Four amazing WA initiatives have been funded in the National Science Week 2021 federal grant round.
Sharing in $500,000 worth of funding provided nationally, these fabulous initiatives will bring theatre, animation, astronomy and hands-on STEM into WA's official Science Week celebrations.
Get the low-down below!
StoryBursts 2021: WA Monologue Program University of Western Australia
The challenge: can you take a scientist’s research and turn it into a creative five-minute monologue for performance?
Western Australia is home to exciting STEM research, including the search for previously unknown galaxies in the local Universe and the wonders of the oceans, flora and fauna around us on earth.
The StoryBursts 2021 WA Monologue Program invites Western Australian writers of all ages to collaborate with researchers and write science-inspired monologues. The monologues can be performed in any of 14 languages including Auslan, and can include diverse performance styles such as puppetry, dance, and song.
The monologues will be performed and recorded as a stage performance, video or podcast and be made available to a national audience during National Science Week.
Gosnells Science Trail City of Gosnells
Make a native bee hotel, garden with microbes and microscopes, or discover bush medicine through the Gosnells Science Trail.
This free series of 20 workshops, nine performances, and two tree-planting events will explore the science of sustainability, restoration ecology, chemistry, astronomy, and more. Held across multiple venues in the City of Gosnells, the program also includes a solar cooking workshop, the ‘Burning, Melting, Saving’ show about recycling from the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, archaeology workshops at Wilkinson Homestead, and an astronomy talk from Perth Observatory.
MicroToons Dr Rina Fu People with autism can struggle to engage with science, technology, and art, but when they manage to it can empower them. MicroToons is an animated science cartoon designed to do just that. It is based on a short story of cells and nasty microbes, written by microbiologist and ‘My Mad Scientist Mummy’ children’s book author Rina Fu.
MicroToons is a joint effort between Dr Rina, disabilities service provider 4LifeSkills, and animation studio Red Bird Creative, harnessing their budding artist Dafa and budding animator Sam, who has autism. The animation will premiere at a launch event involving the 4LifeSkills network and the public, with science activity stations tailored to include people with disabilities.
Bruce Rock Astronomy Night Shire of Bruce Rock
The rural community of Bruce Rock, 240 kilometres east of Perth, may not have the city’s astronomy facilities and experts. But it does have clear, dark skies away from Perth’s light pollution that are ideal for stargazing.
The Shire of Bruce Rock will bring a professional astronomer to town for an Astronomy Night, a rare opportunity for a regional town. The event will feature a Sky Talk, exploring how stars, planets and galaxies are made; identify the different constellations and tell the stories behind them; and show members of the community how to use provided telescopes or their own ones, brought from home.
We thank National Science Week - National Office and the Government of Australia for contributing this information. We acknowledge that the content has not been altered from the original intent of the authors.
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