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Koala census. Attention. Striptease science. Psychedelics. Champagne fizzics. Will AI kill creative careers?

National Science Week

Great radio talent behind National Science Week stories up for grabs around Australia

• Psychedelics reshaping mental health care. Dr Paul Liknaitzky head of Monash University’s Clinical Psychedelics Lab reveals renewed research into medicinal mushrooms, LSD, MDMA and more. (Hobart event; Melbourne-based talent)
• Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science. Find out why Dubbo girl and ANU researcher Dr Karina Judd channels alter-ego, Roxie, for an adults-only exploration of earth sciences. (Canberra-based talent)
• Trust, TikTok and astrophysics. Why Indigenous scientist and astrophysicist Kirsten Banks spends time on social media, and her guide to the night sky. (Tassie events; Melbourne-based talent)
• Experimenting with beer. Two thirsty scientists Kelsey Picard and Matthew Fielding show how small variations in brewing affect flavour, aroma and more. (Hobart-based talent)
• The best champagne glass. And other science surprises in a bottle of bubbly. Meet the ‘Culinary Scientist’ and past My Kitchen Rules contestant Emma Donnelly. (Melbourne-based talent)
• Can you fight misinformation with music? Nate Eggins (a.k.a. Conspiracy of One) is doing just that in his planetarium concert with sciency songs and cosmic visuals. (Brisbane-based talent)
• Will there be quantum careers? Ask Professor Peter Turner, Director of Sydney Quantum Academy. (Sydney-based talent)
• Artists explore adaptation for survival. Science Gallery Melbourne exhibition EMERGENCE(Y) explores future possibilities through art and science. (Sydney, Melbourne and US talent)
• Why is attention a precious and limited resource? Psychologist Prof Katherine Johnson has the answers (Melbourne-based talent)
• Perth’s six seasons. Revealed by artist and Noongar educator Rickeeta Walley. (Perth-based talent)
• Orchids threatened by social media. Dr Belinda Davis has brought a native orchid species back from the brink. She wants to protect others from being ‘liked to death’. (Perth-based talent)
• It’s Census time… for Kangaroo Island’s koalas! Flinders University researchers need your help. (Adelaide-based talent)
• AI: Will there be creative jobs for today’s students? Rebecca Marrone and Maria Vieira explore creativity and ethics in the age of AI. (Adelaide-based talent)
• Why cute predators like platypus and rakali are a vital sign. Ask water ecology expert Daniel Harris-Pascal (Canberra-based talent) or platypus guru Pete Walsh (Hobart-based talent)

These are just a few of the interesting people involved in this year’s Science Week (August 15 to 23).

Scientists, experts, and event organisers are available for interview. Read on for information about talent and their events.

Visit the Media Centre for all media releases and images.

Or contact Tanya Ha, [email protected] or 0404 083 863

Psychedelics reshaping mental health care - Hobart, TAS

Medical mushrooms, LSD, MDMA and other once-taboo substances are reshaping mental health care.

Psychedelic plants and fungi have long been used in traditional medicine. Substances like LSD and MDMA were later scientifically studied as potential treatments for conditions from addiction to anxiety. Then came the War on Drugs, bringing most psychedelic research to a halt for decades.

Now, psychedelics are having a second act. In 2023, Australia became the first country to approve the clinical use of MDMA and psilocybin at a national level for specific mental health conditions.

Dr Paul Liknaitzky ─ head of Monash University’s Clinical Psychedelics Lab ─ has played a central role in establishing the field of clinical psychedelic research in Australia and has led several world-first studies and psychedelic trials.

He will speak at Tasmania’s Beaker Street Festival – along with a participant in a recent psychedelics trial – to discuss emerging findings, future directions, and the lived experience of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Saturday 15 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/psychedelics-revisited/hobart

Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, [email protected] or 0401 326 007.

Paul Liknaitzky is available for media interviews.

Striptease meets ‘dirty’ science – Canberra, ACT

Canberran researcher Dr Karina Judd presents a smart, sexy, adults-only exploration of geological and earth sciences.

By day, Dr Judd conducts science-engineering-social science research at the Australian National University to make the zero-carbon transition more people-friendly.

By night, she moonlights as ‘Roxie’ in her one-woman cabaret Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret, winning the 2026 Science at the Fringe Award.

“Funny and bold … an enjoyable learning experience!” - judge’s comments, Adelaide Fringe Festival.

What to expect? Cocktail hour geology with sultry songs, smouldering dance, sharp wit and a shimmer of burlesque. No safety glasses required.

Friday 14 – Saturday 15 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/rock-hard-the-geological-cabaret-2/canberra/

Media enquiries: Dr Karina Judd, [email protected] or 0448 318 748.

Dr Judd, who wrote and produced Rock Hard! The Geological Cabaret, is available for media interviews. She studied environmental geology at UNSW Sydney, specialising in soil and mineral chemistry before completing Honours in geology showcasing soil chemistry techniques as a useful tool in identifying past tsunami. And she is a seasoned performer of cabaret, burlesque and dance. See ANU profile: https://cpas.anu.edu.au/people/karina-judd

Astro TikToker on science social media and the night sky – Hobart, TAS

Wiradjuri woman and science communicator Dr Kirsten Banks has a PhD in astrophysics… and 600K followers on TikTok.

Millions of people now turn to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to understand the world around them. How do we build trust in science in the age of social media? Ask Kirsten.

Drawing on her own experience reaching global audiences online, Kirsten examines how complex ideas can be made accessible without sacrificing accuracy, and what this means for trust, misinformation and public understanding in an increasingly connected world.

Kirsten will deliver a keynote as part of the University of Tasmania’s ‘Island of Ideas’ event series, followed by a conversation with Director of the Institute of Indigenous Knowledges Prof Sadie Heckenberg.

Wednesday 12 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/island-of-ideas-how-social-media-is-changing-science-communication/sandy-bay

Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, [email protected] or 0401 326 007.

Dr Kirsten Banks is also part of Beaker Street Festival’s Dark Sky Dinner on Thursday 13 August near Hobart and Expanding the Cosmos at Mount Gnomon astronomy evening on Monday 17 August at Penguin.

Experimenting with beer – Hobart, TAS

1 recipe. 4 beers.

Four Tasmanian brewers serve up an identical recipe for beer, resulting in vastly different sensory traits.

ExBEERimental Science showcases how small variations in brewing techniques impact our experience of downing a cold one.

Hear about the science and taste the difference with beer-loving scientists Kelsey Picard and Matthew Fielding.

Audience members can join the live event in Hobart at Shambles Brewery.

Friday 21 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/exbeerimental-science-2026/hobart

More information about www.beerablescience.com.

Media enquiries: Matthew Fielding, [email protected] or 0417 167 618.

The best champagne glass and other science surprises in a bottle of bubbly - Melbourne, VIC

From the best shape for a champagne glass to the physics of fizz, there’s a lot of surprising science packed into a lovely bottle of bubbly (and a few misleading myths).

Emma Donnelly is available to explore the science of Champagne, uncorking history, science, and the secret to a perfect pour. Emma studied Champagne through the University of Champagne-Ardenne in France before founding Culinary Science to combine her love of flavour, psychology and sensory science.

Tuesday 25 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/champagne-science-bubbles-myths-and-magic/melbourne

Media enquiries: Emma Donnelly, [email protected] or 0408 955 234.

Emma Donnelly is available for media interviews.

Planetarium ‘pop-rock-funk’ concert explores music, misinformation, and the cosmos – Toowong, QLD

Nate Eggins (a.k.a. Conspiracy of One) is returning with his unique Planetarium Variety Show for an evening of:

• Quirky sciency songs like ‘We're All Aliens, Baby’ and ‘The Sound a Duck Makes’, funny rants and audience participation and prizes
• Stunning planetarium visuals
• A workshop on critical thinking and the chance to contribute data to an ongoing study
• Special guest: Science Communicator Melanie Trecek-King of Thinking is Power and author of the upcoming book A Field Guide to Spotting Misinformation.

Returning to the cosmic skydome are Nate and his band to bring you a special stripped back and intimate performance including songs from his debut album ‘Road to Reason’.

Audiences will gain new and interesting perspectives on science and our modern world, level up your thinking and learn how to spot pseudoscience pretenders - all while tapping their feet.

Friday 21 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/planetarium-concert-live-music-in-the-skydome-3/toowong/

Media enquiries: Nate Eggins, [email protected] or 0402 593 431.

Nate Eggins is available for media interviews. Footage and photos available here.

Quantum leap: careers on tech’s weirdest frontier – Chatswood, NSW

Are there jobs in quantum? Students in Years 8 to 12 can get hands-on with quantum technology and hear directly from people working in the field at ‘Quantum Future Talent: From Curiosity to Career’, hosted by the Sydney Quantum Academy.

The event gives an accessible introduction to quantum computing and cybersecurity, career talks from industry professionals, and interactive demonstrations – including quantum devices, VR experiences and explainer presentations that use skipping ropes and giant balls to demystify the science.

Attendees can also connect with NSW universities including Macquarie, UNSW, the University of Sydney and UTS to explore study pathways into the growing field.

Tuesday 18 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/quantum-futures-curiosity-to-career/chatswood

Media enquiries: Emily Cook, [email protected] or 0403 907 098

Professor Peter Turner, Director of Sydney Quantum Academy, is available for media interviews.

Artists explore adaptation for survival in Science Gallery exhibition - Parkville

US artist David Bowen uses wind data collected from the Perseverance Mars rover to make tele-present wind, while designer and academic Alia Parker grew vats of fungal leather for her collection of modern mushroom clothing that is naturally fire-retardant, hydrophobic and compostable.

Patricia Piccinni spent a year immersed in stem cell research laboratories to create Células Madre, which revisits her seminal early work Still Life with Stem Cells.

These collisions of art and science are all part of EMERGENCE(Y), an exhibition at the University of Melbourne’s Science Gallery that explores how humanity can adapt in the face of environmental, social and political collapses.

Saturday 15 to Saturday 22 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/emergencey/parkville-vic-3052

Media enquiries: Katrina Hall, [email protected] or 0421 153 046

Science Gallery Melbourne director Ryan Jeffries, Australian designer and academic Alia Parker and US artist David Bowen are available for media interviews.

Why attention is a precious and limited resource: neuroscientist explains - Fitzroy North, VIC

Attention: what is it? How does it develop, how is it taxed, and what does science reveal about focus in our information-saturated world?

Prof Katherine Johnson from the University of Melbourne draws on developmental neuroscience to explain why this valuable resource is being depleted.

She will be speaking at Bargoonga Nganjin North Fitzroy Library this National Science Week.

Thursday 20 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/attention-as-currency-with-professor-katherine-johnson/fitzroy-north

Media enquiries: Katherine Johnson, [email protected] or 0406 780 657.

Professor Katherine Johnson is available for media interviews.

Perth’s six seasons and the links between fire and flowers revealed by Noongar educator – Kings Park, WA

Perth has six seasons; ‘quenda’ is the Noongar word for the Southern short-nosed bandicoot who live at Kings Park; fire helps the flowering process of ‘balga’ grass tree, which produces stems that are used as fire sticks, resins used for tools, and flowers eaten and chewed like chewing gum.

These are some of the things Rickeeta Walley can talk about. She’s an artist and Noongar educator at Kaarta Koomba (Kings Park and Botanic Garden).

In 2023, she joined her father performing a Welcome to Country at a Harry Styles concert that went viral. This National Science Week she is taking people on one-hour walks on Country, sharing the traditional scientific practices and knowledges of the Noongar people, from detailing the way the six seasons provide guidelines for environmental and ecological sustainability to revealing local plant species and how they are managed through physical chemistry, fire-processing, and eco-engineering, for food and tool resources.

Thursday 20 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/noongar-two-way-learning-walk-at-kings-park/perth

Media enquiries: Emily Denham, [email protected] or 08 9480 3688.

Orchids threatened by social media - liked to death – Kings Park, WA

Social media popularity is threatening some of Australia's most delicate orchid species, attracting well-meaning nature lovers to sensitive sites in destructive numbers, a recent study revealed.

Study co-author Dr Belinda Davis wants people to help protect these orchids. Based at Kings Park Science, she manages the only collection in WA of orchid seeds, friendly fungi and a living collection of orchids.

She will be joining Dr Magali Wright from Landscape Recovery Foundation, Tasmania for an evening talk about enjoying orchids in the wild while minimising harm, drawing on their personal experiences working with orchids.

Friday 4 September: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/liked-to-death-how-social-media-is-threatening-australias-orchids/kings-park/

Media enquiries: Emily Denham, [email protected] or 08 9480 3688

Kings Park science communicator Eugenie Au and WA orchid expert Belinda Davis are available for media interviews. Dr Davis can be filmed in the lab and working in the glasshouse with rare orchids in full bloom.

Help wanted for Kangaroo Island’s koala census – Kangaroo Island, SA

Australia’s koala populations are under increasing pressure from drought, disease (including chlamydia), habitat loss and the effects of bushfires.

Kangaroo Island in South Australia is home to a large, mostly disease-free koala population, but its limited gene pool could make it vulnerable to future threats.

Researchers from Flinders University are studying this important population at the island’s Koala Sanctuary, and they need volunteers this Science Week: citizen scientists will collect observations that support wildlife monitoring and conservation.

They will look for koalas in trees, learn how to spot signs that koalas are nearby, and record sightings using simple data collection tools. Along the way, participants will help note where koalas are found, which trees they are using, and what the surrounding habitat looks like.

Participants will also view and handle innovative technologies used to study koala movement and behaviour, such as GPS collars and a radio-tracking antenna, and learn how drones, thermal imaging and on-ground surveys can be used together to find and monitor wildlife.

Saturday 15 August and Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/koala-connections-join-a-real-koala-survey/gosse/

Media enquiries: Flinders University media relations, [email protected] or 0466 527 875.

Prof Karen Burke da Silva and Dr Katie Gates are available for media interviews.

Will there be creative jobs for today’s students? - Adelaide, Mawson Lakes, Whyalla & Mount Gambier, SA

What role should AI play in creative work? How do we balance innovation with ethical responsibility? What choices do we want young people and communities to make as technology develops? And what is Australia’s place in this global technological transformation?

Prime Minister Albanese is establishing an AI office. What do the experts say? Ask Australian AI researchers Dr Rebecca Marrone and Dr Maria Vieira.

Dr Rebecca Marrone is a Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University’s Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L). She has a background in educational psychology, and her research is primarily in the fields of creativity, wellbeing, and human and artificial cognition.

Dr Maria Vieira holds a PhD in STEM and a master’s degree in the psychology of creativity. As a member of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L), her research explores creativity, human-AI collaboration, and gender equity, with a particular focus on STEM fields in which women remain underrepresented.

Rebecca and Maria will be speaking at the ‘Future Minds: Creativity and ethics in the age of AI’ series of lectures and student workshops (for years 9-12), inviting audiences to reflect, discuss and engage with some of the most important questions shaping our technological future.

Multiple dates and locations

Media enquiries: Annabel Mansfield, [email protected] or 0479 182 489.

Rebecca Marrone and Maria Vieira available for media interviews.

Platypus and rakali: cute predators a sign of healthy waterways – Whitlam & Tidbinbilla, ACT

The waterways around the nation’s capital are home to some of Australia’s most adorable predators.

Platypus are expert hunters, with special sensors in their bills that enable them to detect tiny electric signals of moving prey. They can eat 40,000 waterbugs and other organisms a day.

Rakali, the native water rat often referred to as Australia’s otter, is a clever creature. Rakali in Australia’s north have learnt to kill cane toads and eat their non-toxic organs with “surgical precision”.

As top predators, they can only survive where there’s a substantial supply of smaller creatures, making them a sign of a healthy freshwater ecosystem. That’s why Dan Harris-Pascal and his colleagues at Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch monitor platypus and rakali populations with the help of volunteers.

This National Science Week, the program is running guided platypus and rakali walks to spot them in their natural environment, waterbug hunt bioblitzes to collect and identify aquatic macroinvertebrates (platypus food), and a screening of the film ‘The Platypus Guardian’ and Q&A with its star Tasmanian photographer Pete Walsh who is working to protect Hobart’s platypus population.

Platypus Guardian Film and Q&A with Pete Walsh: Tuesday 18 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/platypus-guardian-film-screening-and-q-and-a-with-pete-walsh/acton/

Media enquiries: Daniel Harris-Pascal, [email protected] or 0413 246 761.

Daniel Harris-Pascal and Pete Walsh are available for media interviews. Please allow a couple of days for Daniel to gain interview approvals.

About National Science Week

National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its contribution to our lives. 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.

First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 3 million people participated in more than 2,500 registered events and activities. 

National Science Week 2026 runs from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.

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