Saturday 20 August 2015
Highlights from Day 8 of National Science Week
It’s the penultimate day of Science Week’s nine-day week with 790 events and activities, and dozens of great stories and talent, including:
Brisbane: Superbugs, sea level rise, baby stress, and seabird conservation: Soapbox Science spruiks discoveries in King George Square.
Sydney:
- Fossils, safeguarded seeds at the Australian PlantBank, and face-to-face with a virtual reality dinosaur – all at Mount Annan’s Jurassic Garden.
- Build an ATLAS particle detector with LEGO to reveal its engineering – continues Sunday.
- What can science and Indigenous knowledge tell us about the secret life of eels?
Newcastle: Volcanoes, coal, and fossils: what a time walk along the coastal cliffs reveals about Newcastle’s geological past.
Melbourne:
- Do plants like 70s music? An exhibition showing the history of the science and pseudoscience of what plants think, feel, and do.
- The muddy trenches of World War I and the mucus-lined trenches of a nurse’s gut – a graphic novel.
Hobart: How on water matter is trashing Tassie’s seabirds.
Perth: Shooting shells and finding shipwrecks: underwater archaeology and photography.
More than 790 events, exhibitions and online activities on offer around the country today.
National and international talent, researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country. Plenty of photo opportunities.
Science advocate Alan Alda talks about Australia’s Science Week here (suitable for radio grabs): www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week/alanalda_audio
Ahead tomorrow:
Canberra: Why NASA’s hunt for water in the solar system is the hunt for life.
Adelaide: Kids navigate neuroscience – how do neurons communicate? What does grey matter look like?
For general Science Week media enquiries, contact Tanya Ha on tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863, or Ellie Michaelides on 0404 809 789.
Running from 13-21 August, National Science Week 2016 is expected to reach over a million Australians—with everything from science festivals, music and comedy shows, expert talks, art installations and performances, interactive hands-on displays, open days, and online activities.
First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year’s program saw a staggering 1.3 million people participate in over 1,500 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government; partners CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association and the ABC; and sponsors Cosmos, Discovery Science, New Scientist and Popular Science.
Visit the National Science Week website for the details of events in your area: www.scienceweek.net.au.