2026 Park Science Colloquium
March 5 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm EST
2026 Park Science Colloquium
Register // Schedule // Arrowmont Lodging and Meals // For Presenters
This annual symposium showcases the research happening in and around the Great Smoky Mountains. Topics are wide-ranging, from weather and climate to zoology, botany, geology, conservation, and more! Talks are meant to be engaging to a broad audience and recordings will be posted to Discover Life in America’s YouTube channel.
All are welcome to attend this free, hybrid event! Participants and presenters have the option to join virtually or in-person at Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg.
In-person registration has been extended to Feb 19!
Attend in person: Register by Feb 19 to join us in-person at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
📍150 Baskins Creek Bypass, Gatlinburg, TN
Attend virtually: Register anytime to recieve a link to join on Zoom. Virtual participants will have the opportunity to ask questions after each talk.
Registration
Registration is free! >>> Register here <<< to receive a Zoom link over email or sign up to attend in-person at Arrowmont. Speakers DO NOT need to register (see below).
Schedule
Note: This is the latest version of the program but talks and times may change slightly. Check here for any updates.
Arrowmont accomodations
Attending in-person?
VENUE:
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
150 Baskins Creek Bypass, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
arrowmont.org
MEALS & LODGING: Coffee and snacks will be provided during the colloquium, but lunch will be on your own. Lunch, other meals, and lodging are available to in-person attendees for purchase, but you must make these arrangements yourself by contacting Arrowmont no later than THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19. DLiA cannot make those arrangements for you.
Please contact Vincenzina Monteleone, Arrowmont Executive Assistant at: (865) 436-5860 x 24. Availability is limited and last day to purchase meals or lodging is Feb 19. See pricing below.
| Lunch on Thursday, March 5 | $21/per person |
| Red Barn (Dormitory style; semi-private room; shared bath) | $45/night |
| Bill May Hall (Double w/private bath) | $85/night |
| Bill May Hall (Single w/private bath) | $130/night |
Check out talks from previous years
Information for presenters
Conference format: The format for this year’s Colloquium will be a little different than in recent years. We’re attempting to make this a hybrid event so folks can tune in remotely through Zoom or attend the event at Arrowmont. Our whole audience–in person or remote–will be able to see and hear presentations in the room at Arrowmont as well as talks given remotely via Zoom. As usual, the entire audience will be able to ask questions after each presentation (time permitting) and we will help field those questions. This, at least, is the smooth and seamless format we’re aiming for… We’ll try to work out the kinks ahead of time!
In-person presenters: We ask that folks presenting live at Arrowmont either email your presentation slides to Will (will@dlia.org) ahead of time or bring it on a flash drive to copy over to our on-site laptop. You’ll have the standard setup: a podium with microphone with projected slides.
Remote presenters: Speakers presenting remotely will can simply tune in using the custom Zoom link you’ll receive before the event and share your screen as you present (as in recent years of the colloquium).
Speakers do not need to register for the event, but will instead automatically be registered via the Zoom Webinar platform. Every presenter (remote or in-person) will get an email with a Zoom link, which in-person folks can disregard. If something comes up and you need to attend remotely instead of in-person, please notify Will and proceed to use your Zoom link to tune in. Note: the Webinar platform refers to presenters as “panelists” and the Zoom email you receive will refer to you as a panelist.
Time slots: Presentation slots will be around 20 minutes (including time for questions). We will send you a finalized schedule close to the event with your exact timeslot.
Presentation format: Remote presenters can have slide decks in any format (speakers will share their screen via Zoom), however we recommend PowerPoint, PDF, Google Slides or Keynote in wide-format (16:9). PDF is preferred for in-person presenters, though PowerPoint or Google Slides will also work.
Know your audience: Please note that many in the audience will have advanced degrees, but few will have advanced degrees in your topic, so plan to provide a bit of explanation of technical jargon and stay away from acronyms.
Recording presentations: We plan to record presentations and upload them publicly to our YouTube channel as we’ve done in recent years. Please let Will know if you DO NOT wish for your presentation to be published to YouTube.
Welcome NEON!
Representatives from the NSF-funded National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will be on site to talk about the treasure trove of continental-scale, open data available from sites across the US, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Learn more at https://www.neonscience.org/
