Great National Science Week entertainment stories up for grabs now around Australia
- Come again? The science of better sex and other pleasures at Beaker Street Festival – Hobart
- ‘We’re All Aliens, Baby’: pseudoscience and pop-rock-funk at a Planetarium concert – Brisbane
- Female fossil rockers on tour – Adelaide, Alice Springs, Perth and Geraldton
- Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science in ‘Hard Rock! The Geological Cabaret’ – Dubbo, NSW
- Meet the science-comedy duo behind Zoodle TV’s viral animal videos – Gawler, SA
- Star Trek fan’s message for global peace in ‘positive space films festival’ – Canberra
- Is psychology a science, art, pseudoscience or potato? Experts and comedians debate ‘Psychology is a Freud’ – Melbourne
- Minions meet physics: the science of Despicable Me 2 – Melbourne
- Wine science in song – Adelaide
More on these below and visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
Individual event details and media contacts
Science of better sex, death over drinks, and seismic dance party – Hobart, TAS
Beaker Street Festival is back. Pull up a seat where microscopes sit on bar tables, scientists take centre stage and boundary-pushing conversations – from death to pleasure – could change the world.
Centred around Hobart’s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and nearby venues, the week-long festival features talks and workshops; interactive science/art installations; photography exhibitions; live music and performance; and Tassie food and drink.
Highlights include:
- Come Again? An Evening of Sex and Science: sultry scientists and pleasure experts provide insights into the science of better sex, complete with ‘a giant clitoris puppet and peer-reviewed innuendo’.
- No One’s Getting Out of Here Alive: a surprisingly uplifting evening with some of Australia’s most buoyant death and dying experts, Tasmanian Aboriginal knowledge holders, and a few special guests.
- Human Love Quest: Your chemical romance! Live onstage dating show, straight outta Melbourne (and the ‘70s), makes its Hobart debut.
- What’s Your P(DOOM): Comedian/actor/broadcaster Michael Hing investigates the probability of AI Doom.
- Seismic Dance Party: real glacial data is converted into a full-body audio visual rave, complete with haptic suits that let both deaf and hearing audiences feel Antarctica’s tectonic pulse.
Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, matt@originalspin.com.au or 0401 326 007.
Planetarium ‘pop-rock-funk’ concert helps audiences second guess pseudoscience and conspiracy theories – Brisbane, QLD
Award-winning songwriter and science communicator Nate Eggins (aka Conspiracy of One) brings his quirky, cosmic grooves back to Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
Nate explores scientific and psychological concepts through pop-rock-funk songs like ‘We’re All Aliens, Baby’ and ‘The Sound a Duck Makes’.
Concert goers will enjoy a free ‘homeopathic cocktail’ against the starry backdrop of the Skydome.
And they will hear from special guest scientists:
- University Queensland Palaeontology PhD candidate Amber-Rose Faith talks about dinosaurs;
- Jesse Richardson (award-winning advertising creative director and founder of The School of Thought International) focuses on critical thinking.
Saturday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/planetarium-concert-live-music-in-the-skydome-2/toowong/
Media enquiries: Nate Eggins, nathan@sentientproductions.com.au or 0402 593 431
Nate Eggins is available for media interviews.
Female fossil rockers on tour – Adelaide, Alice Springs, Perth and Geraldton
Aussie girl-geek band The Ammonites is taking a palaeo-musical show across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The trio – Danni, Morgan and Blair, who graduated from Dinosaur University – are the alter-egos of performers Bridget Tran, Kate Neville and Montana Vincent. With the help of renowned singing palaeontologist Professor Flint, their show explores Australia’s prehistoric past, while shining a light on challenges facing women in science and inspiring girls to follow their lead and dream big!
Professor Flint will also bring a ‘show and tell’ table of Australian fossils on tour. Plus, audiences will get the chance to dive into a 580 million-year-old inland sea, thanks to the University of South Australia’s 360 VR reconstruction of the ancient Ediacaran seafloor.
Media enquiries: Michael Mills, michael@heapsgood.com.au or 0411 287 381.
Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Dubbo, NSW
Canberra-based researcher Dr Karina Judd returns to her hometown Dubbo for a smart, sexy, adults-only exploration of geological and earth sciences.
By day, Dr Judd researches science-engineering-social science collaboration for sustainable futures at the Australian National University.
By night, she moonlights as ‘Roxie’ in her one-woman cabaret Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret.
What to expect? Cocktail hour geology with sultry songs, smouldering dance, sharp wit and a shimmer of burlesque. No safety glasses required.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/rock-hard-the-geological-cabaret/dubbo
Media enquiries: Dr Karina Judd, karina.judd@gmail.com or 0448 318 748.
Dr Judd, who wrote and produced Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret, is available for media interviews. She studied environmental geology at UNSW Sydney, specialising in soil and mineral chemistry before completing Honours in geology showcasing soil chemistry techniques as a useful tool in identifying past tsunami. And she is a seasoned performer of cabaret, burlesque and dance. See ANU profile: https://cpas.anu.edu.au/people/karina-judd
How to deal with wild, uninvited house guests – Gawler, SA
Spiders in cars, possums in the roof, snakes in walls, koalas drinking from swimming pools or a kangaroo banging on your door.
Urban ecologist Professor Chris Daniels and comedian Eddie Bannon reveal why a host of wildlife take up residence in Aussie neighbourhoods. The duo decodes surprising, funny and complex animal behaviours captured in viral videos on social media.
They are presenting the science-comedy show in Gawler with social enterprise Zoodle TV which donates all profits to wildlife charities in support of animal conservation and research.
Friday 8 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/zoodle-on-the-road-hidden-animal-housemates/gawler/
Media enquiries: Gerd Winter, gerd.winter@me.com or 0490 523 151.
Professor Chris Daniels and Eddie Bannon are available for media interviews.
Star Trek fan drives ‘positive space films’ festival – Canberra, ACT
Former IT professional-turned-filmmaker Masoud Varjavandi found strength watching Star Trek while growing up in a Baha’i family persecuted in Iran during the 1980s.
Today, he shares stories for a better future through Canberra’s Space Faring Civilisation Film Festival, featuring award-winning sci-fi and documentary shorts.
Masoud says: “This isn’t about escapism. It’s about reminding people that progress, peace and a better future are still within reach.”
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/space-science-themed-film-festival/canberra/
Media enquiries: Masoud Varjavandi, masoud@sfcfilms.com or 0432 902 619.
SFC Film Festival director Masoud Varjavandi is available for media interviews.
Psychology is a Freud – Brunswick, VIC
Is psychology a science, art, pseudoscience or potato? Or an ink blot of your parents fighting?
Sci Fight Science Comedy Debate brings together scientists and comedians ‘to debate serious issues in a ridiculous manner’ on the topic: Psychology is a Freud.
The showdown, hosted by Sci Fight co-founder/comedian/science communicator Atlanta Colley, features comedians Jude Perl and Martin Dunlop; magician and doctor Vyom Sharma; psychologist Kathryn Kallady; neuroscientist Elyas Arvell; and writer/editor Elizabeth Flux.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sci-fight-science-comedy-debate-psychology-is-a-freud-5/brunswick
Media enquiries: Alanta Colley, alanta.colley@gmail.com or 0478 143 905.
Comedian and science communicator Alanta Colley, who co-founded Sci Fight in 2017, is available for media interviews: https://www.alantacolley.com/
To date, Sci Fight has trampled on the nuanced disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and technology with topics including ‘Love is a chemical’, ‘Seeing is believing’, ‘We should bring back the dinosaurs’ and ‘Humans are worth saving’. Recordings, previous gigs and images available at https://www.scifight.com.au/
Minions meet physics: the science of Despicable Me 2 – Melbourne, VIC
Melbourne scientists are using Despicable Me 2 to explore the physics of everyday life.
They’re inviting the public to a special screening of the movie, followed by a Q&A with scientists from the RMIT Centre for Applied Quantum Technologies.
They explain principles like motion, energy and forces, illustrated by the Minions’ interactions with the world around them.
Wednesday 13 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-science-of-despicable-me-2/melbourne/
Media enquiries: news@rmit.edu.au or 0439 704 077
Songs from the grapevine – Adelaide, SA
Spoilage yeast automated tractors, screw caps, smoke taint and volatile organic compounds all presented in song.
The Australian Wine Research Institute will uncork its ‘best of’ scientific findings spanning seven decades in ‘Songs from the Grapevine’ in collaboration with singer-songwriter Max Savage.
Thursday 7 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/songs-from-the-grapevine/adelaide/
Media enquiries: Max McHenry, mchenry.max@gmail.com 0415 922 253.
For a sneak preview of the show, watch/listen to Autonomous Tractors.