Fact or Fiction 3 - Big Science (Australian Synchrotron)
2018-07-29 08:00 - 17:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
Are you interested in where Big Science is taking us? Well, COME ON DOWN, it’s time to play Fact or Fiction 3 – Big Science.
The latest episode of the Fact or Fiction series takes a big look at big science – what are the world’s large-scale science projects, what might they deliver, and what you need to do to be involved.
As the audience, you can be a contestant using your phone as we take a deep dive into Big Science using popular game show formats like Millionaire Hot Seat, Family Feud, The Price is Right, and Have You Been Paying Attention.
It’s a must see in National Science Week so book now. It’s so big that you will be downloading facts for months to come.

SCINEMA International Science Film Festival National Science Week Program
2018-08-01 07:00 - 2018-08-31 22:30
SCINEMA is a celebration of the power of the moving image to inspire the young, satisfy the curious, explain the baffling and ask the impossible. Register your venue to host your own free SCINEMA screening during National Science Week.
SCINEMA is the largest science film festival in the southern hemisphere showcasing the best in science cinema from around the world. SCINEMA is a celebration of the power of the moving image to inspire the young, satisfy the curious, explain the baffling and ask the impossible.
Host your own Community Screening this August during National Science Week.
So whether it’s at your school, library, in your local pub or even in your lounge room; private or public event, you can host your own event. All you need is a screen, computer, access to the internet and an audience (popcorn optional).

Geoscience Australia - 80 Days of Earth Discovery
2018-08-01 09:00 - 2018-10-20 22:30 | Online, Australia
Geoscience Australia is celebrating 80 Days of Earth Discovery from 1 August – 20 October 2018. Join us in exploring geoscience in all its diversity, the crucial role it plays solving the challenges of our nation and the people who make it all happen.
Find out more about all the activities, including events we will be at, talks, tours, competitions and education resources.
Follow us on social media via #80DAYSEARTH

Future Martians Podcast
2018-08-01 18:00 - 2018-09-07 18:00
“Why aren’t we reaching for the stars?”
Mars One astronaut candidates Josh Richards and Dianne McGrath speak with fellow candidates from around the world about the Mars One project, their motivations for applying for this one-way mission to Mars, and what they are doing to become Future Martians. Future Martians is a 12-episode podcast series developed for National Science Week, with two episodes released each week throughout August.
To subscribe and follow the podcast series, go to Soundcloud.
Social media profiles for Josh and Dianne:
Josh Richards
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshrichardsspacepirate
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mighty_ginge
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mighty_ginge/
Website: http://joshrichards.space.
Dianne McGrath
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dianne.McGrath.Astronaut.Candidate/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/liteandportable
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damcgrath/
Website: https://www.diannemcgrath.com.au.
About Mars One
Mars One aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Before carefully selected and trained crews will depart to Mars, several unmanned missions will be completed, establishing a habitable settlement waiting for the first astronauts to arrive. Mars One consists of two entities: the not-for-profit Mars One Foundation and Mars One Ventures AG. The Mars One Foundation implements and manages the mission and owns the mission hardware. It also selects and trains the crews and is building an ever-growing community of experts and supporters that follow the progress of the mission and contribute to it.
Mars One Ventures holds the exclusive monetization rights around the Mars One mission. There are many revenue possibilities around the mission to Mars: merchandise, ads on video content, broadcasting rights, partnerships, Intellectual Property, events, games, apps, and many more. More information about Mars One.

The Laborastory
2018-08-01 19:00 - 22:00 | The Spotted Mallard, 314 Sydney Road, Brunswick, VIC, 3056, Australia
The Laborastory is a science storytelling event in Melbourne that comes to tell the stories of science – the heroes, the egos, the breakthroughs and the mistakes of genius. From forgotten history and lonely laboratories, science and scientists quite literally take centre stage.
On the first Wednesday of each month, The Laborastory brings together five scientists from different fields to tell the remarkable stories of the heroes of their field. Each story is just ten short minutes. They tell the tales of the tragedies and triumphs of the men and women who made science their passion, and left legacies of groundbreaking discoveries that inspire the scientists of today.

Little Bang! Pre-School Science Club
2018-08-02 14:00 - 15:00 | Bargoonga Nganjin North Fitzroy Library, 182/186 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North, VIC, 3068, Australia
This fantastic four week science program will give you and your child the chance to conduct experiments, have fun and learn about simple scientific inquiry methods. For pre-schoolers aged 3-5 and their carers’.
Thursdays 2, 9, 16 & 23 August.
Participants must be able to attend all four of the sessions. It is only necessary to book once for the entire program.
Bookings essential.

Australia's Dinosaurs at Wheelers Hill Libary
2018-08-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Wheelers Hill Library, 860 Ferntree Gully Road, Wheelers Hill, Victoria, 3150, Australia
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 throughout much of their existence.
Come and hear Dr Stephen Poropat from Swinburne University talk about his recent research on fossils including his work on digs in the Winton Area. This year’s excavations were some of the most successful to date!

PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT THROUGH THE LIBRARY’S ONLINE REGISTRATION. Please click here:
https://www.monlib.vic.gov.au/Events/Event-Listing/Australias-Dinosaurs

VITAMANIA: Melbourne Premiere with Dr Derek Muller live on stage
2018-08-03 18:30 - 21:30 | Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Convention Centre Place, Melbourne, VIC, 3006, Australia
Join Genepool Productions to see Dr Derek Muller on stage with Sonya Pemberton for the Australian Premiere of VITAMANIA: THE SENSE AND NONSENSE OF VITAMINS for an exclusive live screening in Melbourne.
This year the world will spend over $100 billion on vitamins and supplements. Every week, a new benefit is claimed. When we look to scientists for answers and they disagree, how do we decide whether to take them, or not? How do we separate the sense from the nonsense?
This August Think Inc. brings to the stage widely popular science communicator, Dr Derek Muller, together with Emmy Award winning filmmaker, Sonya Pemberton, to help answer all these confusing questions with an epic Australian theatrical premiere of their latest film, Vitamania. Vitamania daringly explores the lucrative industry in a world spanning investigation of vitamin science and history, and what they discover will confound opinions on all sides.
All ticket buyers will have the chance to hear from Derek and Sonya as they discuss their journey and stories, then the audience will get to ask their knotty questions in a 30 minute Q&A after the screening and a special Meet & Greet opportunity for valid ticket holders hungry for more.

Talking About Science
2018-08-06 09:00 - 17:00 | Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The course will teach the essential skills and strategies needed to present scientific research to a wide range of audiences.
The one-day workshop starts at 9am each day and concludes at 5pm.
​Among other things, the course will cover fundamental principles of giving speeches, conference presentations and Ted talks, thus equipping budding science communicators with the confidence and media savvy required to project messages clearly and simply.
Hands-on training will be provided in delivering talks and preparing PowerPoint slides and illustrative material for many outlets, including in-house, local and international presentations and the digital media.
Participants completing the course will acquire valuable skills, including those needed to give after-dinner talks about science and technology to experts and laypeople alike.
Worked examples, reference materials and background notes will be provided.

Mars - The New Frontier
2018-08-06 09:00 - 2018-08-07 15:00 | Tempy Primary School, 13 Harrison Street, Tempy, VIC, 3489, Australia
We are looking to space and examining how human ingenuity has overcome challenges as we look into space with a mind to explore and consider lunar travels and the population of Mars – as the new frontier.
Isolated small, rural primary schools will be supported in our investigations and inquiry by Dr. Jurg Schtuz (CSIRO) scientist who will lead us in investigating energy, astronomy and the challenges and changes ahead.
We are motivated by the works of Elon Musk, Iridium, the Falcon Heavy Moon to Mars missions and will be immersed into a variety of learning technologies to undertake our investigations. Ultimately, through video, virtual reality, 3D printing and design software primary students will be exposed to their futures and be producing an article they determine will be of value in habitating Mars.
Students will revisit their robotics and coding experiences and build upon this with Makey Makey, Drone, Minecraft, Tinkercad and Sketch-Up. They will be investigating power generation through solar and making Herons Fountains to set the bedrock of what change makers have already established.

Freelancing Science Writing: The Inside Story
2018-08-08 09:00 - 2018-08-09 17:00 | Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The course will teach the essential skills needed to become a freelance science writer or broadcaster. Hands-on training will be provided in preparing articles, features and illustrative material for many outlets, including in-house, local and international publications.
Participants completing the course will acquire valuable skills, including those needed to liaise with publishers and prepare successful pitches.
Worked examples, reference materials and background notes will be provided.

Pre-National Science Week Mixer Hosted By ASC Victoria
2018-08-08 18:00 - 21:30 | The Clyde Hotel, 385 Cardigan Street, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
It’s that time of year again, science week is just around the corner and you are invited to the annual Australian Science Communicators Pre-National Science Week Mixer.
The Victorian branch of the Australian Science Communicators invite you to an evening of catch ups, networking and celebration ahead of National Science Week. Come and celebrate science week, hear from event holders, catch up with other scientists and science communicators and maybe even nab yourself a door prize.

IMPACT7
2018-08-09 08:30 - 17:30 | Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 535 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
At IMPACT7 2018, we’re imagining a future where poverty or disease has been eradicated, our grandchildren have an abundance of food, and live in a secure, natural environment. We believe the key lies in the IMPACT that research can have to unearth many of the innovative solutions we need to get there.
With the support of CSIRO, IMPACT7 2018 returns for its second year to bring together passionate people to spotlight research-led innovations that are tackling our biggest challenges. IMPACT7 covers seven broad “challenges”:

the future of work;
security in our world;
protecting our environment;
powering our future;
food security and quality;
health and wellbeing and
a wildcard.

IMPACT7 presenters will share a snappy, three-minute Impact Statement on how they’re using scientific research to answer the wicked problems under these umbrellas.
We anticipate over 200 applicants from across the country will throw their hat in the ring to present at IMPACT7.
Following their presentations, reflections on their innovation from IMPACT Leader panellists are shared. They act as mentors providing feedback and suggestions for these innovations moving forward.
Some of the confirmed IMPACT Leader panellists include:

Mara Bun (President, Australian Conservation Foundation)
Charles Day (CEO, Office of Innovation and Science Australia)
Amanda Robinson (Head of Social Innovation, Red Cross Australia).

Cost

Earlybird rate (until Monday 11 June) $199
Standard rate $249

Rockets and Hot Air Balloons
2018-08-09 16:00 - 17:00 | Sunshine Library, 301 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, VIC, 3020, Australia
Are you a physicist in the making? Come along and create a rocket and hot air balloon and attempt to launch your creations.

Secrets from Beyond Extinction: Unlocking the Thylacine Genome
2018-08-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Royal Society of Victoria, 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Vic, 3000, Australia
The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was the largest carnivorous Australian marsupial to exist into the modern era. Their resemblance to the eutherian wolf is considered the most striking example of convergent evolution in mammals. This is even more striking when you consider that they last shared a common ancestor over 160 million years ago.
Sadly, the last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936. However, Associate Professor Andrew Pask and his colleagues have sequenced the thylacine genome from a preserved “pouch young” specimen and used it to examine its phylogenetic placement, population life history and the genetic basis of its convergence with the wolf. Their findings have shed light on the biology of this unique, marsupial apex predator, and the mechanisms of its evolution, development and burden of disease.
About the Speaker:
Dr Andrew Pask is an Associate Professor and Reader and ARC Future Fellow in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on defining key genes directing phenotypic development in mammals. He sequenced the genome of the platypus, tammar wallaby, thylacine and most recently the dunnart. His work on the thylacine examined the biology of this unique extinct species. He currently establishing stem cells from marsupials to understand more about totipotent and pluripotent states in mammals and to provide the reagents necessary for species conservation.
His work in marsupials has greatly increased our understanding of the biology of our unique fauna and shed light on many critical developmental events across all mammals, including proving important insights into the aetiology of human reproductive diseases.

R.U.R. 2020
2018-08-09 19:00 - 2018-08-19 20:30 | BioFab3D, 1st Floor, Clinical Sciences Building, 29 Regent Street, Fitzroy, VIC, 3065, Australia
In the near future, a young scientist responsible for a world-changing medical breakthrough uncovers a corporate conspiracy that could spell the end of one species – and the rise of another. A reimagination of Karel Capek’s classic sci-fi thriller, performed in a real-life laboratory.
“I have seen a new generation of man being stitched together like so many patchwork quilts in an unending line. They will make Einsteins for pennies and dimes; Napoleons by the bundle; and new creatures that have no parallel on the Earth.”
Almost a century has passed since Czech playwright Karel Capek wrote Rossum’s Universal Robots, a provocative sci-fi satire depicting the creation and inevitable rebellion of a race of artificial humans – the first ‘robots’.
Today we are surrounded by real life robots, and fears of human redundancy abound. Meanwhile, in our hospitals and in our bodies, incredible new technologies promise miracle cures that blur the boundary between the natural and the artificial.
Hosted live in the labs of BioFab3D, one of Australia’s top medical research facilities, RUR 2020 reimagines Capek’s controversial classic for the new century. The first robots will be flesh and blood.
Produced by BioFab3D and PlayReactive.
Post-show forums on Thursday 9 and 16 August.

Lit Up!
2018-08-10 06:00 - 2018-08-12 20:30 | Daylesford Town Hall, Vincent Street, Daylesford, VIC, 3460, Australia
A spectacle reminiscent of the legendary White Night in Melbourne and Ballarat but here in Daylesford! This project is being developed by Daylesford SC Year 8 students with the guidance and direction of Andrew Howie a leading maker of 3D video content for music events & architectural facades.
This sound and light extravaganza will herald the start of National Science Week and will follow the theme of our nation’s Game Changers of the past, present and future. The discovery of penicillin, the development of WiFi, Quantum computing progress and the search for solutions to save our Great Barrier Reef have all changed our world, the way we live and will continue to do so – and these are just a few.
There will be projections of these Game Changing stories throughout Daylesford at the start of National Science Week on the weekend of 10 – 12 August.
The local community and the many visitors and tourists that we have visiting our town will have the opportunity to view this installation as darkness descends.

Art of Science Exhibition
2018-08-10 10:00 - 2018-08-19 18:00 | The Atrium, Federation Square, Cnr Swanston St and Flinders St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s annual Art of Science exhibition showcases stunning images and videos captured by Australian medical researchers tackling some of the biggest challenges facing global health.
Taking place during National Science Week, the Art of Science exhibition runs from 10 – 19 August 2018 at Melbourne’s Federation Square. The experience shines a light on biomedical exploration and discovery traversing the vast and complex research areas of cancer, infectious diseases and immune disorders.
See how blood vessels sprout from a piece of bone grown in the laboratory; watch breast cancer cells ‘caught on camera’ as they attempt to run riot in other parts of the body; and be unsettled by a writhing parasite ‘playground’ captured under the microscope with an iPhone.
Director of the Institute, Professor Doug Hilton said Art of Science was like a ‘backstage pass’ into the laboratory revealing how medical researchers worked to better understand, prevent and treat disease.
“The images and videos in our Art of Science exhibition provide magnificent insight into the challenges our biomedical researchers are working to address – whether that’s stopping aggressive cancers from spreading in the body; finding ways to outsmart the malaria mosquito; or pinpointing what is going awry in development where birth defects such as spina bifida and cleft palate occur,” Professor Hilton said.
Professor Hilton said the exhibition offered a unique opportunity for the public to grasp how rapid advances in medical imaging technology were enabling researchers to visualise the unseeable in impressive detail.
“Visitors to the exhibition get the chance to see what blood vessels look like when they migrate to form conduits that transport food, oxygen and germ-fighting immune cells throughout the body.
“They’ll also see a life-size snapshot of breast tissue, resembling blossoms at the end of a stem, that in reality is no bigger than a few grains of rice,” Professor Hilton said.
Institute staff and scientists will be in The Atrium at Federation Square between 10am-6pm throughout the exhibition period, to show visitors around and answer their questions.
A time-honoured competition
The Art of Science exhibition is also a showcase of 20 finalists from the Institute’s annual Art of Science competition, which was founded in 1997 by former Institute director Professor Suzanne Cory.
This year, our esteemed panel of judges is from Museums Victoria and includes CEO Lynley Marshall; Senior Curator for Human Biology and Medicine Johanna Simkin; and Collections Curator for Engineering Matilda Vaughan.
“My selection was made on the basis of artistic appeal, representation of subject matter and the degree to which the image engaged me with the subject,” Ms Marshall said.
The public also get to have their say. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to vote for their favourite image in the ever popular People’s Choice Awards for the chance to win a framed print of their choice.

Pop Culture and Science: Do They Play Nice?
2018-08-10 18:30 - 20:00 | The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
In partnership with Melbourne International Film Festival
A panel of cultural and scientific experts lock horns over the way cinema and other forms of entertainment have advanced or regressed popular attitudes towards science. In a post-truth world, how have the big and small screens helped or hindered the way we perceive science and technology? Are we more engaged with science or more likely to dismiss it? Are we more likely to dismiss fact-based evidence or are we now questioning assumed facts in ways that are useful? Are we entering a new age of heightened accountability or are we going backwards into an era of misinformation and ignorance?
Guests:
Will Dayble: Founder of the online entrepreneurship and impact school Fitzroy Academy, and lecturer for Monash University’s Global Challenges Advanced Honours Degree. He was founded startups in digital, education and social enterprise, and also works at a mentor and consultant.
Professor Angela Ndalianis: Research Professor at the Swinburne University of Technology. Her research focuses on film entertainment media technologies with an outlook on how they mediate our experience of the world around us.
Lauren Rosewarne: Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne and co-host of ABC Radio National’s Stop Everything pop culture show and Mamamia’s Sealed Section podcast. Lauren has written nine books about gender, sexuality and pop culture.
Sarah-Jane Woulahan: a filmmaker whose films include the AI themed short, A Terrible Beauty (MIFF 2016). She’s currently developing her first feature, and her PhD research, as a candidate at RMIT, investigates the adaptation of film language to live action, cinematic, virtual reality.
Rahul Soans (moderator): Engineer with a Masters in International Business with a background working for social enterprises and startups. He runs The Disruptive Business Network and he is the co-founder of Balancingact3, a consultancy that works in the human rights and human services sectors.

Scouts Science Camp @ Treetops
2018-08-10 18:30 - 2018-08-12 18:30 | Treetops Scout Camp, 140 Royal Parade, Riddells Creeks, VIC, 3431, Australia
The 3rd annual STEM-themed patrol-activity camp for Scouts aged 10-14. Fun and activities as part of Scientific Scouts in Action Month and National Science Week.

Stuck on a Rock - Premiere Screening
2018-08-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
The premiere screening for my short documentary on the Lord Howe Island stick insect.
Stuck on a Rock is a documentary on the saga of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, one of the rarest species of insects on the planet. It was exterminated on Lord Howe Island by rats that were accidentally introduced in a shipwreck in the early 1900s and was thought extinct. But a series of incredible discoveries led to its re-emergence on one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth, about 20km south east of Lord Howe – Balls Pyramid.
Since then it has been an epic journey to prevent this unique species of insect (dubbed the thylacine of the insect world) from disappearing again. This humble insect has become a symbol of the struggle to preserve what we have left and to mitigate our impact on the natural world.
The night will also include talks by Rohan Cleave, zookeeper at Melbourne Zoo, and Keith Bell, old school climber of Ball’s Pyramid.

The Great Aussie BioQuest
2018-08-11 07:00 - 2018-08-19 17:00
Join the Great Aussie BioQuest this National Science Week! Download ‘Questagame’ FREE from your app store. Start submitting – prizes galore!
The Great Aussie BioQuest aims to draw attention to an increasingly important aspect of our daily lives, biodiversity literacy, by engaging residents from all walks of life, to participate in, learn about and map Australian biodiversity in a fun way.
Score points as you find, or identify, living things in the wild, anywhere in Australia. It is like catching Pokemon, only the adventure is real this time! You’ll also be contributing to research to help protect life on Earth.

Download ‘Questagame’ FREE from your app store and register
Select your state at questagame.com
Start submitting!

How to win?
Submit sightings through QuestaGame on your mobile device between 7.00 am, 11 August – 5 pm, 19 August, 2018. The rarer your finds, the higher your scores. There are also points and prizes for correct identifications – identify sightings online.

World Educational Robot Contest - 2018 Australia International Open
2018-08-11 09:30 - 2018-08-12 17:30 | Marymede Catholic College, 60 Williamsons Road, South Morang, Victoria, 3752, Australia
The World Educational Robot (WER) Contest is an international robotics contest for primary and secondary school-aged children. Annually, more than 500 000 contestants from 30 countries participate in WER events. In 2018, Centre Com with sponsorship from HP is proud to present the WER 2018 Australia International Open in Melbourne at Marymede Catholic College on August 11-12, drawing teams of participants from across Australia, as well as visiting international teams from China and other countries.
Using robots made by Abilix – a world-leading educational robotics company and the exclusive platform of the WER contest – participants will work together in teams of 2-3 to design, build and program a robot to autonomously navigate a game mat and achieve certain tasks centered around the 2018 theme “Information Era”.
A combination of pre-set tasks known ahead of time, and additional on-site tasks revealed on the day, will challenge participants’ abilities in robot design and programming as well as teamwork and innovation, both on the day and during the lead-up to the event. Awards will be handed out to the top three teams in each division (primary, middle and senior) based on their scores in two rounds of competition, and top teams will also be invited to compete in the WER World Championship in Shanghai in November. There will also be other awards for additional creative projects that teams can choose to submit entries for.
While the majority of teams will be school-based, we encourage and welcome the participation of community teams, as well as attendance by the general public. Check out the website or contact us for more details.
Cost

$190 contest registration fee per team (2–3 students). Teams will also need to purchase a competition-endorsed Abilix robot kit and a kit containing the game mat and tasks (see website for details).

Powering the future
2018-08-11 10:00 - 15:00 | PowerWorks Energy Technology Centre, Ridge Road, Morwell, Victoria, 3840, Australia
The PowerWorks museum includes interactive, scientific displays and models of the gigantic boilers and dredgers that remain a major provider of the reliable and stable load supply of electricity that has helped build Victoria’s economy. See the science of converting brown coal into steam and then electricity and the advancement of higher-efficiency, lower-emission technologies that are now being used elsewhere in the world.
There will open access to the displays with guided tours of the complex as well as some of the more significant points of interest in the surrounds. PowerWorks overlooks the huge, recently closed, Morwell/Hazelwood open-cut brown coal mine.
Guides will be able to explain some of the engineering challenges which need to be overcome in rehabilitating the mine, as well as its 60-year history. The displays will appeal to all ages, from primary school-age and up and provide both a historical and technical perspective of Victoria’s brown coal industry.
Cost

Adults $5.00
Concession $2.50
School children free

Parasites on Parade Family Fundays
2018-08-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Art Gallery of Ballarat, 40 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia
Parasites on Parade Family Fundays at the Art Gallery of Ballarat features hands-on science and art activities for everyone!
Explore the science of parasites through art in the Parasite Parade, make your own parasite mask, see “Me as a flea” or face paint a parasite. Experience Parasites – up close and personal through virtual reality and book online to join one of our fun workshops to experience life as a parasitologist: Scoop the Poop class; Nelly and Ned the nematodes story writing; join the art class to make a Giant Tape Worm; or the Parasite Lab where you will have close encounters with parasites. For our young parasitologists join in on the “creepy crawlies and parasites” book reading and sing song.
Parasites on Parade Family Fundays will happen on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August, as well as Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 August.
This Inspiring Australia event is supported by the Australian Government as part of National Science Week and co-hosted by the Ballarat Art Gallery, Federation University and the Australian Society for Parasitology.
Please book online to join any of the free workshops.

Thomastown Building Challenge
2018-08-11 10:00 - 2018-08-17 17:00 | Thomastown Library, 52 Main Street, Thomastown, VIC, 3074, Australia
Calling all budding builders and engineers. Come and build the tallest structure you can, using our builder’s kit. Who will win? There will be prizes!
Thomastown Library has organised a week’s worth of science and technology fun.
Come in any time from 11 – 17 August and ask for a builder’s kit. Try your hand at building the tallest structure you can. Who will get the record for the tallest structure? There will be prizes!

Parasite Art
2018-08-11 10:00 - 2018-08-19 17:00 | Art Gallery of Ballarat, 40 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central, VIC, 3350, Australia
View the beautiful artwork Gula Guri mayin “Heal the Body” by indigenous north Queensland artist Bernard Lee Singleton and animation by Russell Milledge and Tai Inoue.
With funding from Inspiring Australia, the Australian Society for Parasitology has entered into a unique partnership with a group of artists in Far North Queensland. The project, which centres around Bernard Lee Singleton’s magnificent painting, Gula Guri mayin (which means “Heal the body”), explores themes of parasites and health.

National Science Week at Geelong Gallery
2018-08-11 10:00 - 2018-08-19 17:00 | Geelong Gallery, 55 Little Malop Street, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
See the Gallery’s collection in a new and stimulating way by engaging with a special trail of STEM-themed labels and activities during National Science Week.
The theme of this year’s school program—Game changers and change makers—will be applied to select collection works on display, providing Learning experiences for students from various levels.

Help us create a beehive
Help us create a beehive, one of the key themes in this year’s Game changers and change makers program. Explore the mathematics of a hexagon and a range of other shapes.
Pick up a template, a length of wool and some pegs to construct your very own shape to add to our evolving beehive.

Did you know?
Have you ever wondered why bees use hexagons in the construction of their hives? Hexagons are very useful shapes—they are one of only three shapes (along with triangles and squares) that can be placed together without leaving spaces between them, making them structurally strong

Mobile Planetarium
2018-08-11 10:30 - 12:30 | Sunshine Library, 301 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, VIC, 3020, Australia
Come and immerse yourself in the wonders of the Universe in the Science Discovery Dome.

Nao the Humanoid
2018-08-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Clayton Library, 9-15 Cooke Street, Clayton, 3168
Meet NAO the Humanoid and see him walk, talk, dance, dab! You can also learn how to program this fantastic robot!
NAO is a 58 cm tall, autonomous and fully programmable robot that can walk, talk, dab, dance and interact with people.
Monash Public Library Service is organising a series of events where children aged 8 – 15 will have the possibility to meet this fantastic robot and learn some programming tips.
