Science masters
APHYSICIST,AN ENGINEER and a medical researcher walk into an outback pub… That’s not the start of a bad joke, but a real scenario occurring during National Science Week in August – part of the Catch a Rising Star program that’s sending women scientists into remote communities in Queensland. It’s being run by University of Queensland biochemist Dr Maggie Hardy and Queensland University of Technology engineer Mathilde Desselle – and yes, they will be visiting country pubs.
“You have to go and talk to the people where they are,” Maggie explains. “And in regional communities, the pub is the lifeblood of the community.
“People love their trivia in Australia,” she adds, “so a trivia night with a science angle is a pretty cool way to promote science.”
Catch a Rising Star is also staging events in schools and libraries, which last year proved equally popular with locals. “Queenslanders are so closely tied to the natural world around them,” Maggie says. “About 86 per cent of the state is in drought. Because of those environmental
National Science Week looks to the future as it celebrates its 20th birthday this year.
challenges – which will increase with climate change – our farmers and our communities are really on the frontline of technology, which is partly why Queensland is the perfect place for National Science Week and a program like this.
“If you live in Mount Isa or in Julia Creek, the likelihood you’re ever going to meet a scientist is pretty poor,” she says. “So we’re trying to bring the science out to these people – it’s about what’s being done with their tax dollars, and it’s about topics that are directly relevant to them: research into agriculture, or the Great Barrier Reef or medical research. Everyone is affected by science and by discoveries being made by researchers.”
The two women are also providing female role models in science and technology. “With the problems in the world today that scientists are trying to solve, we really need all hands on deck,” Maggie says. “We need the best minds doing the best science and that’s what it’s about, making sure we don’t have 50 per cent of our team sitting on the sidelines.”
Catch a Rising Star is one of more than 1000 events across the country this August for National Science Week, which is marking its milestone 20th birthday by running its biggest festival yet.
Last year alone, 1.3 million people came along to a National Science Week event, says Geoff Crane, the festival’s manager and a science communicator at the National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra. “It’s one of Australia’s biggest festivals, and it’s growing,” he says. “It stimulates participation from people everywhere, from outback stations to our Antarctic bases.The high school on Cocos Island got a small grant last year and ran a project filming fish in their lagoon. It’s really for everyone.”
There are plenty of ways to get involved, from putting on an event yourself (speak to your state organising committee to find out how), to simply going along to an event or even becoming a citizen scientist and participating directly in projects.
Citizen science has always been a focus of National Science Week, and last year’s Wildlife Spotter project, run in conjunction with the ABC, had 50,000 volunteers identifying animals in images from remote-controlled cameras set up in the bush. “These produce millions of images,” Geoff says, “and scientists can’t analyse them all.” But in just six weeks, the citizen scientists had analysed 3 million images, a task that would have taken a full-time employee a staggering 14 years.
This year, with some events still to be announced, stand-outs across the country include the Indigenous Science Experience in Redfern, Sydney, where indigenous people will be explaining traditional Aboriginal practices and demonstrating science activities. In Canberra, students with intellectual disabilities will be conducting experiments for the Scienceability project.The Darwin Insect Festival will celebrate bugs in all forms, from biosecurity to bug collecting.
In South Australia, the Naracoorte Caves Connection will explore the science of this World Heritage site while Tasmania’s TastroFest takes advantage of the state’s clear skies to discuss astronomy during a three-day event. Science in the Park:Wildlife Counts in Coolart Wetlands and Homestead Reserve, Victoria, will introduce visitors to the Mornington Peninsula’s unique wetland environment. And in Western Australia, Soil Secrets will be explaining the complex but fascinating science of soil.
These events are just a sample of the many projects making up this year’s festival. “There’s so much great work out there,” Maggie Hardy says. “We’re having too much fun with National Science Week!”