BROOKINGS, S.D. (9-28-26) — From lunar rovers to robots to children’s construction activities, science will be on full display at SDSU Day at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls Oct. 2.
The free event features engineering projects built by students at South Dakota State University, children’s activities, a layman’s talk on lunar engineering by professor Todd Letcher and SDSU’s renowned ice cream. Public hours are 5 to 7:30 p.m. with Letcher’s lecture at 6 p.m. in the Sweetman Planetarium. Other activities will be outside.
Letcher will be the inaugural speaker in a new quarterly science and research lecture series that has been developed by the Washington Pavilion and SDSU. The new series will create an ongoing opportunity for the Sioux Falls community to connect with university research, innovation and expertise.
Letcher’s leadership has helped position SDSU among the nation’s premier NASA competition programs. For example, this spring student teams overseen by Letcher won an aviation new product competition and a lunar sample return contest. In the latter competition, there were four categories with MIT winning the other three categories.
SDSU Day at the Pavilion coincides with a special fall “Open Streets” experience in partnership with Downtown Sioux Falls.
Main Avenue in front of the Washington Pavilion will be closed from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., creating space for an interactive showcase featuring SDSU engineering’s nationally recognized NASA competition rovers, student projects and demonstrations, hands-on activities and opportunities to engage directly with SDSU students and faculty.
From 10 a.m.-3 p.m., scheduled Sioux Falls middle school groups will participate in SDSU Day programming. More than 500 students participated last year.
The celebration continues during Free First Friday from 5-8 p.m., when the public can enjoy free admission to the Kirby Science Discovery Center and Visual Arts Center.
Free First Fridays at the Washington Pavilion regularly attract more than 800 visitors, while Downtown Sioux Falls Open Streets events have drawn more than 10,000 attendees. SDSU is the first organization invited to extend the Open Streets concept beyond its traditional summer schedule.
For more information, contact the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering at sdsu.engineering@sdstate.
About South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 230 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 39 master’s degree programs, 17 Ph.D. and two professional programs.
The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state. SDSU’s research expenditures for the 2025 fiscal year were more than $94 million. SDSU has a Doctoral University: High Research Activity designation on The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
For more information: SDSU News • www.sdstate.edu
— From SDSU University Marketing and Communications
