Dozens of Science Week stories around Northern Territory
- How the birds got their colours
- Remote school students use baited underwater cameras to explore croc-filled billabongs
- Be a Top End biosecurity expert for the day
- TAFE course for kids to build and program weather stations
- Deep space and time exploration in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre
- Territorians’ ticket to the International Space Station
- Tuck into bush tucker at Jingili Water Gardens
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
National Science Week in the Northern Territory is coordinated by Inspired NT. Visit their website: inspirednt.net.
National Science Week in The Territory: highlights
How the birds got their colours – Darwin
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.
Female fossil rockers on tour – Alice Springs
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/
Media enquiries: Michael Mills, michael@heapsgood.com.au or 0411 287 381.
Schoolchildren explore croc-filled billabongs with baited underwater cameras – Ramingining
For the first time, school children from the Northern Territory’s remote Ramingining community will observe interactions between aquatic life in freshwater billabongs.
The ‘Fin-tastic’ initiative, led by the Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation, turns the tide on lesser-known ecosystems within Indigenous communities due to presence of Baru (crocodiles), making them off-limits for swimming.
Students will use baited remote underwater cameras to identify Guya (fish) and learn about species traits, movement and cultural significance.
Multiple sessions from Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/fin-tastic-science-solving-the-mysteries-of-the-underwater-world/winnellie/
Media enquiries: Darcy Roeger, ipa@asrac.org.au or 0474 012 062.
Darcy Roeger, from Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation, and Justin Gaykamangu, from Ramingining School, are available for media interviews.
Be a Top End biosecurity expert for the day – Katherine and Berrimah
School students will meet 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.
Kids build and code 3D-printed weather stations – Palmerston City
Weather obsessed kids (aged 8 to 15) will build and program their own weather stations in a two-hour TAFE course.
The project led by Charles Darwin University TAFE combines meteorology, environmental science and the Internet of Things. Participants will work with 3D-printed material and sensor modules, then learn how to write computer code that translates data into real-time forecasts based on humidity, temperature and air pressure.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/cdu-tafe-presents-building-your-own-weather-station/palmerston-city/
Media enquiries: media@cdu.edu.au or 0403 009 337.
Deep space and time exploration in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre – Alice Springs
Discover how Central Australia provides insights into the history of life on Earth.
Explore our abundance of fossil sites, from the precursors of multi-cellular life (which lived billions of years before dinosaurs) to the world’s largest bird.
See how Australia’s Red Centre has changed through deep time and learn about our more recent geological past by exploring the 12 craters created just 4,700 years ago by the Henbury Meteor!
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory hosts a series of events with experts including astrophysicist Dr Sara Webb; ecologist Dr Steve Morton; and the museum’s Dr Kirsti Abbott (Head of Science) and Dr Adam Yates (Senior Curator, Earth Sciences).
Plus, a palaeo-musical show by touring Aussie girl-geek band, The Ammonites.
Media enquiries: Alison Copley, Alison.Copley@magnt.net.au or 0438 111 343.
What’s the (bio) buzz? – Darwin
Tuck into bush tucker and learn about Indigenous plant and animal knowledge, purchase native plants from an array of 120+ species, and explore soil chemistry, pest management and the importance of habitat preservation.
‘Biodiversity Buzz: Top End Eco Science Fair’ brings together experts in environmental science, botany, zoology, microbiology, ecology and social sciences at Darwin’s Jingili Water Gardens.
The free, family-friendly event includes interpretative walks, tips on boosting biodiversity in your home garden, the science of plant classification, a guided children’s scavenger hunt, and native wildlife encounters from birds to bees, butterflies and bugs.
Bio Buzz aims to enhance community knowledge about Top End ecosystems and encourage locals to safeguard terrestrial, freshwater, marine and estuarine biodiversity.
Saturday 23 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/biodiversity-buzz-top-end-eco-science-fair/jingili/
Media enquiries: Emily Raso, manager@landcarent.org.au or 0476 516 631.
Territorians’ ticket to the International Space Station – Darwin
Young space enthusiasts can go on a spacewalk and witness how astronauts eat, sleep and work on the International Space Station thanks to a free VR experience at Charles Darwin University’s Radicle Centre.
Opened in March 2025, CDU Radicle Centre is the first and only science centre north of Brisbane. Its reach extends to mobile workshops and exhibits with a fully-equipped science vehicle to provide resources and activities to remote schools.
Saturday 16 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/vr-explorer/brinkin/
Media enquiries: Carla Eisemberg, Carla.Eisemberg@cdu.edu.au or 0401 737 884.
CDU Radicle Centre for Science and Technology Engagement Director Dr Carla Eisemberg is available for media interviews.
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