National Science Week

A world without midges or a world without chocolate – which would you choose? Yes, of course this is a trick question! 

Midges are pollinators and essential to fertilising South America’s cacao crops, which produce a significant amount of the world’s chocolate.

“So without midges, we wouldn’t have chocolate,” says Sarah Bonney, organiser of the first Darwin Insect Festival, part of National Science Week.

If you’ve ever questioned the utilitarian value of some insects, Bonney hopes the Insect Festival, held at Charles Darwin University, will provide answers and get children and their adults curious about the many species of the insect world.

A larger kind of predator is the focus at the Territory Wildlife Park, where a new Croc Headquarters will be launched. 

Funded by National Science Week, the interactive project is set to be the first comprehensive display centre about crocodiles and their management in the NT.

If science to you means competitive team games á la Robot Wars, the Create A Useless Thing (Family Challenge) might fit the bill. 

Australia’s Young Inventor of the Year Taj Pabari will guide adults-and-kids teams to build, test and reinvent a crazy, new ‘useless’ machine.

For beer-drinking adults, the Beer and Build is a similar challenge albeit with alcohol. A local inventor will be on hand to guide participants to build a machine from everyday items, such as the beer bottle you’ve just finished.

There are many more walks, talks, health labs and even Darwin Festival performances taking part in the NT’s National Science Week activities this year, so be sure to check out the program for this hands-on celebration of science.

See the National Science Week website for details.