Highlights from day 6 of National Science Week
Researchers, experts, and other interesting talent available for interview around the country.
NATIONAL: Space farmers and foodies wanted
ACT: Frog saunas and spa treatments fight deadly fungus – Canberra
NSW: Psychedelics, flicker light therapy, hypnosis, meditation: meet the scientist working at the edge of consciousness – Sydney
TAS: How wild weather affects land, lifestyles and livelihoods – Hobart
VIC: Can nature help with concentration, ADHD and autism? – Melbourne
NSW: Seahorse hotels, zebra sharks and underwater forests – Sydney
QLD: Meet the quantum physicists shaping our future – Brisbane
SA: Neuroscience and health experts on the quest to live forever – Adelaide
NSW: Who to call if you find a dinosaur bone – Ryde
QLD: Deadly Science in a biomedical lab – Brisbane
TAS: How Tassie’s wild weather affects land, lifestyles and livelihoods – Hobart
VIC: Can wearable tech reduce rural/remote health gaps? – Melbourne
VIC: Tasmanian tiger de-extinction and plants collected by Captain Cook – Melbourne
VIC: From Antarctic lichens to the oldest hornworts: National Herbarium reveals Von Mueller’s 1.5 million specimens across time – Melbourne
NSW: Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic? – Kioloa
Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863; and Shelley Thomas, shelley@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0416 377 444.
Also today:
- TAS: Roving scientists, microscopes on bar tables and chemical romance at Hobart’s Beaker Street Festival
- NT: Questacon Science Circus pitches up in Darwin
- NSW (online via Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney): Deep Sea Habitats and Adaptations: primary school students discover bizarre deep-sea creatures and how they survive at the bottom of the ocean
Coming up tomorrow:
More about the event highlights
Space farmers wanted – Melbourne and national online
It’s Day 530 on the moon base and you’re eating packaged slop again… until a delivery of nutrient-enhanced microgreens arrives from Earth. Your mission is to sustainably grow and harvest edible plants in an extreme environment. But first you need to learn the basics of plant biology, food chemistry and farming approaches that minimise water, energy and resource use.
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space is supersizing its mission to develop out-of-this-world future foods by enlisting public participation in ‘Grow 4 Launch’ experiments.
Participants will receive a microgreens kit complete with seeds, hydroponics gear and test tools, alongside guidance on how to alter plant sensory traits (colour, taste, smell and texture) and investigate conditions that help sustainable growth.
The project also invites participants to submit recipes, results and ideas for a Spacefood Cookbook which will also feature contributions from astronauts, nutritionists and chefs.
Thursday 14 August – in-person event at Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/plants-beyond-earth/melbourne/
Media enquiries: Lieke Van Der Hulst, lieke.vanderhulst@adelaide.edu.au or 0449 846 067.
Plants for Space researchers available for interview in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.
Frog saunas and spa treatments fight deadly fungus – Turner, ACT
Canberra scientists are employing surprising tactics to help frog populations fight the deadly chytrid fungus.
Join a DIY frog sauna workshop and twilight wetlands walk with ACT FrogWatch program’s Anke Maria Hoefer and meet University of Canberra amphibian researchers using frog saunas, spa treatments and trace metals such as copper and zinc.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-and-out-of-the-pub-frogs-fungus-and-funky-metals/turner/
Media enquiries: Anke Maria Hoefer, frogwatch@ginninderralandcare.org.au or 0429 066 046.
University of Canberra researchers involved in the project:
Jarrod Sopniewski – postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics. Jarrod is spearheading a project that focuses on installing frog saunas and spas around suburban wetlands in Canberra in preparation for the reintroduction of the locally extinct Green and Golden Bell Frog species.
Milad Esmaeilbeigi – PhD researcher, Centre for Applied Water Science, who is investigating the interactions of metals in water and chytrid fungus.
Alter your consciousness – Marrickville, NSW
Can psychedelics, flicker light therapy, hypnosis, meditation and other ancient and modern mind-altering tools improve mental health and cognition?
Find out when researchers from Macquarie University’s Altered States Lab present ‘Science at the Edge of Consciousness’, inviting the public to experience and compare some consciousness altering technologies.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-at-the-edge-of-consciousness/marrickville/
Media enquiries: Vince Polito, vince.polito@mq.edu.au or 0420 758 577.
Macquarie University communications team, communications@mq.edu.au or 0435 294 123.
Dr Vince Polito, who leads the Altered States Lab, is available for media interviews.
Saving the Sydney seahorse, protecting the zebra shark and restoring Sydney’s underwater forests – Barangaroo, NSW
Ocean researchers are going to great efforts to protect and restore Sydney’s ocean environments and are available for interview:
- Aliah Banchik, a sharks and rays researcher and contestant on the new Netflix series All the Sharks.
- Mitchell Brennan of the Sydney Seahorse Project, who is breeding more than 140 Sydney seahorses and releasing them into ‘seahorse hotels’ in Sydney Harbour.
- Dr Janine Ledet of Living Seawalls, who creates underwater habitat modules to increase biodiversity around seawalls and piers.
- Isobel Lerpiniere of the NSW Ocean Outlook program, who is keeping a finger on the ocean’s pulse by tracking turtles, seals and fish populations and monitoring water quality.
- Tia Bool of Project Restore, which is a world first in a seascape-wide approach to restoring many habitats at once, from fish pods to living walls to underwater forests.
- Emma Bowen of the Integrated Marine Observing System, who is leading a national program of ocean monitoring.
These experts will also take part in a panel discussion at the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium on the diverse paths, insights and challenges faced by conservation researchers. The aquarium’s current exhibits highlight these projects and the impact of research on habitat restoration, fisheries sustainability and endangered species protection.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/decoding-the-ocean-listening-learning-and-leading/barangarooMedia enquiries: Aliah Banchik, aliah.banchik@sims.org.au or 0474 702 152.
Can nature help us concentrate? – North Fitzroy, VIC
Melbourne researchers say looking to nature can improve your attention span.
University of Melbourne Psychology Professor Katherine Johnson discusses related findings about staying focussed.
Her research in the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience involves children and adults with developmental disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-science-of-attention-how-nature-can-help/north-fitzroy
Media enquiries: Katherine Johnson, kajo@unimelb.edu.au or 0406 780 657.
Professor Katherine Johnson is available for media interviews.
How spinning electrons can make tech smaller and faster – Brisbane, QLD
Meet physicist Dr Sol Jacobsen who uses spinning electrons to build the tech of the future.
Quantum physics was born 100 years ago to explain the curious behaviour of tiny things. We now use it daily to connect with the world, light our homes, fight disease, and scan our groceries.
Find out how quantum physics is shaping your future at the Marie Curie Lectures.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/2025-marie-curie-lectures-your-quantum-future-with-dr-sol-h-jacobsen/brisbane-city/
Media enquiries: Karen Siu, The Australian Institute of Physics, 0478 260 533, wip@aip.org.au.
Dr Sol H Jacobsen (www.sites.google.com/view/soljacobsen) is available for media interviews.
Do you want to live forever? – Adelaide, SA
But what will it take to keep your body going forever and would you really want to?
Hear what neuroscience and health experts have to say during the FOREVER exhibition at University of South Australia’s Museum of Discovery (MOD). Panellists include:
- University of South Australia’s Professor Grant Tomkinson, who focuses on the link between physical fitness and health.
- The University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Lyndsey Collins-Praino, who leads the Cognition, Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease Laboratory.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/q-do-you-want-to-live-forever/adelaide/
Media enquiries: Melissa Keogh, Melissa.keogh@unisa.edu.au or 0403 659 154.
What happens if you find a dinosaur bone in your back yard? – Ryde, NSW
Find out what to do if you dig up a fossil or First Nations artefact from palaeontologist and archaeologist Sally Hurst, who launched ‘Found a Fossil Project’.
She talks about life as a female fossil hunter and invites audience questions when Ryde Library hosts ‘Dinosaurs after Dark’.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/dinosaurs-after-dark-with-palaeontologist-sally-hurst-ryde-library/ryde/
Media enquiries: Sally Hurst, sally.hurst@mq.edu.au or 0400 906 823.
Sally Hurst is available for media interviews.
First Nations high schoolers do deadly science in biomedical lab – Brisbane, QLD
Schools can access a two-day program designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students that aims to break down barriers to higher education and spark interest in biomedical science.
‘Explore the Unknown’ – the brainchild of The University of Queensland and SPARQ-ed, a biomedical education initiative run by the Translational Research Institute (TRI) – takes place in TRI’s state-of-the-art biomedical research lab.
Students will learn from scientists and university staff, joined by special guests from DeadlyScience.
Thursday 14 August – Friday 15 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/explore-the-unknown-biomedical-science-experience-for-first-nations-high-school-students/woolloongabba
Media enquiries: Lily White, lily.white@tri.edu.au or (07) 3443 6920.
How Tassie’s weather affects land, lifestyles and livelihoods – Sandy Bay, TAS
Tassie’s wild weather includes everything from gale-force winds to storms and floods to heatwaves. And weather patterns are changing.
But what’s behind these wild swings? How rare is a so-called 1-in-100-year storm? And what happens when the patterns we’ve relied on start to shift?
Meet experts in meteorology, climate science and agriculture to explore what drives Tasmania’s most extreme weather events and what they mean for our land, livelihoods and future.
The experts:
- Dr Paul Fox-Hughes is a research meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology in Tasmania, specialising in high-impact weather events such as severe storms and heavy rainfall.
- Dr Annette Stellema is a climate scientist and research engineer at CSIRO in Hobart. Her expertise includes analysing climate extremes and developing models to assess the frequency and impact of extreme weather events, contributing to a better understanding of climate risks.
- Dr Steve Curnin is an Associate Professor at the University of Tasmania where he is co-director of the Disaster Resilience Research Group. His research explores strategic decision making and foresight in the context of disasters.
- Hosted by Corey Peterson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Tasmania.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/tassies-wild-weather-up-close/sandy-bay/
Media enquiries: Belinda Brock, Utas.Events@utas.edu.au or 03 6226 2521.
Speakers are available for media interviews.
Can wearable tech reduce rural/remote health gaps? – Bundoora, VIC
Wearable health technology and apps have been around since the mid-2000s. But what’s the science behind them, and why should you care?
Find out in workshops, talks and demonstrations. The program showcases how innovative technologies can reduce health disparities and improve access to preventative care. It includes stories from people in places like regional Australia, Nepal, India, and Africa, showing how technology is helping their communities stay healthy.
The project will foster healthier lifestyle practices by equipping participants with the knowledge and resources to utilise health technologies effectively.
Smart Health Global Australia is a not-for-profit organisation based in Melbourne and Nepal with an aim to act as a catalytic driver to promote easy access to quality health in hard-to-reach areas.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/empowering-health-through-science-and-technology/bundoora/
Media enquiries: Manoj Khadka, manoj@smarthealthglobal.org or 0426 086 532.
Tasmanian tiger de-extinction, plants collected by Captain Cook, and more – Parkville, VIC
Melburnians have the rare opportunity to step inside labs and museums normally off limits to the public at the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus, including:
Flora, fauna and TIGRR: the past and future of biology – visit the Herbarium, the Tiegs Museum and Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research Lab. Discover plant specimens collected by Captain Cook’s crew, a chimpanzee skeleton signed by Dr Jane Goodall, and pioneering efforts in marsupial conservation and de-extinction of the Tasmanian tiger.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/flora-fauna-and-tigrr-the-past-and-future-of-biology/parkville/
Media enquiries: media-enquiries@unimelb.edu.au or (03) 8344 4123.www.scienceweek.net.au/event/southern-nights-the-science-beauty-of-aurora-australis/hobart/
Media enquiries: Luke Tscharke, hello@southernnights.com.au and luke@luketscharke.com or 0422 171 453.
From Antarctic lichens to the oldest hornworts: Von Mueller’s 1.5 million specimens across time – Melbourne, VIC
How can lichen survive the Antarctic landscape while also growing in the hottest deserts?
Scientists from Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria will tell their favourite stories about some of the 1.5 million specimens of plants, algae, and fungi at the National Herbarium of Victoria.
Learn about the founder of the herbarium, Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, on his 200th birthday and discover how these historic collections continue to inform science today.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/specimens-across-time/melbourne
Media enquiries: Tanya Hendy, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, rbg@rbg.vic.gov.au, 03 9252 2300.
Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic? – Kioloa, NSW
Step inside ‘A Race for the Antidote’ escape room; visit a parasite zoo packed with live and preserved specimens; identify and avoid parasitic infections through virtual reality; meet real-world parasitologists; and explore the fictional world of Manga characters with parasitic mutations.
‘Parasite Pandemic: Unlocking Science Through Immersive Experience’ starts in Canberra before moving to NSW South Coast.
The program combines interactive science games and activities aimed at sparking interest in the study of parasites. It also aims to provide participants with insights into how scientists tackle global health challenges more broadly.
Thursday 14 August – Saturday 16 August. Multiple events
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.
First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 3 million people participated in more than 2,000 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2025 it runs from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.