For the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle, encouraging local teens to take action on the issues they care about is part of its mission to fight poverty, disease, and inequity worldwide. The center’s Teen Action 2025 Fair helps kids connect their passions and concerns with action.
The day-long event will take place this year on Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Discovery Center. The center is located at North, 440 5th Avenue near Seattle Center.
We asked Simona Zappas, Discovery Center’s Youth and Young Adult Programs and Engagement communications officer, about the Seattle Teen Action Fair 2025 and this year’s theme, Our Future is Within Grasp.
What is the Teen Action Fair, and why was it created?
Simona Zappas (Zappas): One of the goals of the Discovery Center is to encourage visitors to take action to make changes in support of the causes they care about. We all have the ability to make an impact. That said, figuring out how to do so can be intimidating, especially when you’re a teenager and learning what lights a fire in your belly and keeps it fueled. The Teen Action Fair tries to make it easier for teens to take action in their communities while celebrating youth change-making.
What will happen at the fair?
Attendees can connect with local organizations with volunteer opportunities for youth, participate in hands-on activities like packing goody bags for the nonprofit Birthday Dreams, tour galleries to learn about the foundation’s work, and hopefully hang out and have fun. The Discovery Center is always free, and we hope it can be a local incubator for global ideas where teens can come in and get inspired and feel connected to change-making work around the world and here in Seattle.
The Discovery Center is always free, and we hope it can be a local incubator for global ideas where teens can come in and get inspired and feel connected. (Image courtesy Gates Discovery Center)
Are teens involved in planning the event?
Yes, the fair is planned by our Youth Ambassadors Program members, a weekly after-school program where young people learn about the foundation’s work. This year, the Youth Ambassadors invited organizations whose work aligns with the top six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Clean Water and Sanitation.) They’ve been working incredibly hard to ensure the event is accessible, energetic, and informative.
What is the overarching goal of the event?
Primarily, the goal is to support youth changemaking in Seattle. I’d also say an ongoing goal of the Discovery Center’s youth work is “future proofing” — ensuring that younger generations will continue to drive positive change in the world. Even the most driven young people (and adults) can use some guidance to help navigate solving the world’s problems — be it learning all the different ways folks can contribute to eradicating infectious diseases or discovering a new passion. We try to be that bridge builder for young people. In addition to being a bridge builder, we also want the event to be fun. Fun makes it easier to take on the world’s challenges. Laughter, community, and new friends are the things that sustain good work.
This year’s theme is Our Future is Within Grasp. Tell us about that.
Our Future is Within Grasp aims to communicate that we have the tools to make positive changes in the world; we just need to take action by reaching out and grabbing the future we want.
(Image courtesy Gates Discovery Center)
These are some pretty dark times regarding our country’s funding of human needs, climate change solutions, and assistance to other countries. How can attending the fair bring hope to young people?
Reading through the constant onslaught of headlines about public health, climate crises, and wars makes a positive future feel so far away, and challenges feel insurmountable. I can only imagine how it feels to be a teen, read the news, and think, “Is this what we’re going to have to solve? Is this the world we’re going to have to inherit?” At the Teen Action Fair and at the Discovery Center, we acknowledge the high amount of needs in the world, and we also promote that where there are needs, there are also people helping, be it foundation partners around the world, nonprofits in Seattle, or local teens. There are helpers, fighters, and innovators trying to meet those needs.
If you go to the Teen Action Fair 2025 in Seattle
Teens do not need to RSVP to attend the Teen Action Fair. There will be several accessibility/comfort options for those who attend the event, including ASL interpretations, captioning for pop-up activities, masks, headphones, and a quiet area.
For more information about the Teen Action Fair or about accessibility practices at the Discovery Center, go to the center’s accessibility page or email discoverycenter@gatesfoundation.org.
