to the Downing Student Union or if you have other accessibility/accommodations
questions or concerns. You can also contact us via email or phone at thomas.clark@wku.edu or (270) 745-3101.
How should my students prepare for the festival?
After you register, we will send a packet with ways to engage your students before
and after the festival.
What happens in the event of bad weather?
In the case of bad weather, we will notify registered individuals and school groups
as soon as possible of any delays or cancellations. We will make every effort to hold
the festival because rescheduling will not be feasible. If WKU is not closed on February
17, we will hold the festival, even if some school districts have closed due to weather.
Refunds will only be given if WKU is closed or if your school district closes.
Updated October 23, 2025.
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