Dozens of Science Week stories around Western Australia
- Space music with NASA astrophysicist and orchestra
- When will the Milky Way crash into Andromeda?
- Crochet: where maths meets craft, with cocktails
- 3D-printed hearts, gravity waves, and selfies with atoms
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
National Science Week in Western Australia is coordinated by Inspiring Western Australia. Visit their website: inspiringwa.org.au.
National Science Week in Western Australia: highlights
Space music with NASA astrophysicist and orchestra in Perth – Kwinana
Dr Antony Brian – an astrophysicist, planetary geologist and Venusian volcanologist (who mapped the surface of Venus for NASA) – is on a mission to launch Baroque concertgoers into deep space.
In ‘Space Music’, he joins forces with Perth-based orchestra Australian Baroque providing accompaniment in the form of striking NASA images.
The multi-sensory experience takes place at Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana.
Saturday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/space-music-presented-by-australian-baroque/waikiki/
Media enquiries: Brad Coleman, brad@australianbaroque.com or 0403 539 529.
Dr Antony Brian is available for media interviews.
When will the Milky Way crash into Andromeda? – Yalgoo, Cue and Mount Magnet
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.
Media enquiries: Charlene D’Monte, charlene.dmonte@uwa.edu.au or 0468 579 311.
Crochet: where maths meets craft, with cocktails – Joondalup
Create your own hyperbolic geometry shape with yarn at Birra Bar at Edith Cowan University and learn the pattern from ECU mathematician Dr Julia Collins, while sipping on a specialty cocktail.
Julia is co-founder of Maths Craft Australia and has a PhD in 4-dimensional knot theory from the University of Edinburgh. She shares the maths that underpins crochet in a workshop-cocktail party.
You will need to have mastered the basic crochet stitch to take part in this workshop. It is not for absolute beginners, and you can BYO yarn and hooks if you like.
Friday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/crochet-and-cocktails-2/joondalup/
Media enquiries: Cass Rowles, c.rowles@ecu.edu.au or 08 6304 2467.
Julia Collins is available for media interviews.
3D-printed hearts, gravity waves, and selfies with atoms – Crawley
Perth’s Forrest Research Foundation opens its doors to the public, in collaboration with Scitech Discovery Centre, at Forrest Hall (UWA campus, Crawley).
Visitors can witness the Universe being born or journey inside molecules at a virtual reality station; take photos with atoms or against the backdrop of distant galaxies (thanks to greenscreen technology); see how gravity waves work; build chemical models; and check out 3D-printed hearts.
The Forrest Research Foundation drives research and innovation capacity in Western Australia by supporting over 60 PhD scholars, postdoctoral fellows and their families from around the world to conduct research at one of the state’s five universities.
Saturday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/national-science-week-showcase-at-the-forrest-research-foundation/crawley/
Media enquiries: Connor Bottrell, connor.bottrell@uwa.edu.au or 0434 088 162.
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