Palaeo-pop; parasite zoo; aurora dashboard; distress flare chemistry; and a VR portal to Torres Strait Islander culture
Highlights from day 1 of National Science Week
Researchers, experts, and other interesting talent available for interview around the country.
NATIONAL: Australia is big and full of wild things! CSIRO wants volunteers to find and photograph our flora and fauna.
TAS: Why Tasmania is the best place on Earth to see the Southern Lights at the opening of a Hobart exhibition featuring photos, timelapse and a ‘live aurora dashboard’.
NSW: VR portal to Torres Strait Islander culture, Aboriginal astronomy, cultural use of seaweeds, science of sound, and more at Indigenous Science Experience in Redfern.
ACT: Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic?
VIC: Meet the legally blind artist behind a multisensory exhibition exploring quantum science.
VIC: Are you at risk of thunderstorm asthma? Ask an asthma sufferer-turned-aerobiologist – Beechworth.
NT: Female fossil rockers bring a palaeo-music show to Alice Springs.
WA: When will the Milky Way crash into Andromeda? Ask an astrophysicist – Yalgoo today; Cue tomorrow.
ACT: “Star Trek saved my life”: positive space films festival founded by refugee brings a message of peace.
NSW: Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science for a geological cabaret in Dubbo.
NSW: Chemistry of distress flares and whale rescue: the science of saving lives in Port Macquarie.
QLD: Regenerative design and sustainability take root on Magnetic Island.
SA and online: Space farmers and cooks wanted! Sow astro seeds and test complex off-planet crop growing conditions to nourish astronauts on Mars and beyond.
Also today:
- ACT: Seeking computer programmers aged 55+ and Weekend shopping with snakes and robots
- NT: Discover how Central Australia provides insights into the history of life on Earth
- QLD: VR farming, AgBots and strawberry sundaes at the Ekka
- TAS: Explore the Universe through all the senses at Ulverstone Planetarium
Coming up tomorrow:
National Science Week 2025 runs from 9 to 17 August.
Visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
More about day 1 event highlights
Help wanted to find where our wild things are – national
Australia’s science agency is recruiting a citizen science army to help find and photograph species found nowhere else on Earth.
There are 15 million species in CSIRO’s collections. But with such a vast country, scientists need help finding where and how widely these species are spread.
‘CSIRO Wild Watch’ marks the first national science experiment aimed at supersizing research data in the Atlas of Living Australia.
The agency wants schools, families and community groups to sign-up, head outdoors and snap photos of flora and fauna. They’re particularly looking for sightings of shark and ray eggs, yellow/orange lichen, snails, wattle, and Australian flowering heaths (Epacris).
Australia is home to more than half a million species, with the majority (70%) found nowhere else in the world.
Saturday 9 August – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/csiro-wild-watch/
Available for interviews:
- Kate Maiden, CSIRO National Science Experiment lead
- Ruth Carr, CSIRO Director of Education and Outreach
- Other scientists
Interview footage of Kate Maiden, and video footage and photographs of young people completing the experiment are available for media use.
Sky Country, Indigenous Knowledge and VR – Redfern, NSW
How can virtual reality games open a portal to Torres Strait Islander culture?
What does Aboriginal astronomy tell us about the night sky?
And how do Indigenous knowledge systems help us understand physics, healthcare and environmental sustainability?
‘Indigenous Science Experience’ at Redfern Community Centre celebrates Indigenous knowledge systems and their impact on safeguarding natural resources, sustainable living and innovation. Activities also explore the science of sound, weaving, bush foods, cultural uses of seaweeds, and movement science incorporating Aboriginal dance.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/indigenous-science-experience-at-redfern-5/redfern/
Indigenous student leaders, First Nations activity providers, and event organiser Joanne Jamie (non-Indigenous) are available for media interviews.
Legally blind artist and musician collaborate in multisensory science exhibition to celebrate Quantum Year – Melbourne, VIC
‘A Different Light: Multisensory Science Books of X-Ray Crystallography’ touring exhibition builds on the work of the Monash Sensory Science initiative and will be delivered through partnerships with Vision Australia (VIC), Next Sense (NSW), Braille House (QLD) and other key educational organisations.
Designed by legally blind artist Dr Erica Tandori, from Monash University’s Rossjohn Laboratory, and designer/musician Dr Stu Favilla, from Swinburne University of Technology, it explores hidden atomic structures and protein formations revealed through X-ray crystallography in a series of 10 multisensory science books.
Showcasing accessible and inclusive science during Quantum Year, the exhibition enables blind, low vision and diverse needs audiences to connect with cutting-edge Australian science and scientists (past and present) – including Nobel Prize winners Henry and Lawrence Bragg, the Australian father-and-son duo who pioneered X-ray crystallography.
It also features interactive mock-ups of the Braggs’ X-ray crystallography machines from the early 20th Century, image and data sonification, science inspired electronic music, and tactile artworks and graphics that represent atomic structures, diffraction patters and protein formations.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/a-different-light-rsv/melbourne/
Dr Erica Tandori and Dr Stu Favilla are available for media interviews.
Can you save the world from a parasite pandemic? – Canberra, ACT
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
Lisa Jones is Executive Officer of the Australian Society for Parasitology. Interviews can also be organised with ANU scientists involved in this Science Week activity.
Photo opportunities with the Escape Room (laboratory), parasite images and “live leeches” in the Parasite Zoo. Video footage of leeches available.
Deadly pollen: are you at risk of thunderstorm asthma? – Beechworth, VIC
Thunderstorm asthma, a condition triggered by high levels of pollen during a storm, can cause severe asthma attacks, even in people who have never had asthma. People who get hay fever might be at risk.
Allergy sufferer, scientist and Superstar of STEM Dr Kira Hughes is bringing asthma education to regional Victoria – a place where high grass pollen levels make it vitally important.
While thunderstorm asthma events are rare, around 40 per cent of all worldwide events happened in Australia and have resulted in hospitalisations and even deaths.
Kira will share the science of thunderstorm asthma, why Australia is a hotspot, and the innovative solutions in development in a free presentation at Beechworth Library.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/thunderstorm-asthma/beechworth/
Kira Hughes is available for media interviews.
Female fossil rockers on tour – Alice Springs, NT
Aussie girl-geek band The Ammonites is taking a palaeo-musical show across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The trio – Danni, Morgan and Blair, who graduated from Dinosaur University – are the alter-egos of performers Bridget Tran, Kate Neville and Montana Vincent. With the help of renowned singing palaeontologist Professor Flint, their show explores Australia’s prehistoric past, while shining a light on challenges facing women in science and inspiring girls to follow their lead and dream big!
Professor Flint will also bring a ‘show and tell’ table of Australian fossils on tour. Plus, audiences will get the chance to dive into a 580 million-year-old inland sea, thanks to the University of South Australia’s 360 VR reconstruction of the ancient Ediacaran seafloor.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-ammonites-rock/alice-springs/
When will the Milky Way crash into Andromeda? – Yalgoo, WA
Astrophysicist Dr Ruby Wright will reveal the fate of our galaxy over dinner party conversation under the stars in Western Australia’s outback gold rush towns.
Guests can also join a guided tour of the Milky Way, the Moon, Mars, and deep space objects like the Jewel Box Cluster – all magnified with the help of International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) telescopes.
Yalgoo: Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/mid-west-star-trails-yalgoo-telescope-night/yalgoo/
Cue: Sunday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/mid-west-star-trails-cue-telescope-night-dinner-under-the-stars/cue/
Aurora-chasers capture ‘STEVE’ and other phenomena – Hobart, TAS
Find out:
- what causes mesmerising aurora displays like arcs, rays, curtains and a rare phenomenon called STEVE
- why Tasmania is the best place in the world to see the Southern Lights (aka Aurora Australis).
See how space weather, solar activity and particles from the Sun create epic displays when they hit Earth’s atmosphere in the ‘Southern Nights’ exhibition at Salamanca Arts Centre.
Timed during the 2025 solar maximum (11-year peak of Sun’s activity) the exhibition brings together award-winning photography, timelapse footage and a ‘live aurora dashboard’ providing real-time space weather data.
Saturday 9 August – Monday 18 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/southern-nights-the-science-beauty-of-aurora-australis/hobart/
Star Trek fan drives ‘positive space films’ festival – 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.”
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/space-science-themed-film-festival/canberra/
Science behind saving lives at sea – Port Macquarie, NSW
Rescue a model whale, compete in knot-tying, goggle at underwater drones and learn how waves, wind and currents impact marine rescue operations. From the chemistry of distress flares to physics of personal floatation devices, survival at sea is anchored to advances in science.
Volunteer Marine Rescue NSW invites the public to discover the underlying scientific principles that make search and rescue operations possible.
Meet marine rescue volunteers, master mariners, an ex-Navy clearance diver, remote sensing experts, and marine and earth systems scientists at this family-friendly event, complete with competitions and prizes. Alison Cameron-Brown, a master level mariner, will also discuss the role of women in the marine industry.
Saturday 9 August & Saturday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-science-of-behind-saving-lives-at-sea/port-macquarie/
Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Dubbo, NSW
Canberra-based researcher Dr Karina Judd returns to her hometown Dubbo for a smart, sexy, adults-only exploration of geological and earth sciences.
By day, Dr Judd researches science-engineering-social science collaboration for sustainable futures at the Australian National University.
By night, she moonlights as ‘Roxie’ in her one-woman cabaret Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret.
What to expect? Cocktail hour geology with sultry songs, smouldering dance, sharp wit and a shimmer of burlesque. No safety glasses required.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/rock-hard-the-geological-cabaret/dubbo
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.
Sustainability beyond recycling and composting – Magnetic Island, QLD
Discover meaningful and practical ways to better safeguard our planet through a series of workshops and tours on regenerative design, First Nations knowledge systems, the circular economy and biodiversity conservation.
‘Nature’s Blueprint: Science, Regenerative Design, and Sustainability’ is organised by GRaB (Grow Recycle & Build) Eco Park.
Activities include turning waste into construction materials (glass into sand and plastic into sheets), crafting products from organic waste (coffee ground tiles), creating natural dyes from plant-based materials, Indigenous land management (cultural and ecological importance of cool burning and medicinal plant use) and learning about native island plants.
Saturday 9 August – Monday 11 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/natures-blueprint/nelly-bay/
Space farmers wanted – national online
It’s Day 530 on the moon base and you’re eating packaged slop again… until a delivery of nutrient-enhanced microgreens arrives from Earth.
Your mission is to sustainably grow and harvest edible plants in an extreme environment. But first you need to learn the basics of plant biology, food chemistry and farming approaches that minimise water, energy and resource use.
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, headquartered in Adelaide, is supersizing its mission to develop out-of-this-world future foods by enlisting public participation in ‘Grow 4 Launch’ experiments.
Participants will receive a microgreens kit complete with seeds, hydroponics gear and test tools, alongside guidance on how to alter plant sensory traits (colour, taste, smell and texture) and investigate conditions that help sustainable growth.
The project also invites participants to submit recipes, results and ideas for a Spacefood Cookbook which will also feature contributions from astronauts, nutritionists and chefs.
Online from 9 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/grow-4-launch-grow-test-imagine-the-future-of-food-in-space/
Plants for Space researchers available for interview in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.
First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 3 million people participated in more than 2,000 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2025 it runs from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
