Dozens of Science Week stories around New South Wales
- Fire weather, a year-round reality
- Sky Country, Indigenous Knowledge and VR
- An icy ocean expert and the navy’s weather forecaster talk climate and careers
- Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science
- What happens if you find a dinosaur bone in your back yard?
- Giant puppet insects take centre stage
- Follow food from lips to lavatory in the giant inflatable Poo Palace
- What does DNA sound like?
- Science in the Swamp
- The art of endangered birds and environmental activism
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
National Science Week in New South Wales is coordinated by Inspiring NSW. Visit their website: inspiringnsw.org.au.
National Science Week in NSW: highlights
Fire weather, a year-round reality – Kensington
‘Bushfire season’ is now a year-round reality – and not just in Australia.
In the aftermath of the hottest decade on record, Australia’s extreme bushfire behaviour expert and mathematical scientist Professor Jason Sharples (UNSW Canberra) unpacks the future in conversation with John Vaillant, award-winning Canadian author of Fire Weather.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/john-vaillant-fire-weather/kensington
Media enquiries: Alison Sobel, allison.sobel@unsw.edu.au or 0404 902 729 and Ione Davis, ione.davis@unsw.edu.au.
Sky Country, Indigenous Knowledge and VR – Redfern
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/
Media enquiries: Joanne Jamie, joanne.jamie@mq.edu.au, 0439 170 683.
Indigenous student leaders, First Nations activity providers, and event organiser Joanne Jamie (non-Indigenous) are available for media interviews. View video from 2024 event.
An icy ocean expert and the navy’s weather forecaster talk climate and careers – Sydney
High school students are set to take a deep dive into climate science, meteorology and oceanography at the Australian National Maritime Museum. They will meet:
- Swimmer, surfer and Australia’s leading ocean modeller, Matthew England, who first captured Antarctic water-masses in global climate models. The UNSW Scientia Professor received the Pavel S. Molchanov Climate Communications Prize.
- Royal Australian NavyMeteorology and Oceanography Officer, Lieutenant Holly Boubouras, who spent a stint working in Antarctica.
Students will explore the museum, including its science exhibitions and a Navy Destroyer.
Friday 15 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/decoding-the-ocean/darling-harbour/
Media enquiries: Alex Gonzalex, alex.gonzalez@sea.museum / media@sea.museum or 0401 545 778.
Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Dubbo
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
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: cpas.anu.edu.au/people/karina-judd.
What happens if you find a dinosaur bone in your back yard? – Ryde
Find out what to do if you dig up a fossil or First Nations artefact from palaeontologist and archaeologist Sally Hurst, who launched ‘Found a Fossil Project’.
She talks about life as a female fossil hunter and invites audience questions when Ryde Library hosts ‘Dinosaurs after Dark’.
Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/dinosaurs-after-dark-with-palaeontologist-sally-hurst-ryde-library/ryde/
Media enquiries: Sally Hurst, sally.hurst@mq.edu.au or 0400 906 823.
Sally Hurst is available for media interviews. The event forms part of the ‘Digging up Ryde’ series, also featuring Jurassic VR experiences, fun fossil digs, volcanoes, and encounters with live lizards, frogs and crocodiles.
Giant puppet insects take centre stage – Penrith
Giant but friendly creepy crawlies become heroes in Beetle, inviting kids to discover Australian bush habitats through puppetry, circus, physical theatre and animation.
The show by Sydney-based theatre company, Legs On The Wall, tells an enchanting story of sustainability via a child’s quest to find the now elusive Christmas Beetle.
Friday 8 August – Saturday 9 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/beetle-by-legs-on-the-wall/penrith/
Media enquiries: Fleur Wells, fleur.wells@penrith.city or 0415 348 528.
Step inside the Poo Palace – Newcastle
Experience the journey that food goes on, and ask the experts about digestion, farts and faeces, gut health and good bacteria.
The Poo Palace is a giant inflatable re-creation of the digestive system where children take a sensory adventure through the gastrointestinal tract, from lips to lavatory.
It is made up of 4 modules that mimic the journey food takes along the digestive tract (mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine).
Children learn firsthand how food moves through the body, and through live experiments with researchers from the Hunter Medical Research Institute.
Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/hunter-science-festival-3/newcastle/
Media enquiries: El Fitchett, El.Fitchett@hmri.org.au or (02) 4042 0827.
What does DNA sound like? – Sydney
Join 80s pop drummer-turned-molecular biology scientist, Dr Mark Temple, for a live performance at the Opera House.
The Hummingbirds ex-drummer, now based at Western Sydney University, shares a novel perspective on genetic information, including music created from eucalyptus and myrtle rust DNA.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/synthetic-compositions-music-made-from-artificial-dna-sequences/sydney
Media enquiries: Dr Mark Temple, m.temple@westernsydney.edu.au or 0412 600 712.
Dr Temple is available for media interviews. Before completing his PhD in molecular biology, he was a professional musician/drummer in Australian indie-rock group, The Hummingbirds. In 2020, he created Coronacode Music. The composition substitutes regions of the coronavirus genome with computer-generated musical notes. And, in 2017, he published a study in BMC Bioinformatics on how audio can be used to distinguish a gene sequence from repetitive DNA: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12859-017-1632-x
Live visuals of DNA sequences will be projected in sync with the music.
Science in the swamp: superpowers of nature – Centennial Park
Explore plankton’s critical role in conservation, ID a frog, learn how Indigenous knowledge systems harness nature’s superpowers, use solar scopes to observe the sun, or wander the wetlands.
‘Science in the Swamp’ also features Ginger the life-sized Australovenator dinosaur, a spider show, explosive experiments, slime station, optical illusions, a scavenger hunt and more.
The free family event is a partnership between Centennial Parklands and a series of science exhibition providers. The 2025 theme explores extraordinary adaptations of plants, animals and ecosystems – revealing how ‘superpowers of nature’ sustain life on Earth.
Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-the-swamp-2025/centennial-park
Media enquiries: media@gsp.nsw.gov.au
The art of endangered birds & environmental activism – Wyangala and Cowra
Exploring endangered birds through drawing, collage and wet collodion photography will be one of the highlights of a series of workshops, talks and exhibitions focused on environmentalism during ERTHWRX25.
The multi-day event celebrates 10 years of science, arts and cultural programming across Central West NSW, and also features Wiradjuri night sky stories with cultural knowlede holder Doug Sutherland.
The initiative is orgnised by the CORRIDOR project (a not-for-profit multidisciplinary arts and cultural organisation) and Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub, bringing together community, scientists, cultural knowledge holders, artists, architects, ecologists, and academics.
Key topics include:
- Biodiversity conservation and regenerative farming
- Cultural museum collections and First Nations astronomy
- Global wildlife disease and planetary systems
- Soil health, mycology and earth sciences
- Circular economies, water sustainability and renewable energy
Saturday 9 August & Sunday 10 August (The CORRIDOR Project, Wyangala)
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/erthwrx25/wyangala/
Saturday 16 August & Sunday 17 August (Micro Gallery Cowra)
Media enquiries: Phoebe Cowdery, phoebe@thecorridorproject.org or 0413 910 697.
The CORRIDOR project based near Cowra is a multidisciplinary arts organisation providing a platform for education and cultural pursuits to explore the science, technology and Indigenous knowledge of the Central West. The lead partner in the Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub, the CORRIDOR project presents a diverse program of art/science engagement experiences for the community.
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