The Sewer Soaperie
2019-07-31 11:00 - 2019-08-03 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Testing Grounds, 1 City Road, Southbank, VIC, Australia
Would you wash your hands with soap made from sewage?
Catherine Sarah Young (Philippines)
Sewer Soaperie turns raw sewage and fat into luxury soaps. Extreme storms now frequently overwhelm drains, pipes and sewerage systems, causing flooding in major cities. Large lumps of coagulated grease, known as ‘fatbergs’, clog the system and create flooding. These greasy beasts are created when people pour used liquid oil down the sink, which then hardens in the pipes. Gross.
Artist Catherine Sarah Young takes grease from various sources, sterilises it and turns it into soap. As the global climate crisis intensifies, could this be a solution to a more sustainable future?
Testing Grounds, Southbank
31 July – 3 August
Open Wednesday to Saturday 11am–6pm, plus Friday 2 August 6pm–9pm at the First Friday Night at Testing Grounds event.
Sewer Soaperie will also be involved in Extrasensory @ Parliament of Victoria, Saturday 10 August 6pm-10pm

Maths & Music in Berlin, 1828: Elliptic Optics, Kosmos & Beethoven
2019-07-31 18:30 - 20:00 | Wonthaggi Baptist Church, 2 Broome Crescent, Wonthaggi, VIC, Australia
Presented by Professor Arun Ram, with live music performed by Joshua Hooke
This performance will take you back to the salons of Abraham and Lea Mendelssohn in Berlin, 1828, to a gathering of some of the greatest scientific and musical minds of the day.
In the year 1828, Alexander von Humboldt set up a hut for measuring the Earth’s magnetic field in the Mendelssohn garden, on his way to writing his treatise on the Universe, Kosmos. In the previous year Beethoven had died, leaving a controversial musical legacy, while Abel and Jacobi were in the midst of creating a mathematical revolution with the development of elliptic functions.
Discover the sounds of Beethoven, the elliptic orbits of the planets, and the thrill of the Kosmos, and experience the passion and exuberance that were the hallmark of the legendary Mendelssohn salon.
*Suitable for all ages, and all levels of interests and abilities in maths and music.

SCINEMA International Science Film Festival National Science Week Program
2019-08-01 07:00 - 2019-08-31 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).

Hunt for the Plastic Eaters
2019-08-01 09:00 - 2019-08-31 16:00
Science Gallery Melbourne throws down the gauntlet and sets an ambitious challenge: can we find a new plastic-eating bacteria in Australia? This project asks citizen scientists to culture bacteria in the search for a new species that could solve our plastic waste dilemma.
The lid has been lifted on human wastefulness, but what next? Science Gallery Melbourne delves into an ever-growing mountain of garbage to find innovative opportunities within our consumerist behaviour, through their third sci-art pop-up season DISPOSABLE.
For National Science Week, we’re throwing down the gauntlet and sets an ambitious challenge: can we find a new plastic-eating bacteria in Australia? Building on the research of Japanese plastic-eating bacteria expert Dr Shosuke Yoshida, and working with biohacking group BioQuisitive, this project takes Melbourne’s new science engagement initiative for young people Australia-wide, asking citizen scientists to culture bacteria in the search for a new species that could solve our plastic waste dilemma.
Join the team trying to find Australia’s Next Top Plastic-Eating Bacteria!

Women in STEM Conference at Melbourne Zoo (Catholic Schools)
2019-08-01 09:30 - 14:00 | Melbourne Zoo, Elliot Avenue, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Women in STEM: Future Careers, 21st Century Skills and Role Models
Females are drastically underrepresented in STEM subjects and jobs across the planet – let’s change that! On the eve of National Science Week 2019, educate and inspire your Year 7–10 students by connecting with real-world STEM mentors and case studies. This conference is especially for Catholic Schools and hosted by Zoos Victoria, Catholic Education Office Melbourne, St Aloysius College and girledworld.
Through hands-on activities, guest speakers and reflection, this conference will explore:

Female STEM mentors and role models
Real-world case studies of women in STEM
The role of STEM in the future of work
How STEM subjects and courses can lead to future STEM education and careers
How personal strengths, skills and experience can be translated to STEM study and careers

Students will walk away from this conference inspired, educated and excited by relatable real-world STEM mentors. They will also tap into their learning, skills and interests to explore their place in STEM.
This program links to Victorian Curriculum Level 7–10:

Design and Technologies – Technologies and Society
Science – Science as a Human Endeavour
Personal and Social Capability – Development of Resilience, Collaboration
Critical and Creative Thinking – Questions and Possibilities
Sustainability

Capacity: Each school is welcome to bring up to 15 students in Years 7-10.
Note: Vegetarian morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are provided for attending teachers. Students are to bring their own rubbish-free lunch.

P@TCH
2019-08-01 11:00 - 2019-08-18 16:00 | Macfarland Court, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Janna Ahrndt (United States of America)
Will you truthfully track your environmental goals?
Like a Fitbit for your ethical performance, P@tch is a textile-based new media project inspired by punk and DIY culture. Each homemade P@tch uses self-reporting and environmental sensors to allow the user to track their personal and surrounding pollution. P@tch participants will set their own DISPOSABLE month goal and build their own wearable device to track their progress in real time. Will you self-shame yourself into a more sustainable life? Are you brave enough to track your exposure to air pollution and become part of the artwork? Are you willing to take part in a workshop to build your own P@tch?
Apply now to be a participant and track your performance in August.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, MACFARLAND COURT
1–18 August
Open Monday to Saturday 11am–6pm, plus Sunday 18 August 10am–4pm.

Urinotron
2019-08-01 11:00 - 2019-08-18 16:00 | Macfarland Court, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Sandra and Gaspard Bébié-Valérian (France) and Professor Peter Scales (Australia)
Are you flushing a valuable wee-source?
Urinotron is a large-scale installation that takes our organic waste (urine) and transforms it into power for your mobile phone, before recycling it back to pure water.
Contribute your urine and then put your feet up as the salts in your liquid gold turn into sustainable pee power.
Why are we flushing such a valuable resource? Urinotron combines scientific equipment, engineering skills and reems of electronic wires in an artistic equivalent of an alchemist’s workshop, producing a different kind of gold.
The first iteration of Urinotron was co-produced by Sandra Bébié-Valérian, Gaspard Bébié-Valérian and Dorian Reunkrilerk. Urinotron 2.0 is a collaboration with Professor Peter Scales.
The University of Melbourne, Macfarland Court
1–18 August
Open Monday to Saturday 11am–6pm, plus Sunday 18 August 10am–4pm.

Plastivore
2019-08-01 11:00 - 2019-08-18 16:00 | Macfarland Court, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Artist Oliver Kellhammer’s work allows you to watch the mealworms as they dine on polystyrene.

Oliver Kellhammer (United States of America)
Do solutions to our recycling crisis exist in nature?
Nature is outsmarting us. Solutions to our enormous waste problems are often right in front of us. Polystyrene is a non-biodegradable material that is a large component of our global waste problem and a major contributor to pollution. The humble mealworm has the ability to partially biodegrade polystyrene through its gut bacteria, breaking down the plastic and turning it into compost. But what if we start genetically engineering our insect friends to be super plastic-digesters? The perfect solution? Or ecological slavery?
Artist Oliver Kellhammer’s work allows you to watch the mealworms as they dine on polystyrene.
The University of Melbourne, Macfarland Court
1–18 August
Open Monday to Saturday 11am–6pm, plus Sunday 18 August 10am–4pm.

DISPOSABLE
2019-08-01 12:00 - 2019-09-01 16:00 | The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010
Science Gallery Melbourne’s pop-up program DISPOSABLE will highlight experimental and creative ways to tackle our ever growing excess of waste. DISPOSABLE locations will include The University of Melbourne’s Parkville and Southbank campuses, along with unique sites throughout Melbourne.
The lid has been lifted on human wastefulness, but what next? Following the lead of Australian cult-hero, the bin chicken, we delve into our garbage and find opportunities within our disposable culture.
While the global waste statistics are sobering, we are now seeing emergent ecologies that thrive on human wastefulness, drinking water recycled from toilets and furniture made from coffee grounds. Waste brings new opportunities, human innovations and creative solutions.
Science Gallery Melbourne will highlight experimental and creative ways to tackle our ever growing excess of waste through transdisciplinary and collaborative practices in its third pop-up program.
DISPOSABLE will feature outdoor installations, pop-up gallery exhibits, performances, experiments and workshops. Locations will include The University of Melbourne’s Parkville and Southbank campuses, along with unique sites throughout Melbourne.

Little Bang Discovery Club
2019-08-01 16:00 - 2019-08-22 17:00 | Central Highlands Libraries
This four-week course gives you and your child a way to discover science together. With hands-on activities, question and answer time, a Discovery Box and book loaned to each child for the duration of the Club. Get involved and get your Discovery Club Passport stamped as you work towards the
Science Fair on the last day.
This is a co-learning program for children where parents and carers are core support for their children. Ages 5-7 years.
Program Partners
• Inspiring Australia
• Royal Society of Victoria
• Victoria State Government
WHEN:
Thursday 1 August–Thursday 22 August 4–4.45pm Wendouree Library

Women in STEM Conference at Melbourne Zoo
2019-08-02 09:30 - 14:00 | Melbourne Zoo, Elliot Avenue, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Women in STEM: Future Careers, 21st Century Skills and Role Models
Females are drastically underrepresented in STEM subjects and jobs across the planet – let’s change that! On the eve of National Science Week 2019, educate and inspire your Year 7–10 students by connecting with real-world STEM mentors and case studies. This conference is especially for secondary schools and hosted by Zoos Victoria and girledworld at Melbourne Zoo.
Through hands-on activities, guest speakers and reflection, this conference will explore:

Female STEM mentors and role models
Real-world case studies of women in STEM
The role of STEM in the future of work
How STEM subjects and courses can lead to future STEM education and careers
How personal strengths, skills and experience can be translated to STEM study and careers

Students will walk away from this conference inspired, educated and excited by relatable real-world STEM mentors. They will also tap into their learning, skills and interests to explore their place in STEM.
This program links to Victorian Curriculum Level 7–10:

Design and Technologies – Technologies and Society
Science – Science as a Human Endeavour
Personal and Social Capability – Development of Resilience, Collaboration
Critical and Creative Thinking – Questions and Possibilities
Sustainability

Capacity: Each school is welcome to bring up to 15 students in Years 7 – 10.
Note: Vegetarian morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea are provided for attending teachers. Students are to bring their own rubbish-free lunch.

Testing Grounds - First Friday of the Month
2019-08-02 18:00 - 21:00 | Testing Grounds, 1 City Road, Southbank, VIC, Australia
Come celebrate the first Friday of the month at Southbank’s Testing Grounds with DISPOSABLE artworks Fatberg and Sewer Soaperie.
It’s the first Friday of the month again and Testing Grounds is bringing you installations, exhibition openings and performances, including DISPOSABLE artworks Fatberg by UK artists Mike Thompson and Arne Hendricks and The Sewer Soaperie by Catherine Sarah Young. Plus there’s fire pits to keep you warm and beer and wine to keep your spirit alive.

Jaffle Symposium: Fatbergs & Three Cheese Jaffles
2019-08-03 12:00 - 13:30 | Testing Grounds, 1 City Road, Southbank, VIC, Australia
The Jaffle Symposium is a curated a program of discussions, where interesting people talk about interesting things while making and eating jaffles around the open fire at Testing Grounds.
A feast for your stomach, mind, planet and soul. Bringing together art, culture, science, technology and, of course, the glorious jaffle: because any discussion without food is just a waste.
What does fat mean to you?
A delicious and lively discussion around the fire between artists, scientists and jaffle-enthusiasts. It will be a discussion about fat from different disciplines, shifting our feelings about fat and what steps we can all take to shift the conversation and reality of fat in our world.

Maths & Music in Berlin, 1828: Elliptic Optics, Kosmos & Beethoven
2019-08-04 15:00 - 16:00 | Federation Hall, Theatre 205, 7-17 Grant Street #5, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

Brain Break - Deer Park Library
2019-08-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Deer Park Library, 4 Neale Road, Deer Park, VIC, 3023, Australia
We’re hosting a Brain Break morning tea with scrumptious morsels of science goodness to celebrate science achievement and endeavour.
Join us for a science themed quiz and a cuppa.

Fatberg (displayed)
2019-08-07 11:00 - 18:00 | Testing Grounds, 1 City Road, Southbank, VIC, Australia
Do we really understand fat?
Artists Arne Hendriks and Mike Thompson invite you to join them at Testing Grounds to build Australia’s first purpose-built island of fat, and to ask – What is fat? What does it want? What is fat’s future? And do we really know fat?
In November 2017, the 130-tonne ‘Monster of Whitechapel’ was ejected from the bowels of east London. This fatberg – a congealed mass of fat, wet wipes and nappies – stretched the length of nearly two AFL footy ovals, taking workmen armed with shovels and high-powered jets three weeks of around the clock effort to extract.
Fat is perhaps THE iconic substance of our time. It is integral to life, health, energy, beauty, ecology and consumption. But what is fat if its behaviour becomes unpredictable, overtaking not only ourselves but our sewage systems? Do we understand fat, or do we need a fresh perspective?
To begin answering this question, artists Arne Hendriks and Mike Thompson invite you to join them at Testing Grounds to build Australia’s first purpose-built island of fat, and to ask – What is fat? What does it want? What is fat’s future? And do we really know fat?
Will you help it grow? We want your waste fat, so stayed tuned to our social media to find out ways to contribute.
Testing Grounds, Southbank
31 July – 3 August
Fatberg artists on site creating the work: Wednesday to Saturday 11am–6pm
7 – 15 August
Completed fatberg on display: Wednesday to Saturday 11am–6pm
Fatberg artists will also be involved in the First Friday Night and FAT SANDWICH: Jaffle Symposium events at Testing Grounds.

Chameleon Putty Science Workshop with Twisted Science
2019-08-07 15:30 - 16:30 | St. Albans Library, 71A Alfrieda Street, St. Albans, VIC, 3021, Australia
An exciting session where participants will get to explore with slime and create colour changing putty.

Adding the A to STEM
2019-08-07 18:30 - 19:00 | Bargoonga Nganjin North Fitzroy Library, 182/186 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North, VIC, 3068, Australia
You are invited to Fitzroy North Library for an unforgettable STEAMship voyage to explore, expand upon, and inform the STEM challenges the world currently faces within all societies and for individuals just like you.
Our illustrious all-female expert panel will engage you on an odyssey into the role of Artistic Creation in STEM, how Art is an integral part of all STEM endeavours, and how the Language of STEM can become more inclusive to underserved and often misrepresented people.
Therefore, we will explore the inherent need for Citizen Scientists, Craftspeople, Linguists, Facilitators, Teachers, Curiosity and Thrill Seekers, Idealists, Pessimists, Hobbyists, and Artists of all cultural backgrounds to fill in the gaping empty spaces surrounding and inside the world of STEM, where only a very privileged few have been welcomed and encouraged to travel and be productive in STEM’s extremely gated and secretive environment.

Bubble science workshop with Twisted Science
2019-08-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Sydenham Library, 1 Station Street, Taylors Lakes, VIC, 3038, Australia
A fun filled bubble making workshop where participants will experiment with a variety of bubble making techniques.

Coffee in Space
2019-08-08 16:00 - 18:00 | La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga, 133 McKoy Street, West Wodonga, VIC, Australia
The year is 2025, in Melbourne, Coffee Capital of the World.
The Space Agency managing Australia’s new international space station assembles a panel of scientists and coffee professionals to design a coffee-making process for space-travelling coffee connoisseurs.
Coffee-making in space, however, is a challenging proposition. How do you grind the coffee without coffee grounds flying everywhere? How does an astronaut drink a floating ball of hot coffee? What to do with dead coffee grounds? Is space-made coffee even drinkable?
In a public lecture scientists de-mystify the science behind coffee. After the event, members of the public are invited to taste and rate the different styles of coffee discussed and discover with the benefit of microscopes how the different shapes and sizes of coffee grinds affect taste.

Sh*t Happens Poetry Slam
2019-08-08 18:30 - 20:30 | Loop Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
For so long, our own waste has been a topic of embarrassment and shame. But we need to break down the taboo of poo! SH*T HAPPENS will see poets and scientists come together to celebrate our sewage, bringing excitement to our excrement and all the other wonderful creations our bodies work hard to produce.
Spontaneous or prepared poems welcomed in the open mic section on the night.

Mind Over Faecal Matter: gut biome and mental health
2019-08-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Royal Society of Victoria, 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Vic, 3000, Australia
Spoiler: we really do have gut feelings.
Food is something we find ourselves always thinking about and there’s a good reason for that. We have a ‘second brain’ in our gut that regulates the digestion and movement of our food from one end of the gastrointestinal tract to the other. Our gut brain and main brain are connected and influence mood, behaviour and mental health. Our gut is home to trillions of microbes, making up one third of faeces. Over the last decade, scientists have realised that most of these bacteria are beneficial to both our brain and our guts, and without them our guts don’t function properly.

People with autism often suffer from gut problems, but nobody has known why. The work of our scientists have discovered the same gene mutations – found both in the brain and the gut – could be the cause. These gene mutations cause changes in how the gut works as well as changing the balance of the bacteria in the gut. Different gut bacteria in turn alter gut function and worsen gut health via a detrimental feedback loop.

Join Associate Professors Elisa Hill-Yardin and Ashley Franks, who will discuss how changing the way neurons communicate in the brain can alter the gut and the microbial communities we need for health. They will explore how combining neuroscience, microbiology and advanced genetics allows us to provide a holistic view of the gut-brain axis, how it becomes unbalanced and how we can engineer changes to ease dysbiosis and gut dysfunction.

Science Week Outreach Workshop
2019-08-09 09:00 - 17:00 | Mantra Hotel, 25 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, VIC, Australia
This special one day course will teach the essential skills and strategies needed to convey the fruits of scientific research to the media, government, research-funding bodies and the public.
​Among other things, the comprehensive course will cover fundamental principles and “rules of the science-writing game”, thus equipping researchers and managers with the confidence and media savvy required to project messages clearly and simply.
Hands-on training will be provided in preparing articles, features and illustrative material for many outlets, including in-house, local and international publications and the digital media.
Participants completing the course will acquire valuable skills, including those needed to liaise with journalists and prepare successful pitches.
Worked examples, reference materials, background notes and a certificate will be provided.

Coffee in Space
2019-08-09 16:00 - 18:00 | La Trobe University, Shepparton, 210 Fryers Street, Shepparton, VIC, Australia

Fizzics Liquid Nitrogen Show - Warragul Library
2019-08-09 16:30 - 17:30 | Warragul Library, 75 Victoria Street, Warragul, VIC, 3820, Australia
Is a show that demonstrates phase changes, expansion, contraction, basic cell theory, air pressure and the weather.
Featured experiments include lid launcher, ball smasher, liquid nitrogen sprinkler, frozen bubbles, fog breath, cool lasers, cooling circuits and levitating magnets.
The shows allow up to 60 children through demostration to find out how:

Solids, liquids and gases change when rapidly heated and cooled.
What happens to living things if they are frozen.
How can Newton’s 3rd Law of motion explain a liquid nitrogen sprinkler.
What is the Leidenfrost effect? and more…

Fly to the Moon
2019-08-09 17:30 - 19:30 | Discovery Science & Technology Centre, 7 Railway Place, Bendigo, Victoria, 3550, Australia
Discovery is ready to launch into National Science Week 2019 with Fly To The Moon. A fun filled night of hands-on science, space exploration and of course we have to kick it all off with a BANG!
Get ready for an action packed night! Fly to the Moon will be a fun filled night of Science at the Discovery Science and Technology Centre Bendigo.
We will launch into the event with a bang, literally, as we start the night with an explosively good science show. Why not try and defy gravity on our vertical slide. Experience over 100 hands on science exhibits as you roam and explore the centre. Settle back and get ready for take off as we screen some short films and check out the stars up close as we explore the night sky.

Science at the Extreme
2019-08-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia
Join us for the 2019 public launch of Victoria’s National Science Week at the Melbourne Museum
National Science Week is a collection of events large and small staged by individuals and organisations that, when taken together, make up one of Australia’s largest festivals.
Science has always been about exploration, discovering and expanding our understanding of the nature of things. Every day, scientists in the field balance the excitement and danger of collecting data from some of the wildest and most hostile environments on the planet in the pursuit of knowledge.
From the frozen tundra of Antarctica to the deserts of central Australia, from the lava flows of Hawai’i to the depths of the world’s deepest abyss off the Eastern coast of our continent, we’re bringing together a dream team of science adventurers to share their journeys and discoveries.
This very special night will bring to you a panel of incredible speakers exploring Science at the Extreme, after which you can see the science galleries, talk to research scientists from Museums Victoria and enjoy a drink to celebrate the launch of this incredible celebration of all things science!
Get Tickets
Speakers:
Dr. Darlene Lim is a geobiologist based at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. She has spent 25 years conducting field research around the world, in both the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as in underwater environments where she has piloted submersibles as a scientist and explorer. Currently, Darlene leads several NASA-funded research programs that are focused on blending field science research with the development of capabilities and concepts for future human spaceflight into deep space and Mars. She is the Principal Investigator of the NASA-funded SUBSEA, BASALT and Pavilion Lake research programs, and the Deputy PI of the NASA FINESSE research program.  Darlene is a passionate promoter of science and exploration education and outreach efforts, and founded the Haven House Family Shelter STEM Explorers’ Speakers Series, which from 2012-2015 enabled NASA and academic researchers to conduct educational sessions with homeless children in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr Kate Selway is an Earth scientist who is passionate about understanding how our amazing planet works. She has led research teams in the deserts of central Australia, the savannas of East Africa, and the frozen expanses of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Like a doctor taking an x-ray, Kate makes measurements on the Earth’s surface to peer deep inside it. She runs mathematical models of her data to understand why plate tectonics happens, and improve measurements of ice loss from ice sheets. Kate was awarded her PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2007, where she continued working in research positions, including an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship, until 2012. She then worked abroad in postdoctoral research positions at Yale University (2012-2013), Columbia University (2013-2015) and the University of Oslo (2015-2016). In 2017 Kate returned to Australia to commence an ARC Future Fellowship at Macquarie University.
Dr Dianne Bray is an ichthyologist and Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at Museums Victoria. Her job involves managing and developing natural history collections (mostly fishes and scientific artworks) so that people – including those not yet born – can answer all sorts of questions about our biodiversity now and into the future. Dianne joined the Museum’s team aboard CSIRO’s RV Investigator in 2017 to map the structure of the seafloor and collect samples of bizarre, deep sea creatures never before seen, contributing to our knowledge of abyssal biodiversity, including food webs, population connectivity, and evolutionary history, and help us understand potential changes caused by human activities.

Nate Byrne (MC) is a meteorologist and weather presenter on ABC News Breakfast. Prior to this, Nate spent 12 years working as a meteorologist and oceanographer in the Royal Australian Navy, and achieved a Master of Science Communication (Outreach) with the ANU and Questacon. A scholar of the Shell Questacon Science Circus, Nate toured the country delivering science shows to outback communities across Australia.

National Science Week is presented under the Inspiring Victoria program by the Victorian Coordinating Committee, managed by the Royal Society of Victoria. Dr Darlene Lim is appearing in Victoria courtesy of the Royal Society of Victoria.
Get Tickets
Event Partners:

The Great Aussie Bioquest 2019
2019-08-10 07:00 - 2019-08-18 22:30
You’ll be amazed what you discover when you download QuestaGame and join this year’s Great Aussie BioQuest on your smartphone. Compete against other teams to map biodiversity – all while taking part in Australia’s largest nationwide bioblitz.
The third annual Great Aussie BioQuest is on track to be the biggest yet.
Download QuestaGame onto your smartphone, join a BioQuest team and compete against other teams to map biodiversity during National Science Week. Submit photos of wildlife in your neighbourhood and learn about it from real experts, while earning points for your team. Or help identify the submissions of other players and earn even more points for your team.
This year you’ll get to join a Science Hub team, and work with your teammates to become the number one biodiversity mappers in Australia. The data you collect will be shared (with your permission) with the Atlas of Living Australia for scientific research and conservation.
Visit the website for more information.

Science-Writing 101 Workshop
2019-08-10 09:00 - 17:00 | Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
This introductory course in National Science Week will cover the basic principles and “rules of the science-writing game”, thus equipping researchers and managers with the confidence and media savvy required to project messages clearly and simply.
Basic training will be provided in preparing articles, features and illustrative material for many outlets, including in-house, local and international publications and the digital media.

Astrophotography Workshop & Victorian Astronomy Convention
2019-08-10 09:00 - 2019-08-11 09:00 | Briars Astronomy Centre and Observatory, 450 Nepean Highway, Mount Martha, VIC, 3934, Australia
This year’s astrophotography workshop will be run for the first time in conjunction with the biennial Victorian Astronomy Convention (VASTROC) in adjacent buildings. Both are for the first time open to the public as well as to amateur astronomers.
The astrophotography workshop will be canvassing and introducing concepts that will assist both the amateur and professional photographer. The afternoon will have an array of lectures given by experienced and acknowledged astrophotographers. Practical hands-on sessions will then be held during the evening at our registered Observatory.
Topics include an introduction to wide field astrophotography, time lapse photography, aurora photography, deep sky imaging, image processing and more.
Weather permitting, attendees will be able to use some of the Society’s premium equipment for some deep sky imaging.
Remember to bring your camera and tripod for the practical component if you have them. Please dress appropriately for being outdoors and on a grassy or uneven surface. You may bring a small torch (red globe or covered in red cellophane).
The observatory is marked on Google Maps and on the Melways at map reference 151/E1.
Driving directions The venue is in regional/rural Victoria and is entered on the east side of Nepean Highway. Drive carefully through the park, with the possibility of wildlife on the road after dark. You will travel about 2 km along a sealed road, over three cattle grids, past a visitors’ centre on your left and vineyard on your right, up the hill then straight ahead through an open gate. Do not turn left to Josephine’s restaurant. Travel past the righthand side of the Shire Nursery, with the Park Ranger’s house on your right, then the observatory is 100 m further along on the left.
VASTROC next door will feature talks throughout the day on all facets of amateur astronomy, and is aimed both at those with prior knowledge and for eager newcomers.
Attendees at either the workshop or VASTROC may move freely between talks in either.
Accommodation is available on-site for the first 50 people who register and indicate they require it. This is bunkhouse style accommodation and you will need to bring your own towel and bedding/sleeping bag.
Cost includes overnight bunkhouse accommodation if required, and attendance at any VASTROC talks about amateur astronomy running in parallel next door.
