National Science Week officially kicks off 12 August—but there are a few cheeky events sneaking in early (this week).
Below are some highlights we’ve picked out of the 1,800+ events—you can see all our picks here.
From tonight in Melbourne
There will be ‘Blood’
‘BLOOD: Attract & Repel’—the inaugural exhibition of Science Gallery Melbourne—opens today, exploring the significance and fascination of blood in science, medicine, art, and religion.
Science Gallery Melbourne director Rose Hiscock and ‘BLOOD’ creative director Ryan Jeffries are available for interviews.
Media enquiries via Katrina Hall kathall@ozemail.com.
Tomorrow in Melbourne
Is GMO the solution to feeding a growing global population? What does the science say?
A new movie ‘Food Evolution’, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, explores the facts, fictions and feelings swirling around genetically modified crops and the role of biotechnology in food.
One of the experts featured in the doco Dr Alison Van Eenennaam (University of California, Davis) is in Melbourne for a screening and is available for interviews.
Contact her directly via alvaneenennaam@ucdavis.edu, or via Belinda Griffiths on 0400 042 297.
Tomorrow and Friday in Adelaide
Snakes’ sex lives and cane toad sausages
Rick Shine, the scientist who invented cane toad sausages to teach Australia’s predators not to eat toxic toads, is in Adelaide to talk about his research. He’s speaking at Thursday evening’s Science Alive! launch event, and will be available for interviews Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
Science Alive! has photo and filming opportunities with researchers, robotics experts, bugs and slugs, smoke cannons, fossils, dinosaur puzzles and daleks—under one roof at the Wayville Showgrounds. School groups visit on Friday, and the broader public over the weekend.
Media enquiries via Brian Haddy—bhaddy@ozemail.com.au or 0413 156 172.
We’ll be sharing the best stories over the coming weeks in this bulletin and at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week
Or search for an event in your area via scienceweek.net.au/events.
For National Science Week general media enquiries contact Tanya Ha—tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or call 0404 083 863.
Kind regards,
Niall
Next week and beyond
Are you a smartphone master, slave, sceptic, addict or insomniac? Researchers want to know. Australia’s Biggest Smartphone Survey will explore our relationship with our smartphone. Researchers will be available for interview during National Science Week.
International gurus and local science stars
- Interstellar visual effect wiz Oliver James in Canberra and Melbourne
- US science writer Dava Sobel, author of The Glass Universe and Longitude in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Bendigo
- Canadian astronaut and ‘Space Oddity’ Chris Hadfield
- the 17-year-old inventor of a build-it-yourself tablet, Taj Pabari—in Perth, Darwin and Brisbane
- tour the universe with astrophysicist Katie Mack—Hobart and Melbourne
The serious science of sustainability
- ARENA’s Innovating Energy Summit: Powering Australia’s Future in Canberra
- hundreds of schools learning about our ‘Future Earth’
More than 1,800 local events from Tiwi Islands to Tassie.
- Australia joins the global Moonhack world record attempt for the most kids coding—national
- the botany of brewing and booze in Sydney
- geek graffiti—science meets street art in Canberra
- virtual reality journeys inside a plant cell in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra
- Life on Mars at the Sydney Opera House
- ‘living fossil’ stromatolites in Shark Bay
- a HealthLAB on wheels in the Tiwi Islands, and travelling through the Territory
- science over drinks at SciBar in Hobart.
More about National Science Week…
National Science Week 2017 is expected to reach more than 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.
This year marks National Science Week’s 20th birthday. First held in 1997, it has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year’s program saw 1.3 million people participate in more than 1,800 events and activities.
Visit the website at www.scienceweek.net.au, on Twitter @Aus_ScienceWeek and #NatSciWk