National Science Week is Australia's major annual science extravaganza. National Science Week 2011 is scheduled for August 13 to 21, and yes, that's more than one week. With so much happening - broadcasts and events generally continue for about a month around the official dates - we may as well start calling it National Science Month! Science Week provides a good opportunity to consider Australian scientists' contributions to the world of knowledge and point to some Internet resources of interest.

Science Week, and the activities that coincide with it, provides opportunities to draw attention to Australian science successes, to encourage interest in science pursuits and to get younger people fascinated by the world in which we live. Which is what scientific exploration is all about - asking questions about our world and ourselves. One of the events occurring in National Science Week is Science in the City, a celebration of the contributions of science to society. As part of National Science Week, the program features over 300 activities in the heart of the City of Sydney.

Australia has an exciting history of scientific achievement. Visit the links below to find out about Australian scientists and about issues in science.

National Science Week is a partnership between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. Together with coordination committees in each State and Territory, these bodies work year round to promote science and prepare for the week.

Major science awards

The Eureka Prizes are Australia's most important science awards. The 21 prizes are administered by the Australian Museum and prize sponsors include the Australian Skeptics, the University of New South Wales, Environment Australia, the Department of Education, Science and Training, and New Holland Publishers Australia.

The prizes reward a variety of work which promotes science and scientific approaches to thinking - the Australian Skeptics Eureka Prize is for critical thinking and aims to encourage younger scientists to explore and investigate beliefs which have little or no scientific support. Have a look at the winners of the 2010 Eureka Prizes.

Science Week events

The week is jam-packed with science related events including workshops, theatrical presentations, open days, lectures, debates and displays.

The Science Week website provides information about science related events.

The Australian Museum has an extensive annual program of Science Week events listed at their website.

In Canberra the Australian Science Festival takes place, and back at the ABC's Science homepage find the mini-site Backyard Birdwatch as well as the News In Science page. (Our cool little java script science news headlines at the top of this page link to the News in Science page).

Science resources on CD or video

Investigating Lake Iluka

This CD-ROM is targeted at the high school level being applicable to biology and geography as well as ecology studies. Students can investigate the various ecosystems of the lake, make physical, chemical and biological measurements, collect information about individual animal and plant species and view footage of news reports and expert and local views on a variety of issues.

Exploring the Nardoo

Students can explore the ecology of this imaginary environment through four physical regions and across four time zones using a captivating and comprehensive set of multimedia resources on this CD-ROM. Suitable for Years 7 to 12.

Video histories of Australian scientists

A series of videos in which Australian scientists talk about their work and careers. It includes interviews with Sir Otto Frankel, Sir Gustav Nossel and Sir Mark Oliphant.

Useful links

Australian science organisations

• Australian Academy of Science
• CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
• Questacon
• Australian National Botanical Gardens
• Listing of Australian science sites

Australian science spots online

• Australian Institute of Marine Science Data Centre
• Winners of 2010 Eureka Prizes
• Primary Investigations: a science program for primary schools
• ABC Science
• National Science Week

Australian scientists

• Encyclopedia of Australian Science
• Geoffrey Badger
• Peter Bishop
• William Bragg: Nobel Prize for Physics
• John Cornthorp: Nobel Prize for Chemistry
• Peter Doherty: Nobel Prize for Medicine
• John Eccles: Nobel Prize for Medicine
• Howard Florey: Nobel Prize for Medicine
• John Gould
• Elizabeth Kenny
• Frank Macfarlane Burnet: Nobel Prize for Medicine
• Douglas Mawson
• Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Last updated: 29th November 2010