Highlights from day 5 of National Science Week
Researchers, experts, and other interesting talent available for interview around the country.
QLD: 3D-printed pills, skin patches and nanomedicine in a Brisbane lab.
NT: How the birds got their colours: Dreamtime through circus and dance in Darwin.
NATIONAL: Parenting lessons from quokkas, emus, rakali and more – livestreamed from the National Library of Australia in Canberra.
NT: Schoolchildren meet biosecurity experts on the pest control frontline in Katherine and Berrimah.
SA: First Nations artist weaves connections in traditional textiles workshop in Adelaide.
WA: Quantum year road trip stops in Crawley.
NT: How the birds got their colours: Dreamtime through circus and dance in Darwin.
WA: Indigenous elders, rangers and locals join school students in boat building challenge using recycled and found materials in Wyndham and across East Kimberley.
VIC: Minions do physics: researchers explore the science of Despicable Me 2 in Melbourne.
WA: Blast bacteria with beanbags and join other Kids Research Institute Australia experiments in Kalgoorlie.
NSW/National: Primary school kids join forces with the ocean’s ‘pollution detectives’ in a virtual excursion via Sydney’s Australian National Maritime Museum.
QLD: VR farming, AgBots and strawberry sundaes: celebrate Ekka’s People’s Day on a science trail at Brisbane’s Royal Queensland Show.
ACT: Rainbow roses: people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities discover explosive strength of capillary pressure in Farrer.
TAS: Why Tasmania is the best place on Earth to see the Southern Lights.
Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863; and Shelley Thomas, shelley@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0416 377 444.
Also today:
- ACT: A palaeontologist whose life’s work went up in flames and the physicist who helped pioneer radio astronomy: Canberra walking tour celebrates women who shaped Australian science
- NSW: Zoo poo, singing frogs, and elephants using infrasound at Sydney Zoo
Coming up tomorrow:
More about the event highlights
Pharmacies of the future – Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD
3D-printed pills. Nanomedicine. Personalised skin patches.
Step inside The University of Queensland’s pharmacy lab and meet the experts making future medicines:
- Dr Taskeen Janjua Khan, specialist in brain drug delivery.
- Dr Anjana Jayasree, specialist in local drug delivery (targeted administration of medication to a specific site in the body).
- Professor Amirali Popat, specialist in nano-formulation of drugs.
Visitors can tour the tableting room, create and taste juice-flavoured ‘medicine bubbles’ (to better understand microencapsulation techniques), and join panel discussions.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-your-hands/woolloongabba/
Media enquiries: communications@uq.edu.au or 0429 056 139.
Parenting lessons from quokkas, emus, rakali and more – national online
Is your dad better than the emu or your mum braver than a quokka or mouthier than the mouth almighty fish?
Award-winning children’s author Stephanie Owen Reeder has researched Australia’s most peculiar parents. She teams up with artist Ingrid Bartkowiak in a livestreamed session from the National Library of Australia aligned with the Australian Curriculum for Years 3-6 Science and English.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/peculiar-caring-and-creative/
Media enquiries: Karlee Baker, kbaker@nla.gov.au and marketing@nla.gov.au or 02 6262 1289.
Be a Top End biosecurity expert for the day – Katherine and Berrimah, NT
School students will meet the scientists on the frontline protecting Australia from exotic pests and diseases arriving from all directions, threatening agricultural and livestock industries.
The Northern Territory is a biosecurity buffer for the rest of Australia, and home to booming primary production industries from cattle to cotton, mangoes and honeybees. Below events are open to schools.
Wednesday 13 August – explore the Northern Territory Government’s Katherine Research Station. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-spectacle-and-ag-adventures-at-katherine-research-station/lansdowne/
Friday 15 August – confront mysterious pathogens and race to find the antidote in ‘Survivor: Northern Territory Biosecurity Quest – Zom-Bee Apocalypse’ at the Berrimah Farm Science Precinct. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/survivor-northern-territory-biosecurity-quest-zom-bee-apocalypse-2/berrimah/
Media enquiries: Anne Lobo, media.daf@nt.gov.au or 0447 131 167.
Weaving connections with traditional textiles – Adelaide, SA
First Nations artist Sonya Rankin will share Traditional Knowledge of textiles through a weaving workshop. Sonya will lead and assist participants in creating ‘random weave’ pieces, providing a tactile and immersive experience about making meaning through cultural objects. Sonya is a Ngarringdjeri, Ngadjuri, Narungga & Wirangu woman and founder of Lakun Mara, meaning ‘Weaving Hand’ in Ngarrindjeri language.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details. www.scienceweek.net.au/event/weaving-connections-forever-exhibition-tour-and-weaving-workshop/adelaide/
Media enquiries: Melissa Keogh, Melissa.keogh@unisa.edu.au or 0403 659 154.
Quantum Year goes off-road – touring Australia’s cities and regions
Meet dark matter hunters and quantum experts at events across Australia.
To celebrate Quantum Year, the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip will tour pubs and schools in regional and remote communities in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales – and run events in capital cities between 4 August and 17 August.
Communities will also get the chance to trial the Dark Matter Hunter computer game, play with 3D quark puzzles, a muon detector, gravity well, diamond earring-based magnetic field sensor, and quantum computing chips.
Dark matter accounts for 84 per cent of all the matter in the Universe, but we don’t yet know what it is. Australia is a key player in the quest to find out. Quantum technologies are crucial in the hunt for dark matter and they’re already used in smart phones and cars, medical imaging, manufacturing, and navigation. But today’s technologies capture only a small fraction of the potential of quantum physics.
Wednesday 13 August. Public talk at the University of Western Australia, Crawley: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/public-talk-the-university-of-western-australia/crawley/
How the birds got their colours – Darwin, NT
Dreamtime through circus and dance
Yugambeh Elder Luther Cora and Arc Circus tell the Dreamtime story of ‘How the Birds Got Their Colours’.
This Indigenous-led outdoor performance forms part of the Darwin Festival in partnership with the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Wednesday 13 August – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/how-the-birds-got-their-colours/the-gardens
Media enquiries: Alison Copley, Alison.Copley@magnt.net.au or 0438 111 343.
What floats your eco-boat? – Wyndham & East Kimberley, WA
That’s a pivotal question for students competing in a school boat building challenge across WA’s East Kimberley region, thanks to an initiative of Wyndham Youth Aboriginal Corporation. Students can only use recycled items and found materials from the local environment to build – and test – their innovative, eco-friendly vessels at Wyndham’s public swimming pool.
The East Kimberley School Boat Building Challenge, facilitated by Wyndham District High School and St Joseph’s School, is open to students from East Kimberley, including Wyndham, Balgo, Warnum, Glen Hill and Kalumburu. Indigenous Elders, rangers and locals with boating/fishing experience will assist students and share knowledge that weaves science, Country and culture together.
The challenge event will double as a family fun day, including a community BBQ and stalls hosted by competing schools.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/east-kimberley-school-boat-building-challenge-and-family-day/wyndham/
Media enquiries: Neville D’Silva, ceo@wyac.org.au or 0409 832 370.
Neville D’Silva, CEO of Wyndham Youth Aboriginal Corporation is available for media interviews. Some students and elders may also be available.
Great visuals during the day, including testing the boats. It is anticipated that traditional knowledge and “mend and make do” culture/innovation will shape the construction.
Minions meet physics: the science of Despicable Me 2 – Melbourne, VIC
Melbourne scientists are using Despicable Me 2 to explore the physics of everyday life.
They’re inviting the public to a special screening of the movie, followed by a Q&A with scientists from the RMIT Centre for Applied Quantum Technologies.
They explain principles like motion, energy and forces, illustrated by the Minions’ interactions with the world around them.
Wednesday 13 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-science-of-despicable-me-2/melbourne/
Media enquiries: news@rmit.edu.au or 0439 704 077.
Lessons from the ocean’s pollution detectives – online via Sydney, NSW
Primary school students are set to learn science lessons from ocean mentors through a series of online events organised by the Australian National Maritime Museum, including:
- Pollution Detectives from Seabin Foundation reveal some of the surprising rubbish (plastic pollution) choking our waterways and enlist the help of students to trace its source and brainstorm ways to combat the problem. Wednesday 13 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/be-a-shark-scientist-for-a-day-with-melissa-cristina-marquez-online-schools-event/
Media enquiries: Alex Gonzalex, alex.gonzalez@sea.museum / media@sea.museum or 0401 545 778.
Blast bacteria with beanbags at Kids STEM Festival Kalgoorlie – Kalgoorlie, WA
Kids can ‘kill’ bacteria with white blood cell beanbags, explore how sunscreen blocks UV rays and more at Kids STEM Festival Kalgoorlie.
This free, two-day event brings together local scientists and fun activities from Kids Research Institute Australia. It showcases accessible pathways to science and technology careers in the region and invites local schools to join a curriculum-based experiment and showcase results to the community.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/festival-of-stem-kalgoorlie/kalgoorlie/
Media enquiries: Serena Bearsley, Serena.Bearsley@thekids.org.au or 0425 571 158.
Touring medical research scientists available for media interviews. Images and video from last year’s event in Broome also available.
VR farming, AgBots, and strawberry sundaes – Royal Queensland Show, Brisbane, QLD
Discover them all at the Ekka. Gumboots optional.
Children of all ages can join the ‘Ekka Learning Trail’ – a self-guided tour that showcases Australian Curriculum linked educational activities grounded in AgScience topics.
Saturday 9 – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-royal-queensland-show-ekka/bowen-hills/
Media enquiries: Veronica Carew, vcarew@rna.org.au or 0408 323 631 and Kelly Hawke, khawke@rna.org.au or 0438 340 989.
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/
Media enquiries: Luke Tscharke, hello@southernnights.com.au and luke@luketscharke.com or 0422 171 453.
Rainbow roses for people with disability – Farrer, ACT
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, 0416 040 511.
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.