The Science of Story Experience

ABOUT

Experience the Science of Story at UC San Diego

Some of the greatest works of art fill in the space between what is known and unknown. At UC San Diego, what we imagine on the page today becomes reality in the lab tomorrow. Join us for six days of exceptional programming celebrating how and why we tell the stories that move us. Featured events include:

Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a newcomer to the world of storytelling, The Science of Story promises a week brimming with creativity, inspiration, and entertainment. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this unforgettable celebration where science fiction and fantasy ignite the imagination.

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now. Join us and unlock the magic of storytelling in a world where anything is possible.

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Sponsors/Partners

SCHEDULE

Schedule

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

1–5 pm: Check-In (Starfleet Attendees) at UC San Diego Main Campus

For Starfleet Package attendees can arrive and get settled starting at 1 pm.

5–6:30 pm: Masterclass Opening Night Reception and Networking Event—Clarion Masterclass at UC San Diego Main Campus

Included in the Starfleet and Holodeck packages.

7:30 pm: A Tale of Two Sulus: An Evening with George Takei and John Cho at UC San Diego Main Campus, Epstein Family Amphitheater

Gates open at 6:30 pm
Taking place at the Epstein Family Amphitheater

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

9–11:30 am: Morning Session—Clarion Masterclass at UC San Diego Main Campus

12–1:30 pm: Lunch and Keynote Speaker—Clarion Masterclass at UC San Diego Main Campus

1–5 pm: Check-In (Enterprise Attendees) at UC San Diego Main Campus

For Enterprise Package attendees can arrive and get settled starting at 1 pm.

2–4 pm: Afternoon Session—Clarion Masterclass at UC San Diego Main Campus

5 pm: Pre-show Dinner—Clarion Masterclass Attendees at UC San Diego Main Campus

7:30 pm: Star Trek (2009) In Concert with the San Diego Symphony at UC San Diego Main Campus, Epstein Family Amphitheater

Gates at 6:30 pm

Thursday, July 25, 2024

noon – 9 pm: A Day with Matt Forbeck, sponsored by MAVERiC Studio at UC San Diego Park & Market, Downtown San Diego

Free and open to the public.

To celebrate Dungeons & Dragons’ 50th anniversary, Park & Market and MAVERiC Studio are hosting an ‘Actual Play’ event with Matt and Marty Forbeck bringing ‘Shotguns & Sorcery’ to life.

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Friday, July 26, 2024

10 am – 2 pm: UC San Diego Park & Market Presents: XR Games Masterclass Day 1 - The Climate Games in Downtown San Diego

Free and open to the public.

Join UC San Diego Park & Market’s XR Games Masterclass to learn how to build a sword-battling multiplayer VR game in UE5, install it on the Meta Quest 3, and create The Climate Games, a VR experience for crafting climate stories with friends.

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7:30 pm: Film Screening: JAWS at UC San Diego Main Campus, Epstein Family Amphitheater

2:30–4:30 pm: The Greatest Anime Pioneer in Japan you never heard of: Osamu Tezuka Story at UC San Diego Park & Market, Downtown San Diego

Free

Join Rachel Costello, from UC San Diego’s Innovating for National Security Academic Program, at this special opportunity. A lifelong anime aficionado, her passion led her to spearhead the U.S. Navy’s “Sea Strike 2041” comic project as executive producer.

8–10 pm: "Fronte-Risas" Presented by Border X at UC San Diego Park & Market, Downtown San Diego

Included in the Park & Market Badge for Starfleet, Enterprise, and Holodeck attendees

Enjoy an evening of laughter with “Fronte-Risas,” a binational comedy show featuring comedians from both sides of the border curated by Southern California-based comedian and show producer Tommy Lucero.

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Saturday, July 27, 2024

9 am – 1 pm: UC San Diego Park & Market Presents: XR Games Masterclass Day 2 - Cyber-cities in Downtown San Diego

Free and open to the public

Join UC San Diego Park & Market’s XR Games Masterclass to learn how to create a cyber-punk city scene for your XR multiplayer game using free UE5 content and expand globally with The Cognitive City Twin Project.

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3–8 pm: Jis y Trino's Big Cartoon Jam at UC San Diego Park & Market, Downtown San Diego

Included in the Park & Market Badge for Starfleet, Enterprise, and Holodeck attendees

Experience an interactive evening with iconic Mexican cartoonists Jis y Trino, featuring live drawing sessions, restoration insights from Fleisher Cartoons, and a talk show segment, “La Chora Interminable,” offering humor and a chance to win original artwork.

More Info

Sunday, July 28, 2024

11 am: Check-out Time at UC San Diego Main Campus

11 am – 3 pm: Family Day Comic Fiesta at UC San Diego Park & Market, Downtown San Diego

Free

Bring the family for a day of interactive fun at UC San Diego Park & Market, featuring mini sessions led by Scott Paulson from the UC San Diego Geisel Library and a Puppet Parade.

PACKAGES AND PRICING

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

THE STARFLEET PACKAGE

The Science of Story Pre-Con Experience + 5 Nights of Accommodations at UC San Diego

^$1200_/package

Purchase Package - Select ArtPower

Accommodations

5 night single room stay with shared common area/restrooms
(Check-in: Tuesday, July 23/Check-out: Sunday, July 28)
Daily Breakfast
MTS 6-day Blue line trolley pass

Clarion Writers Masterclass

Full day of Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Masterclass
(morning + afternoon session + Key Note Speaker + Lunch + Dinner included)

Events

Opening Night Reception at
(heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts + one drink ticket)
VIP Ticket to Opening Night Event at the Epstein Family Amphitheater—A Tale of Two Sulus: An Evening with George Takei and John Cho (July 23)
VIP ticket to Headliner Event at the Epstein Family Amphitheater—Star Trek in Concert with the San Diego Symphony (July 24)
Ticket to JAWS film screening at the Epstein Family Amphitheater (July 26)
Access badge to public Park & Market events in Downtown San Diego (July 24–28)

THE HOLODECK PACKAGE

The Science of Story Pre-Con Experience (Does Not Include Housing)

^$425_/package

Purchase Package - Select ArtPower

Clarion Writers Masterclass

Full day of Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Masterclass
(morning + afternoon session + Key Note Speaker + Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner included)

Events

Opening Night Reception at
(heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts + one drink ticket)
VIP Ticket to Opening Night Event at the Epstein Family Amphitheater—A Tale of Two Sulus: An Evening with George Takei and John Cho (July 23)
VIP ticket to Headliner Event at the Epstein Family Amphitheater—Star Trek in Concert with the San Diego Symphony (July 24)
Ticket to JAWS film screening at the Epstein Family Amphitheater (July 26)
Access to public Park & Market events in Downtown San Diego (July 24–28)

THE ENTERPRISE PACKAGE

Housing Only - Open to UC Affiliates (students entrolled in any UC, CSU, or California Community College and any UC Alumni)

^$640_/package

Purchase Package - Select ArtPower

Looking for a home base during Comic-Con?

Accommodations

4 night single room stay with shared common area/restrooms
(Check-in: Wednesday, July 24/Check-out: Sunday, July 28)
Daily Breakfast
MTS 5-day Blue line trolley pass

Events

Access to public Park & Market events in Downtown San Diego (July 24–28)

Tickets to Epstein Family Amphitheater events are no included but are available to purchase separately.

HOUSING

HOUSING

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

Both housing packages include a single room with common living space and shared restrooms + breakfast each day + linens and towels, with beds made prior to arrival + one parking space + one MTS Trolley Pass.

The Starfleet Package: 5 nights

Dates: Check-in on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 and Check-out on Sunday, July 28, 2024
Available to: Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer Workshop Attendees who require housing and are staying in San Diego through Sunday, July 27, 2024

Enterprise Package : 4 nights, Housing Only

Dates: Check-in on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 and Check-out on Sunday, July 28, 2024
Available to: Anyone currently enrolled in the California College Systems (UCs, CSUs, CA Community Colleges) and all UC alumni and their families.

Parking permits available for purchase at a discounted rate.

Purchase a Package – Select ArtPower

MASTERCLASS

Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Masterclass

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

In the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Masterclass events, attendees will have a chance to learn the fundamentals of speculative fiction from faculty and recent alumni of the selective Clarion Writers’ Workshop. Since 1968 Clarion has been the premier proving ground for writers of science, fiction, fantasy and horror, and now the public will have access to these instructors, their keen approaches to craft, their rich knowledge of the field, and their understanding of the traditions that have fed into the strong legacy Clarion has built over the years.

Purchase a Package – Select ArtPower

Clarion Instructors

Alyssa Wong (Star Wars: The High Republic, comic book writer)

Alyssa Wong writes award-winning fiction, comics, books, and games. Their stories have won the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Locus Awards and were shortlisted for the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Awards.

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Isabel Yap (fiction and poetry)

Isabel Yap writes fiction and poetry, works in the tech industry, and drinks tea. Born and raised in Manila, she has lived in the US since 2010. She holds a BS in Marketing from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Her debut story collection, Never Have I Ever, was published in 2021 by Small Beer Press and won the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Her work has been a finalist for the Ignyte, Locus, Crawford, and World Fantasy Awards, and has appeared in venues including Lithub and Year’s Best Weird Fiction.

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‘Pemi Aguda (GhostRoots Collection)

’Pemi Aguda is from Lagos, Nigeria. She has an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan.

Her writing has won O. Henry Prizes, a Nommo Award for Short Story, a Henfield Prize, a Tyson Prize for Fiction, Hopwood Awards, and the Writivism Prize. Her work has been supported by an Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship, a Juniper Summer Workshop scholarship, an Aspen Words Emerging Writer fellowship, and her novel-in-progress won the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award. She was a 2021 Fiction Fellow with the Miami Book Fair, a 2022 MacDowell fellow, and is the current Hortense Spillers Assistant Editor at Transition Magazine.

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Emet North (In Universes: A Novel)

Emet North has lived in a dozen states over the past decade and has no fixed residence, though they feel most at home in the mountains. In previous lives, they’ve worked in an observational cosmology lab on a grant from NASA, taught snowboarding in Montana, researched Lie algebras, led wine tastings, waited tables, trained horses, and written a thesis on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. They translate from Spanish to English with a particular focus on queer and trans voices and are always looking for new projects.

They have an MFA from Johns Hopkins and a BS/BA in physics & philosophy from Brown University. (Full disclosure: they were a highly mediocre physicist.) They’ve also received support from the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, Tin House, Bread Loaf, and Aspen Summer Words.

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Special Guest: Nalo Hopkinson (award-winning fiction writer)

Nalo Hopkinson has been writing and publishing speculative fiction since 1995. Born in Jamaica, Hopkinson has lived, written, and taught in the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States. After a decade as a professor of creative writing at the University of California Riverside, she has recently joined the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. She is a recipient of the John W. Campbell Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Sunburst Award. In 2021, the Science Fiction Writers of America honored her with the Damon Knight Memorial “Grand Master” Award for lifetime achievement in the genre, making her the first woman recipient of African descent.

Learn More

EVENTS

Events at the Epstein Family Amphitheater

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

A Tale of Two Sulus: An Evening with George Takei and John Cho

Tuesday, July 23, 2024
6:30 pm Gates open
7:30 pm Event begins
Epstein Family Amphitheater
Tickets: $25–75

Moderated by composer/director Michael Giacchino

Join us for a captivating evening as we bring together two iconic actors who have both portrayed the legendary character Sulu in the Star Trek universe. “A Tale of Two Sulus” features George Takei and John Cho in a dynamic conversation that delves into their shared legacy as Starfleet’s esteemed helmsman. Beyond their roles in Star Trek, Takei and Cho are celebrated authors of graphic novels and passionate advocates for social justice. This event promises an engaging exploration of their diverse careers, creative endeavors, and the impactful contributions they have made to important causes. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from two trailblazing artists whose work continues to inspire and resonate across generations.

Purchase Event Ticket Only

Star Trek (2009) live with film score played by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Wednesday, July 24, 2024
6:30 pm Gates open
7:30 pm Event begins
Epstein Family Amphitheater
Tickets: $30–120

Introduction by director and Star Trek composer Michael Giacchino

Experience the thrilling Star Trek saga like never before! Join us for an unforgettable evening as the San Diego Symphony Orchestra performs the exhilarating score of Star Trek (2009) live, perfectly synchronized with the film. Relive the epic journey of James T. Kirk, Spock, and the intrepid crew of the USS Enterprise as they face their greatest challenges yet. The symphony’s powerful rendition of Michael Giacchino’s iconic soundtrack will transport you to the final frontier, adding a new dimension to the breathtaking visuals and action-packed scenes. Don’t miss this extraordinary fusion of film and live music, where the adventure boldly continues!

Purchase Event Ticket Only

JAWS Film Screening with pre-show activities provided by UC San Diego’s Craft Center

Friday, July 26, 2024
6:30 pm Gates open
7:30 pm Event begins
Epstein Family Amphitheater
Tickets: $10

Celebrate Shark Week with an unforgettable experience! Relive the suspense and excitement of the classic film that defined the genre, all while celebrating our fascination with these incredible ocean predators. Before the movie, explore fascinating shark exhibits and learn about the real-life counterparts of the iconic great white. This event promises an evening of edge-of-your-seat entertainment and educational fun for the whole family. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to enjoy JAWS under the stars, surrounded by the wonders of the deep!

Purchase Event Ticket Only

CONTACT & FAQs

Contact

Packages and individual event tickets are on sale now.

For questions, please contact: artpower@ucsd.edu.

Questions about housing? Please contact Meetings@ucsd.edu.

FAQs

When will I get my passes?

Upon your arrival you will receive your Experience Packet from your Hospitality Officer at check in.

Where do I check in?

UC San Diego Main Campus. Your Hospitality Officer will email you with pick up instructions and location leading up to your stay.

How do I travel between all the events?

All events on UC San Diego Main Campus are within walking distance of your stay. A map will be provided in your Welcome Packet.

If you are not staying on campus, your Hospitality Officer will email you with all transportation and location information.

How do I get discounted parking? Or where do I park?

Parking is available at various locations around UC San Diego by permit. Your Hospitality Officer will email you with your parking code for discounted Visitor parking to be used for any Visitor (V) spot through the Park Mobile app or a nearby pay station. Parking is available by the hour or full day and must be purchased each day of stay.

THE SCIENCE OF STORY AT UC SAN DIEGO REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY*

Package Refund and Transfer Policy

All packages for the Science of Story at UC San Diego are non-refundable.

If you or someone in your party is unable to attend, you may transfer your purchase to other individual(s) by reaching out to the Hospitality Officer assigned to you after your purchase was made, at no cost penalty. Transfers are not valid until you have received confirmation from the Hospitality Officer. Transfers are not guaranteed and are handled on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of UC San Diego.

Badge Cancellation Policy

By registering for the Science of Story at UC San Diego you agree not to sell, trade, transfer, your package confirmation, or badge. In the event that UC San Diego determines that you have violated any of these badge policies, UC San Diego has the right to cancel your badge(s) and keep any money paid by you.

Confirmations and/or badges that have been sold or provided by anyone other than UC San Diego will not be honored by UC San Diego. You must wear and display your badge at all times while on UC San Diego Main Campus. All badges are the property of UC San Diego and must be relinquished to UC San Diego upon request. UC San Diego reserves the right to refuse admission, to refuse service, and/or to cancel/revoke your badge at UC San Diego’s discretion.

Event Cancellation Policy

Triton Box Office has a no refund or exchange policy; however, there are exceptions (i.e. the department will refund in the case of a death in the family or serious illness in which the customer notifies and returns the tickets, canceled or rescheduled events). No refunds are given after the event has been completed.