Blogs

Born: 1926, London, UK David Attenborough was the much-loved presenter of landmark natural history programs for the BBC for more than 50 years. He is best known for writing and presenting the nine "Life" series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit. He studied geology and zoology and ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1975, UK Chris Smith is a medical doctor who is passionate about science communication, and founded the award-winning, internationally recognised Naked Scientists program for the BBC. The Naked Scientists are a group of physicians and researchers from Cambridge University who use radio, live lectures and the internet to ... Continue Reading »

Chris KP's writing and performing credits include, Howard Florey - a Tale of Tall Poppies, Somnium and Great Big Science Gig. He performed Pre-Coital - the Science of Dating to sell-out crowds during last year's Fringe. Chris has performed across Australia, as well as in the ... Continue Reading »

Born: 1930s, Wardaman country, Northern Territory Bill Yidumduma Harney is the last fully initiated male custodian of the Wardaman people, and is a celebrated artist, writer, didjeridu maker, songman and storyteller.  He was the son of infamous Australian storyteller William E Harney, but grew up with his Aboriginal ... Continue Reading »

Seven indigenous students from Cairns diocese are among 30 students who have been chosen from around Australia to take part in an innovative Aboriginal summer school program being held in Adelaide this month. Full article from The Catholic Leader: Bringing science to the people (12 December 2010)

Science Exchange returns again this year as part of AIDC 2011 in an all new format. The RiAus in association with the AIDC are calling for anyone with a science story to submit their story ideas to this exclusive forum of international documentary producers and broadcasters. The ... Continue Reading »

The paintings of Adelaide artist Megan O'Hara are all about nature. She shares her inspiration with George William Francis, a botanist and inaugural director of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens from 1865. "My mother would always take me to the gardens and let me feel proud of what our ancestor had ... Continue Reading »

At the Wendouree West family picnic day we had a meeting of science and art workshop the whole family could enjoy. The world is absolutely full of fascinating creatures, patterns and objects too small for the human eye to see…. unless of course, you have the right tools! Why should scientists ... Continue Reading »

Interest in the South Australian’s scientific heritage is the basis for a tour on 17 December and a search for descendants. Australia’s first free settlement, South Australia, attracted the best and brightest scientific minds of the times who flocked to Adelaide during the early years of the colony -- many ... Continue Reading »

After successful screenings in Port Fairy & Halls Gap, the Free Range Films program moved to Stratford with science films for the whole family. Featured were the acclaimed animal documentary Earth, the space race spectacular Standing in the Shadow of the Moon, and the heart-warming tale The Fox & the ... Continue Reading »

The RiAus Free Range Science program and The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) are bringing the spectacular world of science and natural history to the big screen in Stratford on 10 and 11 September 2010. Full media release: Science films come to Stratford (6 September 2010)

RiAus partnered with the CSIRO and COSMOS magazine on the 2010 SCINEMA Festival of Science Film, a showcase for science dramas, documentaries, animations and short films. Entries from around the world were shortlisted by a jury presided over by the editor of COSMOS, Wilson da Silva. Winning entries were shown ... Continue Reading »

The winners of the inaugural ‘sci-ku’ poetry competition, an initiative of The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) in association with the Friendly Street Poets, have just been announced. With diverse entries coming in from across Australia it was sci-ku’s from South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria that took out ... Continue Reading »

White carnations flush and blush with the blood of local artist Niki Sperou. The provocative piece is on show at the RiAus Science Exchange, for the South Australian Living Artists Festival. Full article from Adelaide Now: For Niki, art is in her blood (10 August 2010)

Living artists share curiosity about the natural world in new exhibition for SALA festival. Biology and art fuse in an intriguing exhibition to be opened today at the Science Exchange as part of the SALA South Australian Living Artists festival. Host RiAus and SALA reveal surprising perspectives of living, altered ... Continue Reading »

Australia's own National Numeracy Ambassador, Simon Pampena, spent the day at the national science hub, the Royal Institution of Australia where he celebrated a free public event with comedy, film and mini pies. Full article from Ultra106five: Simon Pampena, National Numeracy Ambassador (22 July 2010)

Advances in science and technology speed along at such a rate it can be hard to know how to separate the plausible, possible or predictive from the cold hard facts. While much science fiction remains just that, other ideas have been strangely prophetic. In fact, some of the science facts ... Continue Reading »

Free Range Science makes its first outing to the Gippsland region this weekend.  Book lovers from the region will get the opportunity to see some of the best minds in science and literature tackling the subject of science fiction to science fact at the Playing With Words festival in Warragul. Full ... Continue Reading »

A performance called Works of Slightly Misused Technology: Musical Mischief for Hardware Hackers promises to be different, not least because it will be entirely improvised and no conventional instruments will be played. Full article from The Australian: Homemade musical mischief (10 June 2010)

Vesalius: A Requiem is a show examining the life of Andreas Vesalius who lived in the 1500s and became famous for being the first person to use human bodies to draw human anatomy. View video and transcript from ABC TV: Play celebrates father of anatomy (Stateline, 4 June ... Continue Reading »

Renaissance anatomy, modern-day autopsy and the catholic mass for the dead collide in the spectacular piece of choral theatre that is Vesalius: a Requiem, coming to the national RiAus Science Exchange this June. Full media release: Anatomy and autopsy alive at Science Exchange (June, 2010)

In a world first, the national science hub, the RiAus, will explore the not quite human through an art exhibition comprising artists’ works from America, Germany and Australia, in ‘The Uncanny Valley’ of the Science Exchange from Thursday 3rd June 2010. Full media release: Welcome to the Uncanny Valley ... Continue Reading »

Vesalius: a Requiem is a confusing but fascinating proposition. Stuck somewhere between play, live music performance and live autopsy, it's bound to raise a wide range of audience expectations. Full article from The Independent Weekly: Theatre on the cutting edge (28 May 2010)

He's the King of All the Atheists, and now Richard Dawkins is hammering home what he sees as his key argument against the existence of God. In his book, The Greatest Show on Earth, Dawkins aims to put the theory of evolution in a factually unassailable position. Here, at Adelaide ... Continue Reading »

An interactive science/art experience at the Royal Institution of Australia is a strange trip through time. It covers 500 million years of evolution in just five minutes, complete with sound effects. Full article from Adelaide Now: Experience 500 million years in five minutes (16 February 2010)

The Art Gallery of South Australia has acquired a rare stained glass window worth more than $1 million, made by famous 19th century British design firm Morris & Company. Because of its high value, the six-panel window in the former Adelaide Stock Exchange was treated as a separate entity when Spanish ... Continue Reading »

New York-based science-fiction author, Scott Westerfeld, will be beamed into the RiAus Science Exchange to discuss his new book for young adults, Leviathan, during the first meeting of the national science hub’s book club for 2010, on Wednesday 27th January. Full media release: Novel Ideas: Leviathan (27 January 2010)

Matters of the heart will be the prime focus of the national science hub this month when the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) hosts George Poonkin Khut as resident artist and presents a series of heart-themed events to the public. Full media release: RiAus gives science some heart (4 ... Continue Reading »

Advances in science and technology speed along at such a rate it can be hard to know how to separate the plausible, possible or predictive from the cold hard facts. While much of the fiction remains just that (at least for now!), other ideas have been strangely prophetic. In fact, some ... Continue Reading »

The last part of the opening celebrations for the Science Exchange of the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) was the launch of the October lecture series. "The Robots are Coming" was presented by Hugh Durrant-Whyte, a much honoured Sydney-based leader in mechatronics, with help from his friendly robots. Almost 500 students ... Continue Reading »

Curious alien worms mingled with 2000 visitors at yesterday's Royal Institution of Australia family event in Victoria Square in the city. The "Lift off to Science day" offered a taste of space science with a chance to meet aliens, watch musical science shows, take a 3D tour of the cosmos and ... Continue Reading »

Science and art will form an integrated series of installations to celebrate the launch of national science hub, the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), on Friday 9th October. Full media release: Science and art entwined in cultural fibre: RiAus (6 October 2009)

The winner of the 2009 Community Science Educator of the Year award is Rona Sakko for her involvement with the CSIRO’s Double Helix Science Club, announced at last night’s Gala Dinner. Full media release: South Australians awarded for excellence in science (21 August 2009)