Dozens of Science Week stories around Tasmania
- Science of better sex, death over drinks, and anything glows
- Antarctica is melting. Why should we care?
- ‘CallTrackers’ wanted to record proof of life of nocturnal wildlife
- Space weather, stargazing and the world’s cleanest air
- Chocolate’s sweet science
- Aurora-chasers capture the rarely-seen ‘STEVE’ and other phenomena
- Is laughter the best medicine?
- Creating black holes, hunting bad bugs and more: young scientists on tour
- Experimenting with beer
- How Tassie’s wild weather affects land, lifestyles and livelihoods
- Tracking cats, robot cars, drones, fossils, and other bright ideas
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
National Science Week in Tasmania is coordinated by Inspiring Tasmania. Visit their website: inspiringtas.org.au.
National Science Week in Tasmania: highlights
Science of better sex, death over drinks, and anything glows – Hobart
Beaker Street Festival is back. Pull up a seat where microscopes sit on bar tables, scientists take centre stage and boundary-pushing conversations – from death to pleasure – could change the world.
Centred around Hobart’s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and nearby venues, the week-long festival features talks and workshops; interactive science/art installations; photography exhibitions; live music and performance; and Tassie food and drink.
Festival Founder/Creative Director Dr Margo Adler says: “This year, we’re reclaiming the parts of ourselves that feel most at risk of being lost in this age of distraction — our wonder, our pleasure, our attention spans, our connection to nature and to each other.”
Highlights include:
- Come Again? An Evening of Sex and Science: sultry scientists and pleasure experts provide insights into the science of better sex, complete with ‘a giant clitoris puppet and peer-reviewed innuendo’.
- No One’s Getting Out of Here Alive: a surprisingly uplifting evening with some of Australia’s most buoyant death and dying experts, Tasmanian Aboriginal knowledge holders, and a few special guests.
- Human Love Quest: Your chemical romance! Live onstage dating show, straight outta Melbourne (and the ‘70s), makes its Hobart debut.
- Beyond the Stars: Seeing the Sky Through Aboriginal Eyes: astrophysicist and Wiradjuri woman Dr Kirsten Banks unpacks Western and Aboriginal constellations to reveal the profound knowledge embedded in the night sky.
- What’s Your P(DOOM): Comedian/actor/broadcaster Michael Hing investigates the probability of AI Doom.
- Slime Mould Forest Walk with slime mould expert Sarah Lloyd.
- Taste of Country – ningina palawa kipli piyura kitina-ta: an immersive bush tucker experience led by Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal) guide Kitana Mansell.
- Anything Glows: nocturnal walk through Hobart’s glowing wildlife using UV torches.
- Seismic Dance Party: real glacial data is converted into a full-body audio visual rave, complete with haptic suits that let both deaf and hearing audiences feel Antarctica’s tectonic pulse.
Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, matt@originalspin.com.au or 0401 326 007.
Antarctica is melting. Why should we care? – Sandy Bay and online
Ask scientists who spent three months aboard Australia’s RSV Nuyina icebreaker investigating the rapidly melting Denman Glacier and knock-ons to sea level rise and biodiversity.
‘Voyage to Antarctica’s Floodgates’ brings together leading experts investigating impacts of climate change on the icy continent:
- Chemical oceanographer Professor Delphine Lannuzel (University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies), who studies the chemistry of sea ice and how it affects the surrounding ocean environment.
- Evolutionary molecular biologist Professor Jan Strugnell (James Cook University), who investigates how Antarctic and deep-sea creatures have adapted and evolved over time, especially in response to changes in Earth’s climate and geography.
- Geneticist and environment DNA analyst Dr Leonie Suter (Australian Antarctic Division), who uses DNA found in water samples, from the ocean surface to the seafloor, to identify and monitor the biodiversity of marine life in Antarctica.
- Physical oceanographer Dr Laura Herraiz-Borreguero (CSIRO Environment), who studies the interaction of the warming ocean with Antarctic ice shelves.
The event is in-person and livestreamed.
Wednesday 23 July. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/voyage-to-antarcticas-floodgates/sandy-bay/
Media enquiries: Sera Golden, sera.golden@utas.edu.au or (03) 6226 6201 and Mark Horstman, mark.horstman@utas.edu.au.
Aurora-chasers capture the rarely-seen ‘STEVE’ and other phenomena in Tassie – Hobart
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.
Exhibition organiser, Luke Tscharke, is a professional nightscape photographer and David Malin Astrophotography Award winner. He is available for interview and can talk about aurora photography, art-science intersection, and Tasmania’s geographic advantages.
Is laughter the best medicine? – Sandy Bay
In times of growing social isolation and health challenges, could laughter offer unexpected health benefits? Ask neuroscientists, industry experts, researchers and a Tassie comedy legend how humour might support well-being and strengthen connections.
The experts:
- Associate Professor Alison Canty, neuroscientist, Wicking Dementia Research Education Centre, University of Tasmania
- Dr Daryl Peebles, writer, performer and ‘grandfather of Tasmanian comedy’
- Dr David Bakker, Clinical Psychologist, Archer Street Health and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Tasmania
- Dannielle Jackson, project manager, drama therapist, counsellor, and performance artist, Terrapin Puppet Theatre
- Hosted by Dr Larissa Bartlett, mindfulness teacher and The Mind Games Research Fellow (Mental Health), Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
Wednesday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/sandy-bay/
Media enquiries: Belinda Brock, Utas.Events@utas.edu.au or 03 6226 2521. Speakers are available for media interviews.
Creating black holes, hunting bad bugs, and tracking tabby cats: young scientists tour Tasmania – multiple locations
These are just some of the research topics of last year’s Young Tassie Scientists, a group of 40 early-career researchers who volunteer their time to share their passion for science with audiences across Tasmania. New recruits are trained each year.
What will they share next?
Students and the wider public will get the opportunity to meet these bright young scientists as they travel around Tasmania, talking at schools and public events, with a focus on reaching regional, rural and island communities state-wide. They highlight local science and career opportunities through engaging presentations and activities.
Media enquiries: Rhiannon Terry, science.outreach@utas.edu.au or 03 6226 2951.
How Tassie’s wild weather affects land, lifestyles and livelihoods – Sandy Bay
Tassie’s wild weather includes everything from gale-force winds to storms and floods to heatwaves. And weather patterns are changing.
But what’s behind these wild swings? How rare is a so-called 1-in-100-year storm? And what happens when the patterns we’ve relied on start to shift?
Meet experts in meteorology, climate science and agriculture to explore what drives Tasmania’s most extreme weather events and what they mean for our land, livelihoods and future.
The experts:
- Dr Paul Fox-Hughes is a research meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology in Tasmania, specialising in high-impact weather events such as severe storms and heavy rainfall.
- Dr Annette Stellema is a climate scientist and research engineer at CSIRO in Hobart. Her expertise includes analysing climate extremes and developing models to assess the frequency and impact of extreme weather events, contributing to a better understanding of climate risks.
- Dr Steve Curnin is an Associate Professor at the University of Tasmania where he is co-director of the Disaster Resilience Research Group. His research explores strategic decision making and foresight in the context of disasters.
- Hosted by Corey Peterson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Tasmania.
Tuesday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/tassies-wild-weather-up-close/sandy-bay/
Media enquiries: Belinda Brock, Utas.Events@utas.edu.au or 03 6226 2521.
Speakers are available for media interviews.
Tassie’s a ‘Hive’ of science activity – Ulverstone and Tasmania’s North West
How does space weather impact spacecraft, satellites or our view of the Southern Lights, aka Aurora Australis? What do scientists find when monitoring some of the world’s cleanest air at Cape Grim?
Find out during Hive Tasmania’s program of events – ‘National Science Week 2025 at Hive: Decoding the Universe from NW Tassie’ – including guided stargazing, rapid science sessions for schools, public talks, pub trivia nights, planetarium shows, and a dark skies citizen science project to measure light pollution.
Media enquiries: Alan Nicholas, alan.nicholas@centralcoast.tas.gov.au or 0401 231 883 and Martin George, martin.george@centralcoast.tas.gov.au or 03 6448 7102.
Tell us what you hear at night – online, Tasmania
Bookend Trust is recruiting citizen science ‘CallTrackers’ to record proof of life of noisy nocturnal wildlife, including ultrasonic chirps of nine bat species and booms of the rare and mysterious Australasian bittern.
Participants will use state-of-the-art sound recorders to capture wildlife calls, helping scientists and conservationists track changes in populations and habitats over time.
Online workshops will be held during Science Week providing information on how to book a survey spot, borrow and use recorders, upload recordings to the Acoustic Pipeline website, and make identifications. Trained ‘CallTrackers’ go into the field from September to March across Tasmania.
Monday 18 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/discover-calltrackers-online-2/
Media enquiries: Clare Hawkins, hello@naturetrackers.au or 0400 889 336.
Available for interview: Dr Clare Hawkins, a threatened species zoologist who established the NatureTrackers program of citizen science projects coordinated by the Bookend Trust, and astrophysicist-turned-wildlife acoustician Dr Jim Lovell, who is ‘CallTrackers’ Citizen Science Coordinator.
Experimenting with beer – Hobart
1 recipe. 5 beers.
Four Tasmanian brewers serve up an identical recipe for beer, resulting in vastly different sensory traits.
ExBEERimental Science showcases how small variations in brewing techniques impact our experience of downing a cold one.
Hear about the science and taste the difference with beer-loving scientists Kelsey Picard and Matthew Fielding.
Audience members can join the live event in Hobart at Shambles Brewery.
Friday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/exbeerimental-science-3/north-hobart/
Media enquiries: Matthew Fielding, beerablescience@gmail.com or 0417 167 618.
Chocolate’s sweet science – Latrobe
What do reflection, light and physics have to do with chocolate? Why do some chocolate bars develop white spots? Is chocolate actually bad for dogs?
Chocolate lover and food scientist Chloë Nelson answers these questions and more in a series of talks at Tasmania’s Chocolate Winterfest.
Chloë started her professional career working as a research scientist and did further studies in engineering. She also trained as a chocolatier at the world-renowned Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School.
Sunday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-science-of-sweet-creations-4/latrobe/
Media enquiries: Michelle Dutton, enquiries@chocolatewinterfest.com.au or (03) 6426 444.
Tracking cats, robot cars, drones, fossils, and more at Festival of Bright Ideas – Hobart
- Become a Nature Tracker for Tasmanian threatened species and learn about observational surveys and acoustic monitoring.
- Meet Young Tassie Scientists exploring topics from plants to planets, DNA and deep-sea creatures.
- Go fossil finding or see drones.
- Tap into 50,000 years of the Palawa traditional knowledge.
- ‘Drive’ a Sphero Indi, the cool little robotic car that reacts to colours.
- Come face-to-face with Tassie wildlife, both land and marine creatures.
- Play with mini solar-powered cars and boats.
- Meet the feline friends and ferals from Ten Lives Cat Shelter and find out how to reduce the impact of cats on the environment.
- Try the ‘Upside Down Goggle Challenge’.
- Connect with makers and tinkerers from Hobart Hackerspace.
These are just some of the speakers, activities and displays at the Festival of Bright Ideas, Tasmania’s largest public STEM event, at Princes Wharf 1 on Hobart’s waterfront.
Saturday 23 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/festival-of-bright-ideas-5/hobart/
Friday 22 August. Schools Day. Event details: www.festivalofbrightideas.com.au/schools/
Media enquiries: Belinda Brock, Belinda.Brock@utas.edu.au or 0438 616 747.
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