Dozens of Science Week stories around Canberra
- Can AI cultivate sustainable farming?
- DIY frog saunas and spa treatments combat deadly fungus
- Dancers with disability explore bee science through performance
- Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic?
- Star Trek fan drives ‘positive space films’ festival
- Meet the molecular biologist twisting balloons to teach healthy eating
- Computer programmers aged 55+ wanted. No experience required
- Rainbow roses: people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities discover explosive strength of capillary pressure
- Snakes, rockets, robots and more while you shop
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
National Science Week in the Australian Capital Territory is coordinated by Inspiring the ACT. Visit their website: inspiringtheact.org.au.
National Science Week in ACT: highlights
Can AI cultivate sustainable farming? – Acton
How will farmers use AI to boost sustainability and profit?
AI agronomists, seed-planting farmbots, pest-detecting drones, and robotic noses geared for evaluating wine and beer could be part of the answer.
Researchers are busy cultivating its use to selectively control weeds (saving on herbicide); figure out the perfect time to water crops; and identify grapes damaged by bushfire smoke.
Meet the experts when the Australian Academy of Science hosts ‘AI in Food’ at Canberra’s Shine Dome (as part of its series of talks on ‘AI in Science: the promise, perils and path forward’), featuring:
- CSIRO’s Dr Sarah Hartman who is using deep learning to develop an AI agronomist that works for and with farmers.
- University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes, who uses high-tech digital instruments for agriculture, food and wine, alongside his role as investigator at the Plants for Space ARC Centre of Excellence.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/ai-in-science-the-promise-perils-and-path-forward-ai-and-our-food/acton/
Media enquiries: Dan Wheelahan, media@science.org.au or (02) 6201 9444.
Dr Sarah Hartman and Associate Professor Sigfredo Fuentes are available for media interviews.
Frog saunas and spa treatments fight deadly fungus – Turner
Canberra scientists are employing surprising tactics to help frog populations fight the deadly chytrid fungus.
Join a DIY frog sauna workshop and twilight wetlands walk with ACT FrogWatch program’s Anke Maria Hoefer and meet University of Canberra amphibian researchers using frog saunas, spa treatments and trace metals such as copper and zinc.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-and-out-of-the-pub-frogs-fungus-and-funky-metals/turner/
Media enquiries: Anke Maria Hoefer, frogwatch@ginninderralandcare.org.au or 0429 066 046.
University of Canberra researchers involved in the project:
- Jarrod Sopniewski – postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, is spearheading a project that focuses on installing frog saunas and spas around suburban wetlands in Canberra in preparation for the reintroduction of the locally extinct Green and Golden Bell Frog species.
- Milad Esmaeilbeigi – PhD researcher, Centre for Applied Water Science, who is investigating the interactions of metals in water and chytrid fungus.
Dancers with disability pollinate science and inclusion – Canberra
Explore the importance of bees for ecology, biodiversity and our food train through ‘BuzzACT’, a dance-and-science show for children.
Canberra’s inclusive dance performance group, The Chamaeleon Collective, comprises 70% of artists living with disability, chronic illness and/or PTSD.
Launched in 2020, The Chamaeleon Collective, is part of The Stellar Company, founded by dance artist/choreographer/producer, Liz Lea. The initiative provides professional mentoring and career pathways for emerging artists with and without disability.
Sunday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/buzzz-act-2/gungahlin/
Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/buzzz-act/majura-park/
Media enquiries: Liz Lea, director@thestellarcompany.com
Liz Lea is available for media interviews.
Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic? – Canberra
Step inside ‘A Race for the Antidote’ escape room; visit a parasite zoo packed with live and preserved specimens; identify and avoid parasitic infections through virtual reality; meet real-world parasitologists; and explore the fictional world of Manga characters with parasitic mutations.
‘Parasite Pandemic: Unlocking Science Through Immersive Experience’ starts in Canberra before moving to NSW South Coast. The program combines interactive science games and activities aimed at sparking interest in the study of parasites. It also aims to provide participants with insights into how scientists tackle global health challenges more broadly.
Saturday 9 August – Sunday 10 August: Multiple events.
Media enquiries: Lisa Jones, Lisa.Jones1@jcu.edu.au or secretary@parasite.org.au or 0405 620 747.
ANU scientists available for interview. Photo opportunities with the escape room (laboratory), parasite images and “live leeches” in the parasite zoo. Video footage of leeches available.
Star Trek fan drives ‘positive space films’ festival – Canberra
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.”
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/space-science-themed-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.
Kids play with inflatable, edible fruit & veg – Chifley
Show-and-tell takes a deliciously twisted turn with Dr Chloe Lim. The former reality TV star and trained molecular biologist (with a PhD in Medical Science) introduces preschoolers and primary school kids to healthy eating via balloon twisting and tasting stations.
Chloe founded edutainment venture, Twistyfic, and made the finals of Channel 7’s TV show, Blow Up.
From Saturday 6 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-twisty-science-show-science-storytelling-with-a-twist-7/chifley/
Media enquiries: Chloe Lim, chloe@twistyfic.com or 0401 118 648.
Computer programmers aged 55+ wanted. No experience required – Greenway
Senior Australians will have the opportunity to learn computer programming at workshops tailored for people who aren’t digital natives.
Billed as more fun than Sudoku or crosswords, Creative Computing for Seniors focuses on keeping brains active by learning how to write and run programs via a block-based coding platform called Scratch.
The free workshop at Canberra Institute of Technology Tuggeranong offers an introduction to the platform that empowers students to create games, animations, stories, interactive art, and more – simply by moving graphical blocks much like a puzzle.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/creative-computing-for-seniors-workshop-using-scratch-9/greenway
Saturday 16 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/creative-computing-for-seniors-workshop-using-scratch-8/greenway
Media enquiries: Thomas McCoy, mobilemccoy@gmail.com or 0402 050 852.
Thomas McCoy, a CIT teacher who developed the Creative Computing for Seniors workshop, is available for media interviews.
Snakes, robots, rockets and more while you shop – multiple locations, ACT
Pop-up activity centres will give shoppers the chance to discover the science behind reptiles, engineering, water bugs, space, robotics and the environment.
Westfield Belconnen, Westfield Woden, South Point Tuggeranong, Cooleman Court, Gungahlin Marketplace, Majura Park Shopping Centre and the Canberra Centre will host a variety of displays and hands-on science activities during the weekends of National Science Week (9 – 10 and 16 – 17 August).
Media enquiries: Jillian Matthews, actscienceweek@gmail.com or 0478 333 883.
Rainbow roses for people with disability – Farrer
People with disabilities are making rainbow roses to learn about the explosive strength of capillary pressure. The wider community in Canberra are invited to do the same.
Gayana, a 26-year-old woman with Down syndrome who opened her own flower shop, is co-presenting these workshops which are accessible to people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities.
Monday 11 – Friday 15 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/rainbow-roses-science-and-disabilty-empowerment/farrer
Media enquiries: Dr Vanessa de Kauwe, Science Alliance, drv.science.pirates@gmail.com or 0416 040 511.
What is Australia’s most underrated animal? – online
Do weird and wonderful Aussie creatures get the attention they deserve? For Science Week 2025, ABC Science wants Australians to cast their vote for Australia’s most underrated animal.
“Not the usual cuddly crowd-pleasers, but the ugly, the annoying and the lesser-known critters, who are often over-looked, under-conserved and… underrated,” says ABC Science producer Kylie Andrews, who leads the broadcaster’s Science Week project.
Australia’s underrated animals activities take place across social media platforms, ABC news digital and Radio National.
Friday 1 August – Friday 14 August: Updates and information on how to vote will be posted to www.abc.net.au/underrated-animals