Hollywood anatomy; sex-ed on stage; Dungeons, Dragons and neuroscience

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Great National Science Week ENTERTAINMENT stories up for grabs now around Australia

  • Anatomy according to Hollywood – Kensington, NSW
  • Iranian refugee and Trekkie founds space film festival exploring a ‘better future’ – Canberra, ACT
  • Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Canberra, ACT
  • Dungeons, Dragons and neuroscience, improvised live – Fortitude Valley, QLD
  • Planetarium concert explores music, misinformation, and the cosmos – Toowong, QLD
  • Scientist puts sex-ed on stage in The Clitoral Chronicles – Ulverstone & Hobart, TAS
  • Robot challenges, Aussie wildlife, and Nitro Nat at Science Alive! – Wayville, SA
  • A porcupinefish walks the red carpet – North Adelaide, SA
  • Barefoot in Antarctica: Dr Karl live in Burnie – Burnie, TAS
  • Black holes and robots: where sci-fi meets sci-fact – Hobart, TAS
  • The sound of cosmic collisions: a musical exploration of space-time – Canberra, Wollongong, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane & online

More on these below and visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.

Scientists, experts, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.

Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.

Individual event details and media contacts

Anatomy according to Hollywood – Kensington, NSW

Ever watched a movie scene and thought, “there’s no 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

Iranian refugee and Trekkie founds space film festival exploring a ‘better future’ – Canberra, ACT

Former IT professional-turned-filmmaker Masoud Varjavandi found strength watching Star Trek while growing up in a Baha’i family persecuted in Iran during the 1980s.

Today, he shares stories for a better future through Canberra’s Space Faring Civilisation Film Festival, featuring award-winning sci-fi and documentary shorts.

Masoud says: “This isn’t about escapism. It’s about reminding people that progress, peace and a better future are still within reach.”

Free stop-motion animation workshops will be held in Canberra’s shopping centres in the lead-up to the Space Faring Civilisation (SFC) Film Festival on Sunday 23 August.

The SFC Film Festival’s mission to bring together the next generation of filmmakers and science storytellers, culminating in a full-day event that includes creative workshops, Q&A panel, and screenings of award-winning sci-fi and documentary shorts with a positive perspective on science and space exploration.

Sunday 23 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/2026-space-faring-civilisation-sfc-film-festival/canberra

Media enquiries: Masoud Varjavandi, masoud@sfcfilms.com or 0432 902 619.

SFC Film Festival director Masoud Varjavandi is available for media interviews. View the 2025 Highlight Reel .

Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Canberra, ACT

Canberran researcher Dr Karina Judd presents a smart, sexy, adults-only exploration of geological and earth sciences.

By day, Dr Judd conducts science-engineering-social science research at the Australian National University to make the zero-carbon transition more people-friendly.

By night, she moonlights as ‘Roxie’ in her one-woman cabaret Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret , winning the 2026 Science at the Fringe Award.

“Funny and bold … an enjoyable learning experience!” – judge’s comments, Adelaide Fringe Festival.

What to expect? Cocktail hour geology with sultry songs, smouldering dance, sharp wit and a shimmer of burlesque. No safety glasses required.

Friday 14 – Saturday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/rock-hard-the-geological-cabaret-2/canberra/

Media enquiries: Dr Karina Judd, karina.judd@gmail.com or 0448 318 748.

Dr Judd, who wrote and produced Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret, is available for media interviews. She studied environmental geology at UNSW Sydney, specialising in soil and mineral chemistry before completing Honours in geology showcasing soil chemistry techniques as a useful tool in identifying past tsunami. And she is a seasoned performer of cabaret, burlesque and dance. See ANU profile: https://cpas.anu.edu.au/people/karina-judd

Psychedelic medicine, social media addiction, nature, nurture, and a roving scientists bar – Hobart and round Tasmania

Beaker Street Festival is back. Pull up a seat where microscopes sit on bar tables, scientists take centre stage and boundary-pushing conversations – from sex to psychedelics to slime moulds – could change the world.

Centred around Hobart’s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and nearby venues, the week-long festival features talks and workshops; interactive science/art installations; photography exhibitions; live music and performance; and Tassie food and drink.

“For ten years, Beaker Street has created events and spaces where science becomes the catalyst for great conversations, new ideas and shared experiences,” says Founder and Creative Director Dr Margo Adler. “This year’s theme, The Second Act, is about reinvention. It’s about taking stock of who we are, what we value, and how we stay connected to each other in a world increasingly designed to pull us apart.”

Highlights include:

Thursday 6 August to Monday 17 August.

Multiple dates and locations.

Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, matt@moxee.au or 0401 326 007.

Dungeons, Dragons and neuroscience, improvised live – Fortitude Valley, QLD

Cutting-edge research meets role-play in Monsters and Molecules, a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired comedy show improvised live on stage. Can comedian Jaimeson Gilders, educator Joel Gilmore and Professor Lezanne Ooi save this fantasy world from total chaos?

Along the way, and with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology, the show explores the quantum research mapping one of the most complex systems in existence: the brain. Hosted by science communicator Shu Ezackial with live music by Sean Sully.

Wednesday 19 August.Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/monsters-and-molecules-journey-to-the-centre-of-the-brain/fortitude-valley

Media enquiries: Shu Ezackial, shu@shulab.xyz

Planetarium ‘pop-rock-funk’ concert explores music, misinformation, and the cosmos – Toowong, QLD

Nate Eggins (a.k.a. Conspiracy of One) is returning with his unique Planetarium Variety Show for an evening of:

Returning to the cosmic skydome are Nate and his band to bring you a special stripped back and intimate performance including songs from his debut album ‘Road to Reason’.

Audiences will gain new and interesting perspectives on science and our modern world, level up your thinking and learn how to spot pseudoscience pretenders – all while tapping their feet.

Friday 21 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/planetarium-concert-live-music-in-the-skydome-3/toowong/

Media enquiries: Nate Eggins, nathan@sentientproductions.com.au or 0402 593 431.

Nate Eggins is available for media interviews. Footage and photos available here .

Scientist puts sex-ed on stage in The Clitoral Chronicles – Ulverstone & Hobart, TAS

The Clitoral Chronicles lifts the hood on the most misunderstood organ in biology: the clitoris!

The clitoris has been overlooked, under-appreciated and literally written out of history for centuries, but now Dr Tiana Pirtle, who has a PhD in reproductive ecology and physiology, is putting it centre-stage. She is joined by props and performers wearing sparkly clitoris and penis costumes.

Blending comedy, physical theatre, outrageous anatomical costumes and wild true stories from the animal kingdom, the show flips outdated ideas about sex, gender and science on their head — and puts female and LGBTQIA+ perspectives centre stage.

Dr Pirtle’s previous show ‘Vaginal Vignettes’ shared the stories of the multi-chambered vaginas and temporary passages, elongated clitorises, pseudo-penises, vaginas that can sort sperm, and armoured vaginal openings that put female animals in the driver’s seat of reproduction and evolution.

Read a UTas article about her work. Hear her on the Science Vs episode ‘When vaginas attack!’.

Ulverstone: Tuesday 11 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-clitoral-chronicles-3/ulverstone/

Hobart: Friday 21 August and Saturday 22 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-clitoral-chronicles-4/hobart/

Media enquiries: Tiana Pirtle, Tiana.Pirtle@utas.edu.au or 0456 826 322.

Robot challenges, Aussie wildlife, and Nitro Nat at Science Alive! – Wayville, SA

  • Nitro Nat’s Crazy Colourful Chemistry Show
  • Animals Anonymous Wildlife Show
  • Super Science with Simon
  • Gaming and visual effects
  • Plus robot wars, flying drone displays, space science, and VR experiences.

These are just some of the Science Alive! activities and attractions at the Adelaide Showground.

Saturday 8 August – Sunday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-alive-10/wayville/

Media enquiries: info@kjex.com.au or 08 8297 1688.

A porcupinefish walks the red carpet – North Adelaide, SA

Audiences can walk the red carpet for the official premiere of two new animated short films, Little Scientists, Big Blue and Porci Explores Marine Parks, made with Fastbreak Films for National Science Week 2026.

Little Scientists, Big Blue follows Porci the Porcupinefish on an imaginative underwater journey through kelp forests and deep-sea ecosystems, while Porci Explores Marine Parks showcases South Australia’s 26 state and Commonwealth marine parks and the science behind protecting them.

Hosted by the Marine Discovery Centre and National Parks and Wildlife Service SA, the family event includes a panel of marine scientists, live music from Sea Star Rock, VR reef dives, marine touch tables and Indigenous science displays, emceed by Lucy Rasheed from Sea Star Rock.

Saturday 22 August.Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/national-science-week-premiere-little-scientists-big-blue/north-adelaide

Media enquiries: Carmen Bishop, Marine Discovery Centre, cbishop@star.catholic.edu.au or 0422 885 409

Carmen Bishop and scientists involved in developing the script are available for media interviews.

Barefoot in Antarctica: Dr Karl live in Burnie – Burnie, TAS

Australia’s favourite nerd, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, returns with stories of surviving an Antarctic blizzard (barefoot), test-driving four-wheel drives across the Simpson Desert, the reality of beer goggles, and how he helped bring the word “selfie” into English.

Along the way he revisits his glorious television past, from TV weather reports to Play School. Part of the Beaker Street Festival, Tasmania’s annual celebration of science and culture.

Saturday 15 August.Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/dr-karl-live-in-burnie/burnie

Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, matt@moxee.au or 0401 326 007.

Dr Karl is available for media interviews.

Black holes and robots: where sci-fi meets sci-fact – Hobart, TAS

From black holes in Interstellar to a robot cleaning up a deserted Earth in Wall-E, science fiction has long inspired real research. ‘That’s What I Call Science’ brings science and art together at From Fact to Fiction, screening a science fiction film followed by a panel of STEM experts.

The panel will unpack the science behind the film and connect it to their own research taking place in Lutruwita/Tasmania.

Sunday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/from-fact-to-fiction-2/hobart

Media enquiries: Olly Dove, nowsciencetas@gmail.com

Olly Dove available for media interviews.

The sound of cosmic collisions: a musical exploration of space-time – Canberra, Wollongong, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide, Brisbane & online

The most violent events in the universe create elements such as gold, platinum and the iodine in human blood. Dr Karelle Siellez is listening to the aftermath of these massive kilonova through electromagnetic radiation ad gamma-ray bursts. She will explore the ‘sound’ of cosmic collisions, and what these signal reveal about the universe, during public talks across the country as part of the 2026 Marie Curie lecture series.

Karelle is an astrophysicist and lecturer at the University of Tasmania. She contributed to the first detection of a gamma-ray burst and gravitational waves from the same cosmic event, recognised with the 2017 Breakthrough Prize. She is also an award-winning science communicator who integrates art, sound, and storytelling into her work.

Multiple dates and locations

Media enquiries: Dr Karen Livesey and Dr Karen Siu (Marie Curie Tour Co-ordinators), wip@aip.org.au, 0478 260 533

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