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 three million people participated in more than 2,000 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 August 9 to Sunday 17. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
Here’s a list of what’s happening in WA…
Space music with NASA astrophysicist and orchestra in Perth – Kwinana
Dr Antony Brian – an astrophysicist, planetary geologist and Venusian volcanologist (who mapped the surface of Venus for NASA) – is on a mission to launch Baroque concertgoers into deep space.
In ‘Space Music’, he joins forces with Perth-based orchestra Australian Baroque providing accompaniment in the form of striking NASA images.
The multi-sensory experience takes place at Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana.
Saturday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/space-music-presented-by-australian-baroque/waikiki/
Female fossil rockers on tour – Perth and Geraldton
Aussie girl-geek band The Ammonites is taking a palaeo-musical show across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
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.
Crochet: where maths meets craft, with cocktails – Joondalup
Create your own hyperbolic geometry shape with yarn at Birra Bar at Edith Cowan University and learn the pattern from ECU mathematician Dr Julia Collins, while sipping on a specialty cocktail.
Julia is co-founder of Maths Craft Australia and has a PhD in 4-dimensional knot theory from the University of Edinburgh. She shares the maths that underpins crochet in a workshop-cocktail party.
You will need to have mastered the basic crochet stitch to take part in this workshop. It is not for absolute beginners, and you can BYO yarn and hooks if you like.
Friday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/crochet-and-cocktails-2/joondalup/
Space farmers wanted – Perth
It’s Day 530 on the moon base and you’re eating packaged slop again… until a delivery of nutrient-enhanced microgreens arrives from Earth. Your mission is to sustainably grow and harvest edible plants in an extreme environment. But first you need to learn the basics of plant biology, food chemistry and farming approaches that minimise water, energy and resource use.
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space is supersizing its mission to develop out-of-this-world future foods by enlisting public participation in ‘Grow 4 Launch’ experiments.
Participants will receive a microgreens kit complete with seeds, hydroponics gear and test tools, alongside guidance on how to alter plant sensory traits (colour, taste, smell and texture) and investigate conditions that help sustainable growth.
The project also invites participants to submit recipes, results and ideas for a Spacefood Cookbook which will also feature contributions from astronauts, nutritionists and chefs.
Kings Park: Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/grow-4-launch-workshops-grow-test-and-imagine-the-future-of-food-in-space/kings-park/
Crawley: Thursday 21 and Friday 22 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/grow-4-launch-workshops-grow-test-imagine-the-future-of-food-in-space-6/crawley/
Plants for Space researchers available for interview. Great visuals at in-person events (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth) involving cooking demonstrations, panel discussion, hands-on workshops with musical fruits, and decorating hydroponic plant growth units as rockets.
Quantum Year goes off-road – touring Australia’s cities and regions
Meet dark matter hunters and quantum experts at events across Australia.
To celebrate Quantum Year, the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip will tour pubs and schools in regional and remote communities in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales – and run events in capital cities between August 4 and August 17.
Communities will also get the chance to trial the Dark Matter Hunter computer game, play with 3D quark puzzles, a muon detector, gravity well, diamond earring-based magnetic field sensor, and quantum computing chips.
Dark matter accounts for 84 per cent of all the matter in the Universe, but we don’t yet know what it is. Australia is a key player in the quest to find out. Quantum technologies are crucial in the hunt for dark matter and they’re already used in smart phones and cars, medical imaging, manufacturing, and navigation. But today’s technologies capture only a small fraction of the potential of quantum physics.
Multiple dates and locations across WA.
When will the Milky Way crash into Andromeda? – Yalgoo, Cue and Mount Magnet
Astrophysicist Dr Ruby Wright will reveal the fate of our galaxy over dinner party conversation under the stars in Western Australia’s outback gold rush towns.
Guests can also join a guided tour of the Milky Way, the Moon, Mars, and deep space objects like the Jewel Box Cluster – all magnified with the help of International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) telescopes.
Carbon-fibre bones, gravity waves, and selfies with atoms – Crawley
Perth’s Forrest Research Foundation opens its doors to the public, in collaboration with Supersonic Science, at Forrest Hall (UWA campus, Crawley).
Visitors can witness the Universe being born or journey inside molecules at a virtual reality station; take photos with atoms or against the backdrop of distant galaxies (thanks to greenscreen technology); see how gravity waves work; and check out carbon-fibre bones, shark skeletons and more.
The Forrest Research Foundation drives research and innovation capacity by supporting over 60 PhD scholars and postdoctoral fellows from around the world to conduct research at one of the state’s five universities.
Saturday 16 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/national-science-week-showcase-at-the-forrest-research-foundation/crawley/
What floats your eco-boat? – Wyndham & East Kimberley
That’s a pivotal question for students competing in a school boat building challenge across WA’s East Kimberley region, thanks to an initiative of Wyndham Youth Aboriginal Corporation. Students can only use recycled items and found materials from the local environment to build – and test – their innovative, eco-friendly vessels at Wyndham’s public swimming pool.
The East Kimberley School Boat Building Challenge, facilitated by Wyndham District High School and St Joseph’s School, is open to students from East Kimberley, including Wyndham, Balgo, Warnum, Glen Hill and Kalumburu. Indigenous Elders, rangers and locals with boating/fishing experience will assist students and share knowledge that weaves science, Country and culture together.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/east-kimberley-school-boat-building-challenge-and-family-day/wyndham/
Blast bacteria with beanbags at Kids STEM Festival Kalgoorlie
Kids can ‘kill’ bacteria with white blood cell beanbags, explore how sunscreen blocks UV rays and more at Kids STEM Festival Kalgoorlie.
This free, two-day event brings together local scientists and fun activities from Kids Research Institute Australia. It showcases accessible pathways to science and technology careers in the region and invites local schools to join a curriculum-based experiment and showcase results to the community.
Wednesday 13 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/festival-of-stem-kalgoorlie/kalgoorlie/
Thursday 14 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-kids-stem-festival-kalgoorlie-workshops/kalgoorlie/
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 search for Australia’s most underrated animal will be decided on Friday August 15.
Friday 1 August – Friday 15 August: To find out more and vote, go to www.abc.net.au/underrated.
