Minister Craig Laundy and Fizzics Education running a liquid nitrogen demonstration
– Photo Sydney Olympic Park

The last day of National Science Week finished with a bang in the heart of Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday! With help from Federal Government via Inspiring Australia and the NSW State Government, the Innovation games concluded the Sydney Science Festival with flare as more than 20 captivating STEM providers descended on Cathy Freeman Park to bring science to the public. From autonomous cars & drones to discussions on the mathematics of zombie outbreaks and how to counter mosquito infestations, western Sydney celebrated scientific innovation & creative thinking with over 4000 attendees!

Our role at Fizzics Education was to help co-curate the event with the teams at Sydney Olympic Park, Inspiring Australia and the Australian Botanic Garden Sydney, as well as to help on the day to ensure that day went ahead as planned (of course, we couldn’t help but do some liquid nitrogen experiments on stage!)

Across the Innovation Games science festival there was so much on offer… so, what the festival look like?
Check out the snapshot below!

This footage was shot by the Weekend Photographer too…

There were many people involved and lots of things for families to do!

• An Augmented Reality Treasure Hunt across the festival using the app Metaverse – Go Explore (thanks to Rob McTaggart and Brett Salakas from the #aussieED crew).

  
  Augmented reality app Metaverse at Innovation Games

• Samsung brought their virtual reality headsets for an immersive experience.
• One Giant Leap Foundation established the drone zone where live drone piloting demonstrations as well plus several realistic simulators were setup with the federal aviation authority CASA on hand to answer peoples questions.

  
  Remote control planes and drones at the Innovation Games 2017

• Dr Cameron Webb discussed new approaches to controlling mosquito-borne disease.
• Kelly Simpson spoke about her work in epidemiology, only in this presentation she looked at the mathematics of zombie outbreaks!

  
  Kelly Simpson from University Sydney at Innovation Games 2017
  – Photo Science Ignite

• BeardsOn for Conservation showcased their innovative way of promoting environmental awareness & raising funds to protect forests.
• Ohmboy brought along hands-on electronic activities as well as exhibited a hand-built electric car created by hobbyists.

  
  Inside Ohm Boy’s self-made electric car

• Cleanaway spoke with the public about new avenues for waste recycling.
• A working model of the NSWSmartShuttle, an Autonomous Shuttle which had visitors interested to see inside a possible future mode of public transport in Sydney.

  
  Photo Sydney Olympic Park

• Australian Museum highlighted the importance of Frog ID which worked hand in hand with the presentation run by Ecohort on identifying mammals in the bush using audio.
• Sydney Sports Incubator brought along 4 sports startups that are changing the way sports funding, coaching and rehabilitation opportunities
• The NRL Game Development crew brought along a radar to capture the speeds running across the grounds… who was the fastest?!?

  
  NRL Game Development team testing running speeds at the Innovation Games
  – Photo Science Ignite

• The UTS Graduate School of Health twisted our minds with cognitive puzzles.
• Young Scientists of Australia and the Children’s Discovery Museum each brought along hands-on science toys for the younger children to explore.
• Australian Wildlife Displays and the Australian Herpetological Society showcased a variety of native animals for people to get up to close to.
• Royal Botanic Gardens Seed Bank brought a variety of weird and wonderful seed specimens (including the world’s largest seed) plus RocknCrystals had plenty of fossils, meteorites, and crystals for kids to check out.

  
  Seeds brought in by the Australian Botanic Garden

• the NRMA had a marquee for showcasing why driver distraction is so dangerous whilst on the road (plus we co-delivered a shortened version of the road safety science show we’ve been running together for the past few years)
• Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s Ecology and Heritage teams worked with the Murama Youth to coordinate the day as well as run indigenous science projects and crafts near the stage.
• Dr Karl dropped by to run one of his popular science talks too!

  
  Dr Karl at the Innovation games 2017

You might be wondering what the BeardOn conservation idea was about? Well, here is a short video to tell you a bit more…

The day could not have gone ahead without the tireless work of Mike Bartlett from Sydney Olympic Park Authority as well as the generous support and guidance from Jackie Randles from Inspiring Australia NSW and from Vanessa Barratt from the Australian Botanic Garden. The team at SOPA put together this video in the lead up too…

A podcast is being put together on the day and will be released over the weekend.
Until then, thanks for all those who were involved!

Happy teaching,
Ben Newsome.

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