Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to invite you to a place where science meets art, where you will find out if Dr Karl really can answer any scientific question and where you can see the tallest flowering forest in the world. This is just a small sampling of the events that make up the Beaker Street Festival, an exciting, week-long celebration size that will keep Tasmanian and the state's visitors' minds ticking over during winter.

Now in its eighth year, Beaker Street Festival was started by evolutionary biologist Dr Margo Adler. She wanted to banish boring science and welcome everyone in so they could see how incredible science really is. Dr Adler is passionate about science and making it accessible to everyone, which I can say truthfully as she has also been mentoring me in all things science as part of the Science and Technology Australia STEM Ambassadors Program for the past year. When I met Margo, I not help but be caught up in her enthusiasm for how science can bring us together. After all, we breathe the same air and gaze up at the same moon, so it makes sense that there would be many ways that people from all walks of life can share conversations and experiences at the festival while learning more about how everything works.

The 2024 Beaker Street Festival theme is 'big things', with events between 6 and 13 August in Hobart, the east coast, Coal River Valley, Kingston Beach, Mount Wellington, Mount Field National Park, Westbury, Mona and many places in between. Visitors will see glowing flora and fauna, look out for auroral activity, explore abandoned railway tunnels for mushrooms, drink Antarctic cocktails and have enthusiastic and engaging conversations about what is happening in science right now. You can find out more at beakerstreet.com.au, and why not plan a trip to Tasmania for the festival in August?