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TEA@Stanford
Stanford Themed Entertainment Association

Build theexperiencespeople remember

A Stanford student organization exploring how immersive, memorable experiences are imagined, engineered, produced, and operated — from theme parks and museums to immersive theater and interactive installations.

Explore our work

All majors and experience levels are welcome — from engineers and designers to writers, performers, and the simply theme-park-curious.

Speaker — Industry Speaker NightWorkshop — Attraction Design WorkshopTrip — Theme Park & Studio VisitSocial — Community Social

What is themed entertainment?

Way more than theme parks.

Themed entertainment is the art and craft of designing physical places and moments that tell a story. It shows up everywhere people gather to feel something.

Theme parks & attractions
Museums & exhibitions
Immersive theater
Resorts
Live entertainment
Location-based entertainment
Interactive spaces
Experiential installations

What we do

Design & Build

Hands-on creative and technical projects, attraction concepts, and prototypes — from first sketch to a working show element.

Learn from Industry

Speaker nights, portfolio reviews, and career programming with professionals across creative, technical, and operational roles.

Explore & Experience

Theme park and studio visits, museum trips, and immersive experiences that turn field research into inspiration.

Connect & Collaborate

An interdisciplinary community for mentorship, networking, and cross-major collaboration on ambitious ideas.

Upcoming events

Featured · Speaker

Industry Speaker Night

Meet professionals working across creative, technical, and operational roles in themed entertainment. An evening of short talks, Q&A, and informal networking open to every major.

To Be Announced
Stanford Campus

Sample event — details TBA

Workshop

Attraction Design Workshop

Date
To Be Announced
Time
Evening session
Location
Design studio, Stanford Campus

A hands-on session covering the fundamentals of ride and experience concepting — story beats, guest flow, and rapid model-making.

Trip

Theme Park & Studio Visit

Date
To Be Announced
Location
Regional attraction (TBD)

A field trip to study a real attraction up close — queue design, show systems, and operations — with a group debrief afterward.

Social

Community Social

Date
To Be Announced
Location
Stanford Campus

A relaxed mixer for new and returning members. Meet the community, swap favorite experiences, and find project collaborators.

Project showcase

Open a row to see both projects side by side. Real member work spanning attraction-design competitions, interactive experiences, and illusion R&D.

Attraction Design Competition

Starport: Intergalactic Delivery Training

Starport: Intergalactic Delivery Training

A story-driven trackless dark ride for Swamp Thrills 2026: a 16-passenger spacecraft is split by a giant nudibranch and sent through two parallel missions — Crustallos (a diamond storm) and Incendium (a collapsing star) — before reuniting for a final delivery. The attraction spans three floors with paired lifts and converter transfers, a wormhole-inspired audio chamber, projection and hologram effects, and a modeled throughput of 560 riders per hour. Awarded second place with Distinction in Attraction Overview, Schematics & Models, Attraction Story, and Concept Visuals.

Disciplines · 2026

  • Storytelling
  • Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art & Animation
  • Operations

Attraction Design Competition

Pilot Knob Lava Loop

Pilot Knob Lava Loop

A solo Parkitecture entry: a fully accessible boardwalk loop at Morgan's Wonderland that drops guests into an extreme volcanic biome of vents, tubes, and fractured magma crust. Interactive interpretive stations turn Central Texas volcanic geology into hands-on play, leading with inclusion and safety (one continuous accessible loop, multi-height interactives, calm zones, high-contrast wayfinding), research and education, and immersion. Winner of the Innovation and Adventure Design Award.

Disciplines · Recent

  • Architecture
  • Storytelling
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Art & Animation
  • Operations

Every discipline plays a part

Spin through the disciplines that come together to build an experience. Use the arrows or pick one directly.

01

Engineering

Ride systems, mechanisms, and the physical machinery that makes a moment move, safely and reliably.

Why join?

  • Meet students across every discipline
  • Build portfolio-ready projects
  • Learn directly from working professionals
  • Visit attractions and creative studios
  • Compete in attraction design challenges
  • Explore themed entertainment careers
  • Join a welcoming creative community

No experience?
Perfect.

All you need is curiosity. Whether you want a career in themed entertainment or just love a great experience, come build with us.

@tea.stanford

Count me in

We’ll follow up with next steps and events.

Preview form — nothing is collected or sent.

Partners & pros

We’d love to work with speakers, mentors, alumni, industry partners, and sponsors who want to support the next generation of experience makers.

Guest speakersMentorsAlumniIndustry partnersSponsorsUniversity partners
Contact us

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