Dementia. Hollywood anatomy. Quantum careers. Underground farm. Stomach in stitches.
Science Week in Sydney
- A food farm under the CBD – Barangaroo
- Anatomy according to Hollywood – Kensington
- Quantum careers working tech’s weirdest frontier – Chatswood
- Native bees and seaweed at Redfern – Redfern
- Stomach in knots. Step inside a giant, woolly gut – Five Dock, Redfern and Kogarah
- Deaf scientists discuss success and inclusion, and visit a nuclear reactor – Lucas Heights
- Saving turtles? There’s an app for that – Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee
- Exhibition: from stone circles to space telescopes – Kensington
- Dementia prevention and treatment (Mandarin and English) – Ryde
- Biomanufacturing. Meet the man who wants to make lab-grown meat and life-saving medicines – Sydney
- Flower power: what is Australia’s most amazing wildflower
- Science across Sydney: four huge family-friendly events at four different days and locations.
- NSW launch event with Indigenous researchers: Tuesday 11 August in Wollongong.
More on these below including contact details for interview.
Also see our NSW regional highlights.
National Science Week in New South Wales is coordinated by Inspiring NSW. Visit their website: inspiringnsw.org.au.
For general National Science Week media enquiries, contact scienceweek@scienceinpublic.com.au.
NSW state launch
Science and Country. Weaving Knowledge Together
Tuesday 11 August in Wollongong
6pm launch event at the University of Wollongong Science Space with:
- Gundungurra woman and human geographer Dr Crystal Arnold, who investigates land care and weed management through the perspective of healing Country.
- Jerrinja/Yuin man, artist and Aboriginal education lecturer Peter Hewitt whose work focuses on embedding Country and Indigenous knowledge within research and education.
- Awabakal and Gamilaraay academic A/Prof Anthony McKnight, Director of Culture and Community at Early Start and Associate Professor within UOW’s Indigenous Strategy Unit.
- Anatomist A/Prof Theresa Larkin from the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, whose research focuses on clinical anatomy, hormones and health.
- Cancer geneticist and NSW Deputy Chief Scientist and Engineer Dr Darren Saunders.
Where: Science Space, Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong, Innovation Way, North Wollongong
Media enquiries: Meredith Hall, meredithh@uow.edu.au or 0421 614 145.
National Science Week in Sydney: highlights
A food farm under the CBD – Barangaroo
Sydney’s CBD has a secret underground indoor farm, right next to Darling Harbour.
Urban Green Sydney will open the doors to its hidden hydroponic farm in Barangaroo. Set in an underground carpark, it demonstrates how cities can strengthen food security by growing food in small or underused spaces through innovation, smart design, and simple growing systems.
Owner and founder Noah Verin can talk about the use of growing mediums like coconut coir instead of soil, transforming what would otherwise be a waste product, like coconut husk, into a valuable resource for growing plants. It’s a simple example of circular farming in action, where waste is reduced and materials are reused in smarter ways.
Visitors will explore how plants grow, how modern food systems work and how simple hydroponic methods can be used at home. And they can taste a range of the most popular greens.
A live hydroponic Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system will be on display, giving people the chance to see how water, nutrients, and lighting work together to support healthy plant growth in compact urban setups.
Schools, offices, community groups and other organisations can also take part in a nationwide microgreens growing experiment by ordering and using Seed to STEM Grow Kits.
Underground farm tours: Monday 17 August to Friday 21 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/under-the-pavement-farming-solutions-to-the-future-of-food/barangaroo
Sydney CBD pop-up: Wednesday 19 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/seed-to-stem-urban-farm-pop-up/sydney-cbd
Media enquiries: Rebecka Walter, rebecka@urbangreensydney.com or 0421 241 456.
Urban Green Sydney owner Noah Verin and client chefs are available for media interviews. Noah is a former chef and studied environmental science while at university.
Anatomy according to Hollywood – Kensington
Ever watched a movie scene and thought, “there’s no way way the human body works like that..right?” Dr Kosta Kotsidis can explain what Hollywood gets right and gets very wrong, with examples drawn from House, Indiana Jones, Austin Powers, Poltergeist (and many more).
Kosta will explore human bodies on screen and the real science of anatomy in his hilarious and fact-filled public talk Anatomy According to Holllywood, set in the unique and revealing Museum of Human Disease.
Recommended for ages 16 and above. This event includes discussion of human anatomy, injury, horror themes and clips or references from MA15+ films and television programs.
Thursday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/anatomy-according-to-hollywood/unsw
Dr Kosta Kotsidis is available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Jo Dable, j.dable@unsw.edu.au or 02 9065 0330
From lab-grown meat to life-saving medicine – Sydney
Could the technology built to grow cultivated meat also make the medicines of the future? Biotechnology entrepreneur George Peppou – founder of cultivated-meat company Vow – will trace the path from food innovation to advanced therapeutics.
Peppou will draw on his industry experience to explain how techniques developed for food production could transform the manufacture of life-saving drugs, and why NSW is positioned to lead the next generation of advanced biomanufacturing.
The talk is part of the Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series run by the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer.
Wednesday 12 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/world-leading-biomanufacturing-from-production-of-meat-to-biologic-drugs/sydney
Media enquiries: Bruce Ritchie, bruce.ritchie@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au or 0429 412 426.
Quantum leap: careers on tech’s weirdest frontier – Chatswood
Are there jobs in quantum? Students in Years 8 to 12 can get hands-on with quantum technology and hear directly from people working in the field at ‘Quantum Future Talent: From Curiosity to Career’, hosted by the Sydney Quantum Academy.
The event gives an accessible introduction to quantum computing and cybersecurity, career talks from industry professionals, and interactive demonstrations – including quantum devices, VR experiences and explainer presentations that use skipping ropes and giant balls to demystify the science.
Attendees can also connect with NSW universities including Macquarie, UNSW, the University of Sydney and UTS to explore study pathways into the growing field.
Tuesday 18 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/quantum-futures-curiosity-to-career/chatswood
Media enquiries: Emily Cook, emily.cook@sydney.edu.au or 0403 907 098
Professor Peter Turner, Director of Sydney Quantum Academy, is available for media interviews.
Photo/filming opportunities: hands-on quantum demos including VR experiences (sample footage on SQA’s YouTube). Additional accredited-media images/footage available. Prof Turner’s bio is on the Sydney Quantum Academy website.
Native bees and seaweed at Redfern – Redfern
Learn how to care for Country with native bees, seaweed and Indigenous technology developed over thousands of years at the Indigenous Science Experience.
This free event at the Redfern Community Centre celebrates Indigenous knowledge systems through interactive physics and chemistry experiments, yarning with Elders and a VR experience of Torres Strait Islander culture.
Saturday 22 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/indigenous-science-experience-at-redfern-7/redfern
Media enquiries: Joanne Jamie, joanne.jamie@mq.edu.au, 02 98508283, or 0439 170 683
Step inside a giant, woolly gut – Five Dock, Redfern and Kogarah
Textile artists and community members have knitted a giant walk-in gut to explore the gut microbiome and its impact on mental health.
It’s part of the ‘Gut Feelings’ exhibition, the brainchild of three artists behind a collaborative science-based crafting initiative that builds on the success of the Neural Knitworks project.
For the past three years, the team has presented workshops and informal knit and stitch sessions across Sydney. This has brought people of all ages and abilities together to create textile microbes and intestinal villi and find out about the gut-brain connection.
Community members involved in ‘Gut Feelings’ have engaged with researchers and followed scientifically-informed patterns to knit, crochet, weave and stitch more than 4,000 villi, 450 gut epithelial cells, hundreds of microbes. The result is an exhibition of artworks, including:
• a giant soft sculpture gut filled with knitted villi,
• a life-size crochet silhouette of the body showing the gut-brain connection via the vagus nerve, and
• a crochet version of the Bristol Stool Chart.
Researchers who participated in the project are from UNSW Sydney, University of Sydney, University of Technology and ANSTO.
A workshop at Five Dock Library and free exhibitions at St George Hospital’s Atrium and the Indigenous Science Experience at Redfern will immerse visitors in ‘a playful yet serious’ exploration of the gut-brain axis.
Media enquiries: Pat Pillai, gutfeelingsartproject@gmail.com or 0408 213 844 and Mary Hyman, 0424 100 597.
Lead artist Pat Pillai and art educator Mary Hayman are available for interviews.
Deaf scientists discuss success and inclusion, and visit a nuclear reactor – Lucas Heights
What does it take to succeed in STEM? How can accessible science help Deaf students study and work on the cutting edge of research and technology? A panel of Deaf STEM professionals will share their stories and discuss diversity in Australian science at ANSTO Lucas Heights this Science Week.
Deaf students will tour Australia’s nuclear reactor, and research and medical manufacturing facilities before joining the Auslan-accessible panel discussion and Q&A.
Sunday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/ansto-x-auslan/lucas-heights
Media enquiries: Bridget Murphy, bridgetm@ansto.gov.au, (02) 9717 3090
See promo video for last year’s event: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAAAsLRJkxc
Saving turtles? There’s an app for that – Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee
Help save turtles and frogs with smartphone apps, find out about chimps and orangutans from Jane Goodall’s Aussie friends, or build a bee or bug hotel at Sydney Zoo this August.
Visitors can swing by the Innovation Hub to learn from First Nations educators, map ecosystems through food-web challenges, experiment with thermal cameras used in field science, and explore how human light and sound influence species from hatchling turtles to flying foxes.
Wildlife detectives on the Discovery Trail will meet twelve threatened species, solve an interactive mystery and learn how cool technology, citizen science and kid-led innovation are transforming conservation around the world.
Saturday 15 August-Sunday 23 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/growing-conservation-through-innovation/bungarribee
Media enquiries: Jessica, education@sydneyzoo.com
From stone circles to space telescopes – Kensington
‘The Infinite Look: A History of Gazing Skyward’ examines humanity’s long relationship with the cosmos through the instruments built to study it – from ancient stone observatories tracking the sun and moon to the James Webb Space Telescope – alongside the cultural traditions that give the night sky meaning.
Curated by UNSW Library with the School of Physics and the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, the exhibition draws on UNSW’s archives, art collection and scientific instrument museum, and features artworks by Timothy Cook, Anissa Jones, Sylvia Kanytjupai Ken, Glen Mackie (Kei Kalak), Segar Passi and Abdullah M.I. Syed.
The exhibition acknowledges First Nations Elders and recognises Sky Country as a vital extension of land and sea – a map of knowledge, spirituality and science underpinning the oldest living culture on Earth.
Saturday 15 – Thursday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-infinite-look-a-history-of-gazing-skyward/kensington
Media enquiries: Giulia Giorgi, g.giorgi@unsw.edu.au or 0424 146 714
Dementia: the science of prevention and treatment (Mandarin and English) – Ryde
Our brains naturally slow down a little as we get older, but serious health issues like dementia are far more severe (and worrying). Professor Daniel Chan can explain how doctors identify dementia, the latest research on prevention and treatment, and how to best support yourself or someone in your life following a diagnosis.
Daniel is an expert on vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease and geriatric health. He is presenting a talk on these topics in Mandarin at Ryde Library (followed by a Q&A session) during National Science Week.
Thursday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/dementia-prevention-by-prof-chan-presented-in-mandarin/ryde
Media enquiries: South Western Sydney Local Health District media office, swslhd-media@health.nsw.gov.au or 02 8738 6848 (After Hours Mobile: 0417 697 079)
Science across Sydney: four huge family-friendly events across two weekends – Darlinghurst, Centennial Park, Mount Annan and Abbotsbury
Giant dinosaur puppets, liquid nitrogen science shows, animals, scientists, and crowds of kids having fun – great filming and photo opportunities in four different locations.
Saturday 15 August at Australian Museum, Darlinghurst
Sydney Science Trail at Australian Museum features the Museum’s resident dinosaur Winny, Research Institute scientists and their favourite museum objects, science shows with liquid nitrogen, and hands-on activities for kids, all hosted by The Surfing Scientist Ruben Meerman.
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-science-trail-community-day-3/darlinghurst
Media enquiries: media@australian.museum
50 stalls, wildlife encounters and a giant ginger dinosaur: Sunday 16 August at Centennial Park
Science in the Swamp transforms Centennial Park into a large-scale, hands-on, outdoor science experience with more than 50 stalls, workshops and activity zones. Highlights include the life-sized roaming Australoventor Ginger, wildlife, interactive robotics, virtual reality experiences, and dozens of scientists to talk to.
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-the-swamp-2025-2/centennial-park
Media enquiries: Jemma Pepper jemma.pepper@gsp.nsw.gov.au or 0417 740 789.
Frogs, bugs and a botanical insurance policy: Saturday 22 August at Mount Annan
Sydney Science Trail at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan features behind-the-scenes tours of the National Herbarium of New South Wales and PlantBank, where plants are studies and seeds are saved and stored as a vitally important ‘insurance policy’ against the extinction of native flora. The Gardens team are joined by invertebrate experts who can talk about the importance of creepy crawlies, and the FrogID team who are working to spot and save frogs and other amphibians.
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-science-trail-community-day/mount-annan
Media enquiries: 02 9231 8122 or to media@botanicgardens.nsw.gov.au
Native animals, Indigenous science, and a pop-up Ocean Lab in Western Sydney: Sunday 23 August
Science in the Scrub at Lizard Log also has dozens of stalls, scientists, activities and Ginger, the giant puppet dinosaur. It also features a First Nations Science Village, the pop-up Ocean Lab, robotics and engineering challenges, native animals, frogs and insects up close, and other activities.
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-the-scrub-2025-2/abbotsbury
Media enquiries: Jemma Pepper jemma.pepper@gsp.nsw.gov.au or 0417 740 789.
Can toddlers think about thinking? – Online, via Sydney
Early childhood educators can learn how to deepen children’s critical thinking and metacognition through STEM in a two-hour interactive online workshop run by Little Scientists Australia.
The session moves beyond simply engaging children’s curiosity, giving educators practical strategies and open-ended questions to help infants, toddlers and preschoolers reflect, predict and reason – from documenting learning with photos and floor books to embedding critical thinking into everyday play.
Tickets include access to a recording for anyone who can’t tune in live.
Thursday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/little-scientists-online-educator-workshop-strategies-to-deepen-childrens-critical-thinking-metacognition-through-stem
Media enquiries: Emma or Lara, hello@littlescientists.org.au or 02 8080 0065
A Little Scientists trainer/educator is available for media interviews about the workshop, early STEM education and Little Scientists more broadly. Photo and video opportunities can also be arranged.
From Yarrabah to the White House: an aerospace trailblazer – Randwick
From the Far North Queensland community of Yarrabah to the lawns of the White House, Daniel Joinbee will share the story behind Australia’s first and only 100% Aboriginal-owned aerospace consultancy.
A proud Gunggandji man and Royal Australian Air Force veteran – the first Air Force officer to earn navy diving and demolitions qualifications – Joinbee has gone from diving beneath naval boats in pitch-black water at night to building an aerospace venture grounded in his heritage.
In conversation with host Jonathan Webb, Joinbee will discuss his journey and how programs like Raising Horizons help First Nations communities blaze their own trails.
Thursday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/daniel-joinbee-indigenous-aerospace-trailblazer/randwick
Media enquiries: UNSW Centre for Ideas, centreforideas@unsw.edu.au or 02 9065 0485; Gunggandji Aerospace or contact@gunggandjiaerospace.com.au.
What do you think is Australia’s most amazing wildflower? – online
ABC Science wants Australians to discover our hidden “flower power”, the kind you find in botanical gardens rather than hippie communes.
With the help of experts, ABC Science has selected ten flowering plants from across the country.
Not just another banksia or waratah, but blooms from the unsung understory that also do something unbelievable. These ten wildflowers are more than just a pretty face; each one hides a surprising superpower. The public will decide which is the most amazing.
Voting to decide Australia’s most amazing wildflower will start just before National Science Week in August, with the winning bloom announced on Friday August 21 in a live broadcast on Radio National.
Wednesday 5 August – Friday 21 August. To find out more and vote, go to www.abc.net.au/wildflowers.
For interviews with Dr Ann Jones, contact Rob Caulley, ABC Publicity, Caulley.Rob@abc.net.au.
