Highlights from the penultimate day of National Science Week

171 events and exhibitions, 9 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

Theatre, dance, virtual reality, astronomy and home-brewing all feature in Science Week events around Australia for Saturday. Pic opportunities and interviews abound.

National: What are the early insights into creative thinking from The Aha! Challenge?

Melbourne & multiple other locations: Immersive astronomy livestream with Alan Duffy and Rebecca Allen.

Melbourne: Spit for science: researchers want to map the microbiomes of Melburnians.

Melbourne: The alchemy of turning waste into wealth. Professor Veena Sahajwalla available for interview.

Adelaide & Canberra: A theatre work exploring Australia’s contribution to space science.

Canberra: The Universe in Four Dimensions: a trip through space and time using dance and animation. 

Canberra: How cosmic rays revealed a hidden chamber in an Egyptian pyramid. Researcher Dr Karin Sowada available for interview.

Hobart: A pop-up science bar at TMAG, with expert talks and 100+ roving scientists.

Hobart: Last day! NEON: three scientists, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and 18 local young dancers.

Sydney: Harbour cruise: Indigenous navigation by the stars.

Sydney: The Planets: concert and stargazing in Centennial Park.

Darwin: Revisiting the 1919 great London to Darwin air race. Interview the creators and performers.

Brisbane: What can we do to help our coral reefs?

Perth: The Innovators’ Tea Party networking women and girls in science.

National: Spot wildlife with your smartphone in the Great Aussie BioQuest.

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

Melbourne: Particle/Wave: gravitational waves explained by scientists, sounds, video art and poetry.

Adelaide: Spot the bull s…cience! Teams of scientists battle to sort fact from fiction.

National Science Week 2019 runs from 10 to 18 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for the details of events in your area: www.scienceweek.net.au.

For general Science Week media enquiries:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Friday 16 August 2019

Highlights from day seven of National Science Week

378 events and exhibitions, 18 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

Hobart: Invasive species cocktails, engineering coral reefs, and retro videogames at a pop-up science bar.

Canberra: The science behind your favourite drink.

Sydney: Painting with light through long-exposure photography.

Darwin: Revisiting the 1919 great London to Darwin air race.

Brisbane: Science on the streets with Brisbane Science Festival.

Brisbane: What happens inside a cancer cell?

Perth: Forensic science and criminology at Fremantle Prison.

Melbourne: Artificial intelligence and the future of humanity: world premiere of the movie MACHINE.

Adelaide: From medical sensors to night vision: how light is useful.

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

▪ Sydney: From Wollemi pines to persoonia: the science of PlantBank.

▪ Pokolbin, NSW: Bots beers and wine at the Ben Ean winery.

▪ Wollongong, NSW: What does climate change mean for Australia’s coasts and oceans?

▪ Brisbane: Touring coral reefs in virtual reality.

▪ Ballarat: Aboriginal astronomy.

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Early results from Australia-wide experiment suggest being outdoors can be a good way to trigger “aha” moments.

People are most likely to have a sudden bright idea when out in the bush – or lying in bed.

That’s one of the early observations arising from The Aha! Challenge, the month-long Australia-wide science experiment that kicked off during National Science Week and runs until the end of August.

The experiment, which revolves around a series of online brainteasers, aims to explore sudden bursts of clarity and insight, and their role in problem-solving. In effect, it’s a nationwide quest to find the things that make you go “aha!”…

And so far the results have been very revealing.

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Highlights from day six of National Science Week

368 events and exhibitions, 16 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people are available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

Melbourne

• A virtual reality tour of the Universe with Alan Duffy, starting at a brewery.
• The Knowledge Wars with Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty.
• Mad Max meets MasterChef: a post-apocalyptic dinner party.

Perth

• What’s the potential for life on the Red Planet? Ask astrophysicists and NASA scientists.

Canberra

• A science comedy quiz show that aims to save our species.

Sydney

• Searching for dark matter from an old underground gold mine.
• Young people, social media and e-cigarettes.

Adelaide

• The science and psychology of wine.
• Zoos as research institutes, studying rhinos, African wild dogs, palm cockatoos, reptiles and more.

Hermannsburg, NT

• It’s in the stars: stories from Indigenous and Western astronomy.

Read on to find out more, including event contact details.

Also today:

• Brisbane: A cancer researcher, cryptographer, ‘Venom Doc’ and other scientists in a fact or fiction battle.
• Wollongong: Particle/Wave: gravitational waves explained by scientists, sounds, video art and poetry.
• Launceston: School lessons with Crazy Scientist shows, Dinosaur rEvolution, space activities and a planetarium.
• Adelaide: An expert panel debates the ethics of artificial intelligence.

National Science Week 2019 runs from 10 to 18 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for the details of events in your area: www.scienceweek.net.au.

For general Science Week media enquiries:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Highlights from day five of National Science Week – hump day brings comedy, dance and memories of the flu.

423 events and exhibitions, 18 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

Adam Spencer, Karl Kruszelnicki and many distinguished scientists feature in events around the country today – bringing tales of music, maths, Indigenous history and the untold stories behind the invention of the World Wide Web.

National

• In class online with Karl Kruszelnicki.

Sydney

• Indigenous science sessions at Redfern begin.
• Pandemic in Parramatta:when the Spanish flu hit town.
• Reclaiming the contribution of women to the creation of the Internet.
• Periodic Table fun with Adam Spencer, Karl Kruszelnicki and Alice Motion.

Cairns

• Rapid-fire science education: 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each in a PechaKucha Night.

Adelaide

• Meet the local dolphins.

Tasmania

• High-voltage art made by electrifying matter.
• The science and comedy of your poor decisions, with Alanta Colley & Ben McKenzie.

Melbourne

• TheIndigenous stories, memories, and roadmaps of the night skies.

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

• Hobart: Chemistry in dance: three elements, three choreographers, three composers and 18 performers.
• Sydney: The ambidextrous brain: the neuroscience of imagination and creativity.
• Sydney: Hear why music is maths at the City Recital Hall.
• Moonyanooka, WA: Tour the Geraldton Bureau of Meteorology weather station.
• Perth: Women in STEM Breakfast with award-winning radio astronomer Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker.

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Highlights from day four of National Science Week

348 events and exhibitions, 15 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

Canberra

▪ Meet the medical inventor behind the cochlear ear and a nutrition scientist using one.

▪ Sense and sensibility: how pseudoscience helps market wellness woo to women.

Sydney

▪ What is life? Ask theoretical physicist and best-selling author Paul Davies.

▪ The state of the oceans.

▪ Our warped Milky Way, better meds for brains, and trees cooling cities.

Arnhem Land

▪ Beer goggles and fitness tests with a health clinic on wheels.

Queensland

▪ Are Pokémon biologically possible? Events in Bundaberg and Rockhampton.

▪ In Brisbane, ask a microbiologist.

Adelaide

▪ Tigers, house cats and zoos.

▪ Staying healthy while working shifts.

Hobart

▪ Chemistry in dance: three elements, three choreographers, three composers and 18 performers.

Melbourne

▪ What is the future of plastic?

Western Australia

▪ Perth: Who will win the Premier’s science awards?

▪ Pinjarra: How to survive the end of the Universe – and the next 50 years.

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

National Science Week 2019 will run from 10 to 18 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for the details of events in your area: www.scienceweek.net.au.

For general Science Week media enquiries:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Great energy and environmental stories up for grabs now around Australia.

From artworks to school strikes, how is climate change activism evolving? What is the future for the world’s oceans? Rethinking our waste: is ‘disposable’ a dirty word?

These are just a few of the exciting, and occasionally stomach-churning, questions tackled at exhibitions, shows and talks across Australia during National Science Week (August 10 to 18).

If you’re after more great ideas for highly visual stories, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, artists, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

• Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
• Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Monday 12 August 2019

Highlights from day three of National Science Week

297 events and exhibitions, 13 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

Sydney

▪ What’s the science of psychopathy, evil and human behaviour? Ask visiting German-Canadian psychologist and author Julia Shaw.

▪ Are smartphones making us dumb?

Melbourne

▪ Taking the piss: provide a sample to this electrochemical battery to recharge your mobile phone.

Hobart

▪ How did water engineers take Tasmania from convict colony to foodie destination?

Tasmania

▪ The Tassie devil’s advocate, a sneezing scientist and a seaweed lover: young scientists tour the state.

National

▪ Aha! moments: what’s happening in your brain when the penny drops?

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

▪ Schools everywhere: it’s the first school day of National Science Week. Thousands of children are doing lessons on the theme of Destination Moon: more missions, more science.

▪ Sydney: What we can learn from 60,000 years of Aboriginal astronomy.

▪ Perth: How is the climate changing and what will this mean for our food?

▪ Melbourne: What conditions might human explorers face on Mars or other planets? And how are NASA scientists preparing for them?

▪ Canberra: What can teams of children build with one scoop of Lego, working against the clock?

▪ Gold Coast: Find out how scientists are building robots for space missions.

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Sunday 11 August 2019

Highlights from day two of National Science Week

106 events and exhibitions, 10 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

Melbourne

▪ Ground Control to Major Tom: what does it take to turn an astronaut into a barista? 

▪ Frogs, water bugs, birds, koalas… and a NASA exobiologist: science in the part at Coolart Wetlands. 

Hobart

▪ What does environmental change mean for landscape painting? Hear from scientists, artists and curators.

Mt Annan (near Sydney)

▪ Super sight, super hearing, super strength and camouflage: hear about nature’s superpowers.

Adelaide

▪ RoboRoos student teams battle it out in a robot scrimmage. 

▪ Why does food taste different when you have a cold? Meet your brain and find out. 

Perth

▪ Girls network with women in science mentors at an Innovators’ Tea Party.

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

▪ Sydney: go on an Indigenous science harbour cruise and learn from the Mari Nawi‘s Aboriginal crew.

▪ Alice Springs: Costa Georgiadis gets dirty with soil science and growing healthy gardens.

▪ Canberra: explore butterflies, bugs and beetles through hands-on scientific drawing.

▪ Brisbane: National Science Week visits the Firebirds Queensland netball match.

National Science Week 2019 will run from 10 to 18 August.

Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for the details of events in your area: www.scienceweek.net.au.

For general Science Week media enquiries:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Launch Saturday at the State Library with Minister and International Space Station flight controller Andrea Boyd. With 270+ Science Week events around WA:

▪ Young artists, music with birdsong, Indigenous science, neuroscience and creativity workshops, and more take over the State Library.

▪ What’s the potential for life on the Red Planet? Ask astrophysicists and NASA scientists.

▪ Science behind bars: forensics and criminology at Fremantle Prison

▪ The science of this planet, and in the cosmos beyond at the Goodness Science, Sustainability and Innovation Festival, Geraldton.

▪ What do big parks mean for big sharks? Ask a scientist studying marine parks.

▪ Science careers: meet the woman mapping a panoramic stretch of the Universe.

▪ Sustainability in the suburbs: from soil microbes to microbats.

▪ Fiona Wood: from treating burns to spray-on skin.

▪ Ecology, seed science, genetics and plant conservation: meet the science Queens of Kings Park.

▪ 60 interactive stalls, explosive experiments, native animals, science theatre, and roving performers: Perth Science Festival returns.

▪ Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

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More than 280 National Science Week events around Queensland:

▪ Three Firebird Queensland netball players are Science Week ambassadors. Find out why they’re into science.

▪ Meet a planet hunter, a mathematician measuring barramundi numbers, and a pharmacologist developing treatments for diabetes and blood pressure.

▪ Pokémon: how much reality is behind these imaginary creatures?

▪ Liquid nitrogen, flame tests, explosions, and cool chemistry experiments at Brisbane Science Festival.

▪ Reefs are in trouble worldwide: how can you help?

▪ Think, puzzle and learn your way out of a cancer-themed escape room.

▪ Rapid-fire science education: 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each in a PechaKucha Night in Cairns.

▪ A library of life: delve into the Queensland’s State Collection’s skulls, skeletons, taxidermy birds and animals, and other curios of natural history.

▪ Get out your smartphone: find and photograph where the wild things are.

▪ Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

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Saturday 10 August 2019

Highlights from day one of National Science Week

132 events and exhibitions, 5 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.

National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.

National

• Like Pokémon Go! but with real animals: spot wildlife with your smartphone in the Great Aussie BioQuest.

Hobart

• The Science Cowboy, the chemistry of colour, cat behaviour, insect eyesight, Antarctic secrets, a VR tour of old Hobart and more at the Festival of Bright Ideas.

Sydney

• Days of our hives: science meets comedy meets bee-keeping.
• Killing cancer, super coral, magma, and microbes: science talks on a soapbox at The Rocks.

Adelaide

• Icy science:Dr Karl Kruszelnicki’s Antarctic adventures.

Melbourne

• Changing how food tastes with virtual reality, seeing patterns in the sky, reading a map without your eyes: the science of messing with your senses.

Alice Springs

• How will The Territory meet its 50 per cent renewable energy taret?

Perth

• Making music with animals, interweaving Noongar culture with science, a recycled disco, and more: science and youth arts collide at Moonboorli (Beyond).

Read on for more on these, including event contact details.

Also today:

• Brisbane: robots battle it out to see which is the best at soccer, theatre, rescue and problem-solving at the RoboCup Junior 2019 Queensland Championships.
• Canberra: Interactive Science: robots, drones, reptiles, performers, expert speakers and food trucks take over The Shine Dome.
• Adelaide: gravitational waves explained by scientists, sounds, video art and poetry at Particle/Wave.

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Launch Saturday at Darwin Festival with artist Caro Macdonald. And 70+ Science Week events around the Territory:

• What will Darwin look like under climate change? Artists journey to the future through virtual reality.
• Costa Georgiadis gets dirty with soil science and Craig Reucassel brings the war on waste to Alice Springs.
• Beer goggles and fitness tests with a health clinic on wheels.
• How will the Territory meet a 50% renewable energy target?
• Aviation history as theatre: the 1919 air race from London to Darwin brought to life on stage.
• Learn from Indigenous astronomers how to use the night sky to navigate, determine the time of year and predict weather
• A 3D outer space experience in Starlab’s Cosmodome Science Theatre & Planetarium
• Spin until you’re dizzy and compare your reflexes to those of a Formula 1 driver: the science circus comes to town.
• Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

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National Science Week kicks off in Canberra this Saturday – with 75+ events around ACT:

• Robots, drones, reptiles, performers, expert speakers and food trucks take over The Shine Dome.
• Sense and sensibility: how pseudoscience helps market wellness woo to women.
• Physics meets archaeology: how a new chamber was discovered in the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
• Artists, animators and astronomers present the Universe in four dimensions.
• Meet the medical inventor behind the cochlear ear and a nutrition scientist using one.
• Can Canberra adapt to live with drought, wild weather and climate change? Ask an expert panel.
• A science comedy quiz show that aims to save our species.
• Art inspired by the rocks, minerals, crystals and fossils of Geoscience Australia.
• Spot wildlife with your smartphone in the Great Aussie BioQuest.
• Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, artists, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Joint media release from the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Hon Karen Andrews MP; and the Minister for Education, the Hon Dan Tehan MP

Australians from all walks of life are invited to celebrate all things science and technology at more than 1,900 registered events across the country for National Science Week.

Held from 10-18 August, National Science Week is the annual opportunity for Australians to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do an experiment and celebrate the social and economic impact of science on our nation.

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Great health stories up for grabs now around Australia.

Why is so much pseudo-science aimed at women? What happened when the Spanish flu hit Parramatta? Can you beat the world’s only cancer-themed escape room? How do you feel about spitting for science?

These are just a few of the exciting, and occasionally stomach-churning, questions tackled at exhibitions, shows and talks across Australia during National Science Week (August 10 to 18).

Check out the state-by-state selection here, and if you’re after more great ideas for highly visual stories, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, artists, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

▪ Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
▪ Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Science and technology go together like Twitter and hashtags – great stories from around Australia for National Science Week.

Are smartphones really making us stupid? And why buy an expensive charger when you can power up your Nokia using your own pee?

These are just two of the important questions set to be answered around Australia during National Science Week which runs from August 10 to 18.

In South Australia, teams of robots are set to battle out in a fight to the techno-death.

In Canberra, astronomers, dancers, animators and photographers are set to team up for a spectacular interpretation of the universe.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, the important contribution of women to the development of the internet comes into sharp focus, while, in Perth, the tech challenges to living on Mars are the topic du jour.

More on these highlights below. Find more at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, artists, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

▪ Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
▪ Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

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Launch Friday at the Festival of Bright Ideas with school kids and minister. And 200+ Science Week events around Tasmania:

▪ The Science Cowboy, the chemistry of colour, cat behaviour, insect eyesight, Antarctic secrets, a VR tour of old Hobart and more at the Festival of Bright Ideas.

▪ The Tassie devil’s advocate, a sneezing scientist and a seaweed lover: Young Tassie Scientists tour the state.

▪ Dinosaurs, science shows, Moon-landing memories and a night at the museum, in Launceston.

▪ Will the Y chromosome become extinct, and can we bring the Tassie tiger back from extinction? Hear from science academy experts.

▪ Invasive species cocktails, engineering coral reefs, and exploring the tech of retro videogames at a pop-up science bar.

▪ Three elements, three choreographers, three composers and 18 performers: it’s chemistry in dance.

▪ Comedy meets science: laugh about why you make poor choices.

▪ Learn about Tasmania’s Midlands from thousands of years of Aboriginal science.

▪ Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

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Launch Friday at Melbourne Museum, with NASA geobiologist. Plus 430 Science Week events around Victoria:

▪ Meet the NASA scientist paving the way for Mars missions, and other women doing science in extreme environments.

▪ Can virtual reality make food taste different? A science event that messes with your senses.

▪ Sewer soap, fatberg and a pee-powered battery: art and science meet the war on waste.

▪ Gut feelings: is there a link between your microbiome and mental health?

▪ Artificial intelligence and the future of humanity: world premiere of the movie MACHINE.

▪ What’s the science behind the perfect brew? And could you make coffee in space?

▪ Maker workshops for everyone, including people with disabilities.

▪ Take a virtual reality tour of the Universe.

▪ Can we generate wealth from waste? Ask the inventor of green steel and recycling micro-factories.

▪ ‘The Curiosity Show’ meets music.

▪ Take the Aha! Challenge and test your brain’s creative insight.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

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