Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people developed a number of practical ways to observe the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets to inform navigation, calendars, predict weather, and inform Law and social structure. This knowledge contains a significant scientific component, which is encoded in oral traditions and material culture. This talk will explore the many ways…

Australian’s Mesozoic Menagerie: Dinosaurs from the Age of Reptiles - a talk by Swinburne University’s Dr Stephen Poropat. To date, only twenty Australian dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era (251-66 million years ago) have been formally named on the basis of fossilised bones. This means that we have little idea of what these dinosaurs were like…

Come for a walk through Mount Waverley’s Valley Reserve, as part of a celebration of National Bird Week and the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. Ecologist Dr Joab Wilson will lead you through the indigenous habitat and draw your attention to the diversity of birds who work, nest and feed in the area. He will give…

What’s the connection between volcanoes, climate change and Frankenstein? And when will Victoria erupt? A talk by Monash University’s Dr James Driscoll. “It was a dark and stormy night...” in fact it was a hot and tropical April in 1815, prior to the terror that would engulf the inhabitants of Sumbawa, Indonesia. In this gothic tale…