Dozens of Science Week stories around New South Wales
- Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; and what is a space environmentalist? – Sydney Science Festival goes off planet
- Saving turtles with a smartphone – Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee
- Meet a dinosaur (and others) at Lizard Log – Abbotsbury
- Meet your match and find love at the Love Lab – Sydney
- Family tree of Tassie devils - Sydney
- Whale snot, poop and other mysteries on the ‘Humpback Highway’ – North Ryde
- Sharks in Dubbo!
- Can environmental arts activism save the world? – Wyangala & Cowra
- Sleeping with cancer – Westmead
- Can you see the stars? Dark skies versus light pollution
More on these highlights below.
Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.
Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha – tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.
Visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
Media centre here. Images for media here.
Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; and what is a space environmentalist? – Sydney Science Festival goes off planet
- Building sustainable habitats beyond Earth, with Indian spaceship designer, entrepreneur, climate action advocate, and space diplomat Susmita Mohanty
- Celestial Emu: Gamilaroi astrophysicist Karlie Noon and Bangarra Dance Theatre dancer Daniel Mateo share Indigenous astronomy in a short film directed by Olivia Costa.
- Crowded skies: American space environmentalist Moriba Jah and artist Trevor Paglen reveal the unseen, crowded sky, from space junk to ‘invisible’ surveillance satellites.
- Creativity in space: Australia’s first female astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg in conversation with visiting Asian American artist and engineer Xin Liu.
Hear from compelling speakers on science’s hot topics. Sydney Science Festival is back with events in multiple locations around Sydney and online.
Saturday 10 – Saturday 17 August. Multiple dates and locations.
Many of the speakers and international visitors are available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Michelle Lollo, media@powerhouse.com.au or 0419 523 735.
Saving turtles with a smartphone – Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee
Help scientists save turtles and platypuses with smartphone apps, find out about chimps and orangutans, or build a bee or bug hotel. These are some of the things Sydney locals, visitors and an online audience will be invited to do as part of Sydney Zoo’s Science of Survival festival, located in Western Sydney.
Activities and workshops include wildlife friendly gardening workshops, virtual excursions for schools, protecting local turtles with First Nation knowledge and TurtleSAT-enabled citizen science, and a Discovery Trail to view endangered species including the green and golden bell frog, koalas, bilbies, potoroos, eastern quolls, orangutans, tigers, giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, African painted dogs, and lions. Signs and QR codes to short videos explain the importance of the species survival and the science involves.
Saturday 10 - Sunday 18 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-zoo-presents-science-week-the-science-of-survival/bungarribee
Media enquiries: media@sydneyzoo.com or 02 7202 2558
Find love at the Love Lab – Sydney
Move over, CupidGTP! Exit swipe right and join ‘The Love Lab’ – a scientific experiment that marries the ancient art of village matchmaking with speed dating, without skirting the tough questions on what really matters.
Like, sex, climate change, or wearing shoes inside the house.
“We’re not saying there’s a right answer but there is probably a scientifically correct answer,” say Love Lab copilots, aka Dr Naomi Koh Belic (she/her – a biracial, bisexual first-generation university graduate with a PhD in stem cell biology) and Shu Ezackial (they/them – a queer, mixed-race science communicator and engagement specialist).
The Love Lab is an inclusive, sex-positive experiment aimed at making science accessible, while helping people form meaningful connections.
Tuesday 13 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-love-lab/sydney
Dr Naomi and Shu are both available for interviews. Photographs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kLW6bEDHglVh3pPUhc7sXr-T4jvBpzq_?usp=sharing
Media enquiries: Dr Naomi Koh Belic, drnaomikohbelic@gmail.com or 0422 213 119.
Meet a dinosaur (and others) at Lizard Log – Abbotsbury
Say hello to Ginger the life-size dinosaur, touch the world’s biggest seed, make a survival shelter or visit the pop-up ocean lab.
Science in the Scrub returns to Lizard Log in Western Sydney Parklands packed with science, fun and discovery.
Engage in hands-on experiments, get up close with native animals and meet real life scientists including geologists, zoologists, physicists and marine biologists.
With over 30 stalls and exhibitors, live shows and food trucks.
Sunday 11 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-the-scrub-3/abbotsbury
Media enquiries: media@gsp.nsw.gov.au
Whale snot, poop and other mysteries on the ‘Humpback Highway’ – North Ryde
Each winter, Australia’s coastal waters transform into a bustling ‘humback highway’, when 40,000 whales migrate from the Antarctic to breed. But what else do they get up to?
Whale scientist, Dr Vanessa Pirotta, from Macquarie University – also the author of new book, Humpback Highway – explores ‘out of sight’ behaviors of these gentle giants in the Southern Ocean; the intriguing properties of whale snot; and importance of whale poop to marine ecosystems.
Wednesday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/humpback-highway-diving-into-the-mysterious-world-of-whales/north-ryde
Media enquiries: Kelly Sharpless, fse.outreach@mq.edu.au or 02 9850 2888.
Dr Vanessa Pirotta is available for media interviews.
Family tree of Tassie devils - Sydney
For most people, it’s fun to look at genetic data to understand a family tree, but for scientists, this data can be a critical tool to help conserve threatened species.
Discover how scientists use genetic data to help recover threatened species like the Tasmanian devil and bilby with Professor Carolyn Hogg.
Carolyn is the founder of the Threatened Species Initiative which collaborates with scientists, government, and ‘big tech’ to help scientists access valuable genomic data. Learn about her work and how genomic technology has become an essential tool to manage Australia’s threatened wildlife.
Wednesday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/biodiversity-bilbies-and-battling-extinction/sydney
Media enquiries: Events Office, Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, nswchiefscientist@chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au
Sharks in Dubbo, NSW
The stars of National Geographic’s Bull Shark Bandits, marine scientists, climate experts, and an astronomer equipped with telescopes are headed inland to Dubbo for ‘Science at Heart’ (S@H) to foster curiosity in this regional community.
A day of interactive sessions and talks will offer Dubbo residents the opportunity to hear about the science of oysters, mangroves, human choice (economics), and the physics of climate change, before seeing the stars through telescopes in an evening astronomy session. They bring marine science inland, and space science down to Earth.
Marine biologists Mariel Familiar López and Johan Gustafson, who featured in Nat Geo TV shows Bull Shark Bandits and SHARKFEST, will share their knowledge of frogs and sharks.
Saturday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-heart/dubbo
Media enquiries: Marian Vidal-Fernandez, m.vidal-fdez@sydney.edu.au or 0451 818 612.
Speakers are available for media interviews.
Can environmental arts activism save the world? – Wyangala & Cowra, NSW
What do our native trees have to say amidst climate change? ‘Eucalyptus Monolgues’ or the inner voices of our native trees – derived from the tree genome, field recordings and generative music from live trees – are amplified among a myriad of arts activations focused on environmentalism during ERTHWRX24.
The multi-day event by the CORRIDOR project (a not-for-profit multidisciplinary arts and cultural organisation) brings together community, scientists, cultural knowledge holders, architects, ecologists, traditional medicine, global explorers, and artists ‘to ideate, create, share and explore humanity’s entangled relationship with natural environments’.
Artists on the line-up include Angus Fisher, whose charcoal drawings capture the beauty of the Moon, impacting all life on Earth, created during a residency program at the CORRIDOR project, exploring night skies and drawing and recording the passing moon with an on-site telescope.
ERTHWRX24 involves 25 artists and 16 panellists.
Saturday 10 August & Sunday 11 August (The CORRIDOR Project, Wyangala)
Saturday 17 August & Sunday 18 August (Cowra Micro Gallery)
https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/erthwrx24-national-science-week-2024/wyangala/
Media enquiries: Phoebe Cowdery, phoebe@thecorridorproject.org or 0413 910 697
Sleeping with cancer - Westmead, NSW
Cancer patients have enough to deal with without sleep apnoea. Learn about the biology of how cancer impacts rest and how patients can improve their sleep quality with Associate Professor Kristina Kairaitis.
Kristina leads the Sleep & Cancer Group at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, the first group in Australia to investigate why disturbed sleep may be relevant in cancer.
Thursday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/westmead-institute-for-medical-research-science-week-2024/westmead
Media enquiries: Kylie Ironside, kylie.ironside@wimr.org.au or 0413 611 959.
Why can’t you see the stars? – online
What happened to the night sky? The Milky Way is no longer visible to an estimated third of humanity, including more than half of Australians, thanks to light pollution.
This August, the ABC is exploring the dark sky and the impact of light pollution on science, creatures, and culture. Light pollution in the night sky is a problem for astronomers and stargazers, it confuses the circadian rhythms of some creatures and misguides the navigation of others, impacts Sky Country and Indigenous cultural practices, and contributes to sleep deprivation in humans.
ABC Science will invite people to explore the dark sky, contribute to an Australian National University study of the Milky Way’s visibility, see solutions to light pollution, stargaze with Radio National and guest astronomers, and vote in their poll on ‘the most amazing thing you’ve seen in the night sky.’
Monday 31 July – Friday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/exploring-dark-skies-with-abc/ or www.abc.net.au/nightsky.
Media enquiries: Shelley Thomas, shelley@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0416 377 444.
Scientists available for media interviews.
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 2.7 million people participated in more than 1,860 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2024 it runs from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.