🐸 Frog Fest 2026
The Reflecting Pool across from Touchdown Jesus may look calm during the day, but on warm summer nights, it comes alive with frogs.
Join Notre Dame’s Biology Graduate Student Organization for the third annual Frog Fest, a family-friendly evening celebrating nature, science, and a unique tradition. Families of all ages are invited to campus to enjoy interactive science activities, lawn games, free food, a raffle, a visit from the Potawatomi Zoo, and plenty of frogs.
The evening begins with an ice cream truck, lawn games, and hands-on science demonstrations hosted by more than 10 science clubs, labs, and organizations across Notre Dame, including the Museum of Biodiversity, the Biology Graduate Student Organization, the Association for Women in STEM, and more. Attendees can also take part in a mini vivarium-building workshop, sponsored by Josh’s Frogs, and enter a raffle to win a full-sized vivarium and a voucher for a White’s treefrog.
As the sun sets, the event moves to the Hesburgh Library Reflection Pond, where gray treefrogs gather along the water’s edge during the summer season. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about and observe Notre Dame’s frogs up close alongside herpetologist and Ph.D. candidate and Gracie Hedgpeth. Gracie will share how scientists study and protect these campus residents and discuss the importance of amphibians and amphibian conservation. Headlamps will be available to help participants spot frogs, and Gracie will be present throughout the evening to answer questions and share insights. Physics and astronomy graduate students will also lead guided stargazing with telescopes for those interested in viewing the night sky.
RSVP Here
Presented by Notre Dame’s Biology Graduate Student Organization, College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Josh’s Frogs, and the Environmental Humanities Initiative.
Originally published at science.nd.edu.
