Super-fast planes. Koala census. Female fossil rockers. Facts vs fiction in sci-fi movies. Garden with Costa.
Highlights from day 2 of National Science Week
Sunday 16 August
Researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country.
QLD: An Aussie astronaut, a little lunar robot and super-fast aeroplanes at Gold Coast’s Airshow.
SA: Help wanted for Kangaroo Island’s koala census.
ACT: Snakes, space, rockets, rocks and more take over Canberra’s shopping centres.
SA: Dinosaur-loving female supergroup The Ammonites take their music to Naracoorte Caves.
NSW: A science theatre experience and art installation explore survival and extinction.
TAS: Walk and talk on Country, blending traditional knowledge and modern science.
TAS: Black holes and robots: where sci-fi meets sci-fact.
WA: Half human/half hedge: Costa returns to Nannup Flower and Garden Festival.
VIC: Tiger quolls, swamp wallabies and a meat-eating snail – The Otways’ wildlife wonders.
ACT: Buzz with the bees: dancers with disability pollinate science and inclusion
Read on for more on these, including direct event contact details.
Also today:
- QLD: The wild ride of a strawberry and VR farm flyovers at the Ekka.
- NT: Gnarly inflatable surf wave sets stage for marine education at Darwin Festival.
- VIC: The science behind the elephants at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
- VIC: It’s gulling season at Merri Creek. See Melbourne weather through the lens of Kulin knowledge.
Coming up tomorrow:
Tassie’s dark sky. Underground farm. Robot responders. Health history in a vintage caravan – see a preview of Monday’s highlights.
National Science Week 2026 runs from 15 to 23 August.
Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, [email protected] or 0404 083 863.
- More highlights by state: ACT - NSW - NT - QLD - SA - TAS - VIC - WA.
- More stories by round: The Arts - Business - Children & Family - Environment - Entertainment - Film - Food - Health - Indigenous - Queer - Seniors - Women in Science – Youth – Talkback talent.
- Visit the Media Centre for all media releases and images.
- Or visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
More about the event highlights
Meet an Aussie astronaut and the little robot going to the moon at the Airshow - Surfers Paradise, QLD
Queensland students will be able to test-drive a model of the first Australian-built moon rover (nicknamed the Roo-ver), as well as meet astronaut and 2026 Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg, at the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast.
The space-faring Australians are attending the airshow to showcase the science and engineering behind flight, both in and out of atmosphere, at the NXTGEN STEM LAB. Schools can register to attend for free on the Friday as part of the Students with Altitude program.
The Pacific Airshow Gold Coast runs for three action-packed days, with some of the best pilots in the world flying super-fast planes in tricks, flip and stunts high over the ocean.
Friday 14 August – Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/pacific-airshow-gold-coast/surfers-paradise
Media enquiries: Jesse Burns, [email protected]
Interviews with performers can be arranged on request. Footage and images available for media use here.
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.
Snakes, space, rockets, rocks and more while you shop – multiple locations, ACT
Pop-up activity centres will give shoppers the chance to discover the science behind native plants, reptiles, engineering, space (and sci fi!), pollen mapping and the environment.
Canberra Centre, Westfield Belconnen, Westfield Woden, South.Point Tuggeranong, Majura Park Shopping Centre, Cooleman Court, and Marketplace Gungahlin will host a variety of displays and hands-on science activities during the weekends of National Science Week (15 - 16 and 22 - 23 August).
Media enquiries: Brook Clinton, [email protected] or 0406 356 207.
Female fossil rockers head to the caves – Naracoorte, SA
The trio – Danni, Morgan and Blair, who graduated from Dinosaur University – are the alter-egos of performers Summa Arrizza, Montana Vincent and Lily Horton-Stewart. 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!
Friday 14 August to Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/naracoorte-rocks-the-world-beneath-our-feet/naracoorte/
Media enquiries: Michael Mills, [email protected] or 0411 287 381.
Extinction and connectedness as a science theatre experience – Waverton, NSW
The Theory of Relativity (Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, 2014) is a live theatre and music experience, employing dance, acting, and song to explore how scientists respond to mass bird extinction events.
Join the innovative Sydney based production company Wherenext for an expressive exploration of future possibilities in conservation, and the urgent need for change and creativity in our relationship with the natural world.
Thursday 13 August to Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/wings-2/waverton/
Media enquiries: Narelle Yeo, [email protected] or 0411 104 905; or Alice Motion, [email protected] or 0431 318 280.
A walk where ancient knowledge meets modern science – Ridgeway, TAS
Take a guided walk through the Waterworks reserve in the foothills of Kunanyi with Pakana activist and cultural practitioner Cody Gangell-Smith and wild-food forager Westerly Isbaih, exploring how modern science is beginning to echo what First Nations people practising their culture have always known.
Connecting to Country is a gentle, slow walk about place-based traditional ecological knowledge and reawakening a reciprocal relationship with the land through the senses.
Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/connecting-to-country-a-practice-for-everyone/ridgeway
Media enquiries: Matt Fraser, [email protected] or 0401 326 007.
Black holes and robots: where sci-fi meets sci-fact – Hobart, TAS
From black holes in Interstellar to a robot cleaning up a deserted Earth in Wall-E, science fiction has long inspired real research. ‘That’s What I Call Science’ brings science and art together at From Fact to Fiction, screening a science fiction film followed by a panel of STEM experts.
The panel will unpack the science behind the film and connect it to their own research taking place in Lutruwita/Tasmania.
Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/from-fact-to-fiction-2/hobart
Media enquiries: Olly Dove, [email protected]
Olly Dove available for media interviews.
Costa returns to Nannup Flower and Garden Festival along with Gardening Australia pals and more – Nannup
Costa, Sophie Thomson and all your favourite Gardening Australia presenters are tackling edible ecosystems with the theme “Grow, Gather, Feast” at the 29th Nannup Flower and Garden Festival.
The 2026 Festival puts the spotlight on gardens as living laboratories in the search for a sustainable food future.
Between 7-16 August a series of kitchen and garden workshops will explore topics like seasonal growing, bush foraging and eco-friendly gardening in your backyard, balcony or bush block.
Keen gardeners (and interested amateurs) can attend practical demonstrations, swap seeds for future planting and learn new skills from a diverse range of food cultures.
Current and former Gardening Australia presenters will be attending over the two weekends of the Festival. This weekend it’s Costa and Millie Ross.
Sunday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/nannup-flower-and-garden-festival-grow-gather-feast/nannup/
Media enquiries: Emmi Taylor, [email protected] or 0400 770 175.
Tiger quolls, swamp wallabies and a meat-eating snail - Apollo Bay, VIC
The Otway Range’s woodlands, gullies and coastal grasslands are home to long-nose potoroos, tiger quolls and swamp wallabies, living in a sanctuary maintained by the non-profit social enterprise Wildlife Wonders.
You might also spot the highly-endangered meat-eating Otways black snail the fixes prey like slugs and earthworms in place with long backwards-facing teeth arranged in a V on the underside of its foot.
Within the predator-proof zone the Conservation Ecology Centre researches Australian biodiversity and conservation. During National Science Week, children and student groups can join guided walking tours of the sanctuary for free.
Saturday 15 August to Sunday 23 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/walk-with-wildlife-experience-3/apollo-bay
Media enquiries: Sasha Heath, [email protected] or 03 7046 1664.
Dancers with disability pollinate science and inclusion – Belconnen, ACT
Explore the importance of bees for ecology, biodiversity and our food train through ‘BuzzACT’, a dance-and-science show for children.
Canberra’s inclusive dance performance group, The Chamaeleon Collective, comprises 70% of artists living with disability, chronic illness and/or PTSD.
Launched in 2020, The Chamaeleon Collective, is part of The Stellar Company, founded by dance artist/choreographer/producer, Liz Lea. The initiative provides professional mentoring and career pathways for emerging artists with and without disability.
Saturday 15 to Saturday 22 August. Multiple dates and locations.
Sunday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/buzzz-act-belco-arts-centre
Media enquiries: Liz Lea, The Stellar Company, [email protected] or 0498 988 252.
Liz Lea is available for media interviews.
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.
