newy.com.au – Palm-sized combat robots will make their Hunter Science Festival debut when the free event returns to Newcastle Museum on Sunday, August 23.
Visitors will be able to control 3D-printed battle robots inside a purpose-built Perspex arena as part of a program spanning 40 stalls, live science shows and hands-on experiments.
The fifth annual festival will take over the museum and surrounding grounds during National Science Week, after attracting about 7000 visitors in 2025. It is supported by a $20,000 federal government grant.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s Fab Lab will bring Hunter Combat Robotics to the festival for the first time.
“Visitors will be able to see combat robots up close, take a turn at driving them and discover how design, electronics and engineering come together through hands-on making,” Fab Lab lead Claire Chaikin-Bryan said.
Other machines on display will include a robot dog from Fizzics Education and a humanoid robot from the University of Newcastle’s NUbots team.
A new outdoor stage will host science entertainment throughout the day, including magic from The Pretty Amazing Jono, demonstrations by Fizzics Education and bubble theatre from The Bubble Laboratory. Families will be able to bring a picnic and watch the shows from the lawn.
Other activities will include building and racing solar-powered miniature vehicles, holding a shark egg, using a radio telescope and examining rocks, fossils and dinosaur displays.
The Hunter Medical Research Institute’s walk-through Poo Palace, which explains the digestive system, will also return.
City of Newcastle teams will offer activities focused on waste, sustainability, climate change and wildlife. Children will be able to climb aboard a garbage truck and collect native seeds to grow at home.
The festival was developed with the Hunter Innovation and Science Hub, which will operate 10 exhibits. Its activities will include building model boats from locally sourced biodegradable materials and testing how well they float.
City of Newcastle director of museum, archive, libraries and learning Julie Baird said the event had grown significantly since it began.
“From hands-on experiments to live stage shows and the chance to meet real scientists, this event is designed to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of innovators,” Ms Baird said.
Newcastle Museum will also host other events during National Science Week, which runs from August 15 to 23. They include a glow-in-the-dark fungi event with physics researcher and Glenrock Ghost Fungus Tours founder Karen Livesey on August 17.
Dr Karelle Siellez will discuss how violent events in space are detected during the national Marie Curie Lecture Tour on August 21. Tour details are available at https://www.aip.org.au/Women-in-Physics-Lecture-Tour.
Hunter Science Festival information is available at https://newcastlemuseum.com.au/exhibitions-events/events/hunter-science-festival, and the museum’s other events listed at https://newcastlemuseum.com.au/exhibitions-events/events.
