Science Week programme spans koalas, solar cars and sea rescue
Science Week will bring koala surveys, solar car races, marine rescue demonstrations and a giant inflatable Poo Palace to regional New South Wales from 15th August to 23rd August 2026.
The national festival is scheduled to reach more than 3 million people through more than 2,500 events. In regional NSW, the programme includes events in Armidale, Port Macquarie, Charlestown, Bermagui and Newcastle, plus online activities linked to Cooma and ABC Science.
A state launch event, Science and Country. Weaving Knowledge Together, is set for 6pm on 11th August at the University of Wollongong Science Space in North Wollongong. Speakers include Dr Crystal Arnold, Peter Hewitt, A/Prof Anthony McKnight, A/Prof Theresa Larkin and Dr Darren Saunders.
Regional NSW highlights
Among the regional Science Week events, University of New England botanists will run a pop-up stall at Armidale Farmers Markets on 9th August, where visitors can act as “seed detectives” and examine how plant roots hold soil together.
Port Macquarie Marine Rescue will open its boat shed on 15th August for demonstrations on life-jackets, emergency beacons, flood waters and knot-tying. An online classroom activity developed with Snowy Hydro’s Snowy STEM Academy will also be available from 13th August, giving students 20 blocks and the role of an energy company decision-maker in a 30 to 50-minute session for years 7 to 10, adaptable for years 6 to 12.
In Charlestown, up to 150 students from 10 local schools are due to take part in the Muswellbrook Solar Car STEM Challenge on 21st August at the STEM Innovation Lab in the Donald Horne Building. The programme includes five hands-on stations, with students adjusting gears and solar panels on UNSW solar car models, exploring a Net Zero Education Trailer and learning how “urban mining” recycles metals from old phones and gadgets.
Bermagui’s koala event on 22nd August will train participants to log sightings using methods ranging from acoustic monitoring to searching for koala droppings. Organisers say more accurate counts are needed after bushfires and other threats, with conservation work on the South Coast affected by incomplete surveys.
Newcastle Museum will host the free Hunter Science Festival on 23rd August, featuring the inflatable Poo Palace, stunt clown The Pretty Amazing Jono, garbage truck tours, mini solar car races, humanoid and dog robots, shark eggs, video games and explosive stage shows.
Science Week also includes an online ABC Science vote on Australia’s most amazing wildflower, running from 5th August to 21st August, with the winner to be announced on Radio National on 21st August.
Related: Science Week NSW brings reactor
