Palaeontology pop music; Top End biosecurity; meteor craters; how birds got their colours; ticket to space
National Science Week
The national festival that reaches more than 3 million people through over 2,000 events is back from 9 to 17 August. Dozens of Science Week stories around Northern Territory:
- Female fossil rockers on tour: meet the Aussie girl-geek band The Ammonites – Alice Springs
- How the birds got their colours – Darwin
- Territorians’ ticket to the International Space Station – Darwin
- Deep space and time exploration in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre – Alice Springs
- Kids build and code 3D-printed weather stations – Palmerston City
- Top End biosecurity: meet scientists on the frontline protecting Australia from exotic pests and diseases – Katherine and Berrimah
- Tuck into bush tucker at Jingili Water Gardens – Darwin
- Vote for Australia’s most underrated animals
More on these highlights below.
Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.
Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, [email protected] or 0404 083 863; or Shelley Thomas, [email protected] or 0416 377 444.
Visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
Media centre here. Images for media here.
Northern Territory launch event 6pm tonight in Darwin City
National Science Week kicks off with an event unveiling our new Science Week character and the Future Frontier Games finalists.
Launch event with:
- Future Frontier Games showcase
- A talk by Dr. Ulrike Kachel and Memory Cards game launch
- New mascot unveiling by Dr. Carla Eisemberg, Director CDU Radicle Centre.
Where: Mindil Room, Level 16, Ramada Suites By Wyndham Zen Quarter, 6 Carey Street, Darwin City
Media enquiries: Gargee Lad, [email protected] or 08 8946 7116
More info: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/nt-launch-of-national-science-week-2025/darwin-city/
National Science Week in The Territory: highlights
Female fossil rockers on tour – Alice Springs
The trio – Danni, Morgan and Blair, who graduated from Dinosaur University – are the alter-egos of performers Bridget Tran, Kate Neville and Montana Vincent. With the help of renowned singing palaeontologist Professor Flint, their show explores Australia’s prehistoric past, while shining a light on challenges facing women in science and inspiring girls to follow their lead and dream big!
Professor Flint will also bring a ‘show and tell’ table of Australian fossils on tour. Plus, audiences will get the chance to dive into a 580 million-year-old inland sea, thanks to the University of South Australia’s 360 VR reconstruction of the ancient Ediacaran seafloor.
Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-ammonites-rock/alice-springs/
Media enquiries: Michael Mills, [email protected] or 0411 287 381.
How the birds got their colours – Darwin
Dreamtime through circus and dance
Yugambeh Elder Luther Cora and Arc Circus tell the Dreamtime story of ‘How the Birds Got Their Colours’.
This Indigenous-led outdoor performance forms part of the Darwin Festival in partnership with the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Wednesday 13 August – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/how-the-birds-got-their-colours/the-gardens
Media enquiries: Alison Copley, [email protected] or 0438 111 343.
Territorians’ ticket to the International Space Station – Darwin
Young space enthusiasts can go on a spacewalk and witness how astronauts eat, sleep and work on the International Space Station thanks to a free VR experience at Charles Darwin University’s Radicle Centre.
Opened in March 2025, CDU Radicle Centre is the first and only science centre north of Brisbane. Its reach extends to mobile workshops and exhibits with a fully-equipped science vehicle to provide resources and activities to remote schools.
Saturday 16 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/vr-explorer/brinkin/
Media enquiries: Carla Eisemberg, [email protected] or 0401 737 884.
CDU Radicle Centre for Science and Technology Engagement Director Dr Carla Eisemberg is available for media interviews.
Deep space and time exploration in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre – Alice Springs
Discover how Central Australia provides insights into the history of life on Earth.
Explore our abundance of fossil sites, from the precursors of multi-cellular life (which lived billions of years before dinosaurs) to the world’s largest bird.
See how Australia’s Red Centre has changed through deep time and learn about our more recent geological past by exploring the 12 craters created just 4,700 years ago by the Henbury Meteor!
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory hosts a series of events with experts including astrophysicist Dr Sara Webb; ecologist Dr Steve Morton; and the museum’s Dr Kirsti Abbott (Head of Science) and Dr Adam Yates (Senior Curator, Earth Sciences).
Media enquiries: Alison Copley, [email protected] or 0438 111 343.
Be a Top End biosecurity expert for the day – Katherine and Berrimah
School students will meet scientists on the frontline protecting Australia from exotic pests and diseases arriving from all directions, threatening agricultural and livestock industries.
The Northern Territory is a biosecurity buffer for the rest of Australia, and home to booming primary production industries from cattle to cotton, mangoes and honeybees. Below events are open to schools.
Wednesday 13 August – explore the Northern Territory Government’s Katherine Research Station. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-spectacle-and-ag-adventures-at-katherine-research-station/lansdowne/
Friday 15 August – confront mysterious pathogens and race to find the antidote in ‘Survivor: Northern Territory Biosecurity Quest – Zom-Bee Apocalypse’ at the Berrimah Farm Science Precinct. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/survivor-northern-territory-biosecurity-quest-zom-bee-apocalypse-2/berrimah/
Media enquiries: Anne Lobo, [email protected] or 0447 131 167.
Kids build and code 3D-printed weather stations – Palmerston City
Weather obsessed kids (aged 8 to 15) will build and program their own weather stations in a two-hour TAFE course.
The project led by Charles Darwin University TAFE combines meteorology, environmental science and the Internet of Things. Participants will work with 3D-printed material and sensor modules, then learn how to write computer code that translates data into real-time forecasts based on humidity, temperature and air pressure.
Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/cdu-tafe-presents-building-your-own-weather-station/palmerston-city/
Media enquiries: [email protected] or 0403 009 337.
What’s the (bio) buzz? – Darwin
‘Biodiversity Buzz: Top End Eco Science Fair’ brings together experts in environmental science, botany, zoology, microbiology, ecology and social sciences at Darwin’s Jingili Water Gardens.
The free, family-friendly event includes interpretative walks, tips on boosting biodiversity in your home garden, the science of plant classification, a guided children’s scavenger hunt, and native wildlife encounters from birds to bees, butterflies and bugs.
Bio Buzz aims to enhance community knowledge about Top End ecosystems and encourage locals to safeguard terrestrial, freshwater, marine and estuarine biodiversity.
Saturday 23 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/biodiversity-buzz-top-end-eco-science-fair/jingili/
Media enquiries: Emily Raso, [email protected] or 0476 516 631.
What is Australia’s most underrated animal? – online
Do weird and wonderful Aussie creatures get the attention they deserve? For Science Week 2025, ABC Science wants Australians to cast their vote for Australia’s most underrated animal.
Not the usual cuddly crowd-pleasers, but the ugly, the annoying and the lesser-known critters that are often over-looked, under-conserved and underrated.
“We are trying to do the impossible here and rate what may be unrateable, vote on what may be un-findable, but most of all, find out as much as we can about animals which live their entire lives outside the spotlight of popular consciousness,” says Dr Ann Jones from ABC Radio National podcast What the Duck?!
The shortlist (those found in the Territory indicated with bold text):
Palm cockatoo
Dugong
Short-fin eel
Great desert skink
Ghost bat
Rakali (native water rat)
Marsupial mole
Turtle frogs
Giant cuttlefish
Velvet worm
The search for Australia’s most underrated animal will be decided on Friday 15 August. Images here.
Friday 1 August – Friday 15 August: To find out more and vote, go to www.abc.net.au/underrated.
For interviews with other animal experts and science communicators, contact:
Tanya Ha, [email protected] or 0404 083 863
Shelley Thomas, [email protected] or 0416 377 444
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.
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 2,000 registered events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2025 it runs from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
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Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory' Dr Kirsti Abbott (Head of Science) and Dr Adam Yates (Senior Curator, Earth Sciences) on a fossil site. They will be speaking in Alice Springs during National Science Week.
