National Science Week runs from August 12 to 20 and we are clearing our schedules as we type
Is it just us or is this National Science Week (August 12-20) shaping up to be the best one yet? With so many in-person and online events, citizen science opportunities, competitions, talks, First Nations science discussions and workshops, it’s going to be such a cool celebration of all things science!
Below, we share the events that we have in our calendars so far.
National Science Week events
1. The UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing
The UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing is a competition for Year 7-10 students in Australia. You’ll need to write an 800 word essay on how we use and benefit from AI, with a particular focus on science. There are amazing prizes up for grabs, and the winning essay will be included in the 2024 edition of NewSouth Publishing’s highly acclaimed anthology The Best Australian Science Writing. Get your entries in quick! This competition closes 5pm August 25, 2023.
Head on over to the competition page to enter!
2. STEM + X Science Week event
Do you love science and tech and want a career that can help combat climate change, preserve our reefs, mitigate disasters or secure our future food? There are many ways you can combine your sustainable planet goals with science, maths and tech study and career paths at QUT. And have we got the National Science Week event to tell you all about it!
In this special National Science Week panel, delivered during QUT’s Sustainability Week, we will explore the many and varied careers that combine science, maths or tech with sustainability, creating careers that will preserve our planet.
Hear from recent graduates, QUT academics and industry representatives who have combined their STEM study with their passion for sustainability.
When: Tuesday, August 22, 12.30pm – 1.30pm (arrive at 12pm)
Where: Gibson Room (Level 10, Z Block), @ QUT’s Garden Point campus (Brisbane)
3. Girls Day Out in STEM: Future New Worlds Tour
GDOS is a fun, girls STEM event where you can explore the future of industries across the job spectrum and check out the innovations that are powering them.
In this online event, you’ll undertake challenges, discover where new jobs will be created and also what as-yet-unimagined jobs might look like. You’ll create your own time capsule, too, so when you’re looking for study paths and career goals, you can unlock the cool work you did in the challenges and get ideas for where your own future might take you.
You can also interact with an AI chatbot to enter these Future New Worlds and once inside you get to have fun by engaging with innovations that are powering industries and the real world. Each destination on our tour itinerary is filled with insider industry knowledge and awesome challenges.
There are also cool prize draws to be won for those who finish each challenge and if you finish all the challenges, you will be entered into the Grand Prize draw for an iPad.
When: Runs throughout National Science Week (August 12-20)
Where: Online
Learn more and register for you free ticket!
4. Arludo Science Game Design Dash
Across three 45 minute sessions, Arludo Game Designers and Arludo Science Communicators will battle it out to see who can design the best science game.
These sessions will feature discussions of the game design process, fun science facts and Q&A sessions with Arludo scientists. Students can even pick a team and help out with the design by voting on what the designers do next.
Perfect for students participating in the National Game Design Challenge or students just interested in games and science, this session will be a race against the clock blending game design expertise and scientific knowledge to create a unique interactive experience.
When: Monday, August 14, 10:00am – 2:45pm
Where: Online
Find the booking info here!
5. Indigenous Science Experience at Redfern
This free, community open event is a celebration of Indigenous and Western science and highlights the relevance of STEM to our everyday lives.
On the day, you’ll be able to get hands-on with a diverse range of interactive science activities for all ages. Activities will include:
- Yarning with Elders on bush foods and medicines
- Indigenous astronomy
- Maths puzzles
- Making Aboriginal tools
- Physics and chemistry activities
- And much more!
You will also meet Indigenous Elders and student leaders from the National Indigenous Science Education Program who will be assisting in demonstrating the activities.
When: Saturday, August 19, 10.00am – 3.00pm
Where: Redfern Community Centre, 29-53 Hugo St, Redfern NSW
Visit the National Indigenous Science Education Program website for all the details.
6. Australia’s Astronaut in training: In conversation with Katherine Bennell-Pegg
The Australian Space Agency’s Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first person to be trained as an astronaut under the Australian flag.
Join in online as Katherine beams in from Germany where she is currently training with the European Space Agency.
Hear about a day in the life of an astronaut-in-training, Katherine’s career journey and her advice to others who dare to follow their dreams. You’ll also get the chance to ask questions of this history-making trailblazer.
When: Tuesday, August 15, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Where: Online
More info on this space-tacular talk here!
7. A Play Written By ChatGPT
You’ve possibly heard of, and even used, ChatGPT, but what is happening under the hood? This play explores how ChatGPT works by asking it to extract from plays that don’t (yet) exist, with creative contributions from the audience. These AI-generated narratives are brought to life by the talented improvisers of Impro Melbourne, and may be funny, dramatic, and quite possibly unintentionally hilarious.
The show will also venture into thought-provoking issues around the essence of intelligence, the Turing Test, and the role of AI in our future lives and artistic endeavours.
When: Sunday, August 13 and Sunday, August 20, 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Where: Impro Melbourne Theatre, 21/23 Stanley Street, West Melbourne VIC
8. Sydney Science Trail
Australian Museum and Botanic Gardens of Sydney are bringing science to life with over 80 interactive activities this National Science Week!
Both locations will be open and offering awesome STEM activities to get involved with. Primary and secondary school students can participate in creative science demonstrations, find out via live insects why bugs and insects are vitally important to humans, watch a T.rex go under the knife, learn about the amazing inventions of our First Nations peoples, get crafty with ghost net weaving workshops, and ask Dr Karl their burning scientific questions.
There is also a free online component where students and families can explore science videos and podcasts, and learn through an online quiz, with content from top scientists at the AM, Botanic Gardens and university partners, University of Technology, Sydney, and University of New England.
When: From Monday, August 14 to Sunday, August 20
Where: Australian Museum and Botanic Gardens of Sydney
Head here to get all the information!
Looking for more National Science Week events?
Head on over to the National Science Week website and you can search by topic, location and date to find an event that suits you.
There’s also heaps to do on the Careers with STEM website this National Science Week! Why not…
- Challenge yourself to complete all of our science career quizzes
- Find a science career mentor in our role models section
- Download our free Clean Energy Scientist Job Kit
- Search our STEM + X page to find out how you can combine a hobby, interest or passion with science to build your dream career
- Watch our video about 33 careers you can get with a Bachelor of Science
