Sunday 16 August 2020
Highlights from day two of National Science Week
145 events and exhibitions, 559 online activities, and dozens of great stories and talent.
Researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country.
- Melbourne: Fancy a fake meat burger in a bug-flour bun?
- Darwin: Can you save a cartoon character from being plunged into a vat of acid?
- Gold Coast: Discover the marine science of Sea World without leaving your couch
- Melbourne: The Leadership: meet three of the 76 women who journeyed to the Antarctic
- Perth: Sign me up for science: meet six researchers with an Auslan interpreter
- Sydney: Girls just wanna have fun—with aquatic robotics, drones, paramedicine and more.
- Read on for more on these, including event contact details.
Also today:
- New South Wales: Learn the art and science of botanical illustration from a master, Angus Fisher
- Canberra: Dung beetle research in Sweden; astronomy in Copenhagen; epidemiology in PNG—when science takes you overseas
- National: Can you live without the ocean? Take the CSIRO Science Week Challenge
National Science Week 2020 runs from 15 to 23 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for more events and activities: www.scienceweek.net.au.
More about the event highlights
Taste tomorrow: fake meat, sauteed spider and lobster lollies—VIC
Taste the future by ordering a mystery box of sustainable and nutritious goodies including fake meat, insect flour, seaweed snacks, farm-to-plate disease-free animals or bioengineered crops.
Join scientists, nutritionists and chefs for these online events, open your box and explore the taste, sustainability and nutritional benefits of its contents. While you’re at it, hear from the scientists researching what you’ll be eating in 2050.
Sunday 16 August. Event details
Dr Kim Johnson from La Trobe University Institute for Agriculture and Food is available for interviews.
Avoidable Perils – Darwin Festival, NT
A tank full of sharks, a deadly laser beam, a vat of acid – each night of the Darwin Festival, a feed of cartoon heroes in danger will be beamed outside to an audience of bystanders in Festival Park for ‘Avoidable Perils’, a social experiment exploring activism and the need for social cooperation towards a greater good.
Audience members can be part of the solution, but no one can do it alone. If witnesses can rally enough people to participate in time, the hero can be saved. The question is, can anyone be bothered?
This interactive game for the masses explores activism in the attention economy and the need for social cooperation towards a greater good. These ideas are particularly poignant during the COVID-19 pandemic, where individual choices have an impact on our collective wellbeing.
Final day Sunday 16 August. Event details
Artist Nathan Sibthorpe is available for interviews.
Stories from The Leadership: Women in STEM—VIC
As 76 scientists on an all-women leadership trip to Antarctica discover, gender inequality in STEM is just the tip of the iceberg. The story of the inaugural 2016 Homeward Bound voyage is told in the new Australian documentary The Leadership.
This online panel event is an in-depth conversation with three of the scientists featured in the documentary —soil scientistSamantha Grover, environmental communicator Fern Hames, and explorer and educator Songqiao Yao—about their experiences on board and their work in the STEM field. This event is part of the Melbourne International Film Festival and is moderated by Natasha Mitchell (ABC Radio National’s Science Friction).
Sunday 16 August. Event details
Science of the Sea: explore Sea World from your couch—Gold Coast, QLD
Gold Coast Libraries’ ‘Science of the Sea’ is a program of free online events, including ‘Luminary Lectures’ from high-profile scientists, focused on the ocean, coastline and marine life.
Ask Tim Flannery how climate change is affecting our oceans and what can we do to help. Learn about nudibranchs – the sea slugs that look like they’re dressed for the carnival. Perhaps go on a virtual rock ramble, or hear from experts about humpback whale calving, marine animal rescue, and saving the Great Barrier Reef.
Today:
- Explore marine science with Sea World – Sunday 16 August.
Coming up this week:
- Samantha Reynolds: The impact of climate change on whale shark movement and behaviour – Monday 17 August.
- Marine biologist field day online workshop – Monday 17 August.
- Sea World rescue animal video diary – Monday 17 August.
- Rocky shore explore: Ocean Connect scientists reveal the life amongst among the rocks surrounding Burleigh Headland – Wednesday 19 August.
- Dr Olaf Meynecke: Whales in the City: Humpback whale resting and calving on the Gold Coast – Wednesday 19 August.
- Prof Tim Flannery: Science and Sustainability of the Sea, in conversation with journalist Nicole Dyer – Thursday 20 August.
- Prof Peter Mumby: How to keep the Great Barrier Reef great – Friday 21 August.
Samantha Reynolds, Olaf Meynecke, Tim Flannery (limited availability), Peter Mumby and Ocean Connect scientists are available for media interviews.
Meet the Scientists – Sign Me Up!—Perth, WA
This program allows children who are deaf and hard of hearing to meet scientists from all different disciplines, from astrophysics to robotics. Auslan Interpreters and brunch are provided. Siblings and friends welcome.
There will be sessions in Perth and Bunbury.
Organised by the WA Foundation for Deaf Children, the program is geared to children aged between 6 and 12, providing them with exposure to science as a career pathway, building confidence in scientific concepts and inspiring them through science.
Participants will meet six scientists, learn about their work, ask questions and do hands-on activities in an accessible and inclusive environment.
Guests at the Perth event include microbiologist Rina Fu, robotics expert Tane Pendragon, parasitologist Cindy Palermo, astrophysicist Christene Lynch, geologist Richard Hingston, and meteorologist Jessica Lingard.
Perth: Sunday 16 August. Event details
Event type: in person
Girls day out in STEM 2020—Sydney, NSW
Girls aged 10 to 14 years can join industry leaders online for a carnival-like day full of interactive STEM learning experiences.
There are activities exploring chemistry, paramedicine, environmental science, music x IT, drones, apps, artificial intelligence, aquatic robotics, engineering and maths pathways, and more.
Throughout the day, the girls will participate in book signings, activations, competitions and mentoring meet and greet sessions.
Sunday 16 August. Event details
More about National Science Week
National Science Week is one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year 1.5 million people participated in more than 2050 events around the country, in metropolitan, regional and remote locations.
In 2020, the festival is almost entirely virtual, online, DIY and well-spaced. This means most events, large and small, is open to anyone, no matter where they live.
National Science Week 2020 will run from 15 to 23 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au, public event listings at www.scienceweek.net.au.