These are some of over 2,500 stories and events that you’ll hear about during National Science Week from 15 to 23 August. Last year more than 3 million people participated.

We’ll be offering stories for every round including environment, food and wine, Indigenous, Arts, health, technology, farming, lifestyle, education, disability, entertainment, and business.

Science drives economic and social change – from safe and nutritious food to reducing cancer deaths; from smart phones to AI; from under Antarctica’s ice floes to distant planets. 

Talk to us now for long-lead story ideas, event listings, and great talent across multiple topics. And sign up for our media bulletins to stay in the know and plan your Science Week coverage.

Here is a taste of some of the events planned around the country.  

• A farm under the CBD: a look at the hidden hydroponic indoor farm growing food right under Barangaroo, next to the Harbour – Sydney.
• Discovering Canberra’s platypus and rakali: walks, talks, Traditional Knowledge, and a film focused on platypus and rakali living in the waterways around the nation’s capital.
• Virtual emergency room: how is AI and digital tech changing healthcare? online, via Melbourne.
• Artificial Intelligence: friend or foe? How will AI affect our creativity, ethics and decision-making? – Adelaide and regional SA.
• Brains and brawn: a virtual reality experience where the Toowoomba Clydesdales rugby players provide insights into sports psychology.
• Pilot paradise at Surfers Paradise: super-fast planes doing crazy tricks, flips, and stunts, and STEM education at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast.
• Striptease meets science: ‘Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret’ brings brainy burlesque to Canberra.
• Astro-art in jail: ‘Cosmic Breath’ will bring science and art to women in prisons, older people in palliative care, and mainstream audiences around Tasmania.
• Hot in the Red Centre: what does climate change mean for health in the Territories regional and remote communities? – Alice Springs.
• 60 years of medical research in a vintage caravan: what we’ve learnt from one of the world’s longest-running population health studies, based at Busselton, WA.
• Hundreds of schools will explore seeds in all their forms... from seeding pearls, to growing crystals and crops, under the theme ‘Seeds of Science: nurturing science for all’.

National Science Week is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.

Closer to the date, people can visit ScienceWeek.net.au to find events in their local area or online.

Follow National #ScienceWeek on social media:

Facebook: National Science Week

Instagram: @NationalScienceWeek

August is the month to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural, environmental and economic impact on society.

Media enquiries:

Science in Public are the national publicists for Science Week.

Talk to us now for long-lead story ideas, event listings, and great talent across multiple topics.

Call Tanya Ha – [email protected] or call 0404 083 863.

Visit the Media Centre for all media releases and images available for media use.

Sign up for our media bulletins to stay in the know and plan your Science Week coverage.

Talk to the coordinators in your state or territory for local themes and information.