National Science Week is all about celebrating science and technology in Australia. It provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Australian scientists to the world of knowledge. It also aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits among the general public, and to encourage younger people to become fascinated by the world we live in.
And this year, we’ve asked for help to show Australia the diversity, and fascination, of STEM!
We are encouraging stories from across our vast STEM community to showcase the wide range of places that science can take you, or that you can take science!
We have asked the community to post a selfie or 30 second video of yourself and your lab, office or research site, showing the diversity of careers and workplaces a background in STEM can lead to.
Online, the hashtags #STEMgotmehere and #thisismylab are being used to demonstrate the assorted and awesome experiences STEM can deliver.
The response to the call out has been fantastic, and we are excited to see what other tales appear. We’ve had comments and images from all sorts of STEM focused organisations and industries, from incredible environments and locations, and from such varied contexts and subjects – lab bench tops to volcanoes, Antarctica to Africa, entrepreneurs to artists and neuroscience to nanotechnology!
Here is just a taste of what social media has been talking about:
- Our very own manager of National Science Week shared a pic of a visit to ANSTO’s reactor
- Dr Vanessa Pirotta shared her career adventures including her labwork – collecting whale snot by drone
- #IAmAnImmunologist uncovered PhD student Catriona Nguyen-Robertson recording a song about the joys of poo, wee and microbiome written for Science Gallery Melbourne’s Disposable program
- The National Measurement Institute’s Chief Metrologist and CEO revealed a youthful shot of tinkering with an atomic clock
- CO2CRC at the Otway National Research Facility in Victoria snapped staff working on carbon capture and storage – a big rig lab!
- Dr Graham Walker has travelled across Africa to share passionate science communication
- Superstar of STEM Dr Roberta De Bei posted a pic of her rather ‘grape-y’ lab; the vineyard
- Lee Constable shared the things she combines science with including TV presenting, social justice, street art and whip cracking!
- ANU student Brooke Mills shared her favourite STEM moment on the Great Barrier Reef
- @the_other_riana, scientist turned ‘policy person’, shared a photo of the amazing brain cake she baked for a #scienceweek Brain Break morning tea
- The Australian Space Agency’s Executive Director, National and International Engagement shared his gravity-defying photo.
- STEM has taken Tim Boyle to the role of Tech Transfer Professional.
- Sue Pillans, marine scientist, artist and graphic recorder, shares how she combines science and art when visiting schools to bring living oceans into classrooms.
- and Science editor Jackson Ryan commented on his STEM journey – with a key takeaway for all of us: “STEM can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go”
Please continue to help us show Australia that there are no limits to where STEM can lead to by sharing where you work, and where your background in STEM has taken you.
Make sure to tag your post with #scienceweek, alongside #STEMgotmehere or#thisismylab
Twitter:@Aus_ScienceWeek
Instagram: @nationalscienceweek
