Have you ever thought about how Google Maps and GPS work? I think most of us have some vague idea about a network of satellites orbiting Earth and talking to our phones and cars somehow. And that’s more or less accurate, but the usefulness of this technology is, as is often the case, underpinned by a field of science that most people have neither heard of nor considered....
On Sunday 12 April 2026, around 70 hardy souls took part in our first ever “The Amazing Science Race” – our take on the reality tv show “The Amazing Race”. The event took participants from Civic Park in Armidale, around the CBD, to four other locations to complete six challenges. After completing each activity, teams were given a clue for finding the next location. Once found, they were provided with instructions on how to complete the challenge. ...
Picture it. A British government lab in the 1950s. A low hum of electricity. Lightbulbs turning on and off at random. A pound note in your pocket catches on fire out of nowhere. And there, on a bench, in a makeshift chicken wire cage, a dead animal picks itself up and starts walking around, reanimated by the power of electromagnetic radiation. You would be forgiven for assuming I’m describing a scene in a schlocky horror movie from the ‘60s, but if you’d been a fly on the wall of James Lovelock’s lab in the National Institute for Medical Research in London in the 1950s, that’s exactly what you would have seen. ...
Snipping the brain straight down the middle to treat a neurological condition sounds more like the plot of a science fiction film than a legitimate medical intervention. Yet in the mid-20th century, this drastic-sounding procedure became a revolutionary treatment for people with severe, medically intractable epilepsy. What began as a clinical attempt to reduce seizures went on to fundamentally reshape our understanding of brain organisation, language, and even consciousness....
Have you ever wandered through the UNE Natural History Museum, and wanted to have a closer look at the bones and specimens that you were seeing? Well, even if you’re not able to touch them, the museum offers the next best thing!...
After a cold Armidale winter, we cannot wait for spring, when the weather warms up and the flowers bloom. But some of us will feel uncomfortable during spring as we will develop hay-fever, an allergy to pollen. Pollen is produced by plants and is carried by wind and insects to other plants for pollination, to produce new seeds....
There’s nothing quite like perfectly cooked rice to go with just about any dish and fill you up, but how does a cheap, basic rice cooker know when the rice is ready? Perhaps, like me, you’ve always assumed there was some sort of simple computer doing a calculation based on weights or temperature. Or perhaps you’ve never thought about it! ...
In the Discovery team we often talk about the different types of scientists: a botanist, astronomer, palaeontologist and so on. I learnt about a new one recently…that a metrologist is a measurement scientist, someone who studies the science of measurement and how it can be applied. ...
Did you know that the Armidale Pine Forest (known locally as “The Piney”) is home to some extraordinary architecture, an example of the wonder in the world around us? These structures can adapt to temperature and humidity, and are a source of inspiration for humans as we improve the sustainable regulation of our own homes. They are termite mounds....
Between 1979 and 1987, palaeontologists travelled to the town of Surat, in south-eastern Queensland on the hunt for fossils. A mysterious bone that was found along the Balonne River had been sent to Dr Mary Wade at the Queensland Museum which inspired their visit. To their amazement, they had found some large dinosaur bones from a sauropod (long-necked dinosaur, like Brachiosaurus)....
Researchers from Nanyang Technological University Singapore successfully turned cockroaches into cyborg roaches. These cyborg roaches are fitted with a ‘backpack’ – a portable stimulation and communication electronics device. ...
Milk is great for your teeth and bones, but did you know that it can also be used to make plastics? Milk-based plastics, or casein plastics, were used in a variety of products, including paint, buttons, knitting needles, pens, and combs up to the mid-20th century. Recently, interest has renewed in casein plastic as an eco-friendly alternative to less biodegradable products like crude oil plastics, and the best part is that it can be made right at home!...
Did you know that the Armidale Pine Forest (known locally as “The Piney”) is home to some extraordinary architecture, an example of the wonder in the world around us? These structures can adapt to temperature and humidity, and are a source of inspiration for humans as we improve the sustainable regulation of our own homes. They are termite mounds....
Researchers analysing the remains of victims of the infamous eruption of Mt Vesuvius, which buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, have discovered a unique example of human tissue turning to glass. A team of scientists from various disciplines including medicine, biotechnology, vulcanology, and archaeology have published a series of research papers about this discovery...
We have all noticed how ‘burny’ the sun feels on our skin during the summer months. What causes this intensity, and is it really higher than in other places such as Europe or America? ...
This DIY experiment teaches students about solubility and density. We’re going to have floating fish for this one but you can draw anything you like, just make sure all the lines are connected. ...
There’s a place in Peru called Chicama, which is where the world’s longest wave exists. While some famous wave breaks around the world can be ridden for seconds, the breaks at Chicama can be ridden for minutes. ...
Here at UNE Discovery, we’re always interested in finding different ways of communicating and learning. Perhaps your students or children like to listen to audiobooks or learn better by listening rather than reading. If you think podcasts might also ignite a little curiosity, then we’d love to share some of our child-friendly podcasts with you!...
As part of our National Science Week activities, UNE Discovery hosted an art competition titled “Adaptations: Amazing Australian Species” and we invited artists of all ages to participate. The aim of the competition was to highlight the extraordinary abilities of our Australian animals, birds, insects and plants as they adapt to their ever-changing world due to human and climate factors. ...
Everybody has been talking about the aurora lately – and in May it was seen and photographed as far north as Mackay in north Queensland, a rare event in Australia. The reason for this is that the aurora australis (southern lights), and its northern cousin the aurora borealis (northern lights), have been more active than usual, due to an intense geo-magnetic storm which impacted the earth on a weekend in early May. Aurora watchers were rewarded with spectacular displays of colour in the sky, most vivid on Saturday the eleventh of May, but also on following nights in southern latitudes....
Last week, I had a Zoom meeting with a colleague, entomologist James Tweed from the University of Queensland (UQ). We were chatting about insects on islands when he suddenly told me about a new species he had just described. Of course, that was fascinating, and we talked for a while about the importance of taxonomy and naming species to establish conservation measures for their protection....
On a recent camping trip to the stunning Washpool National Park we were captivated by the sight of a Spotted-Tail Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) visiting our campsite. Our little visitor arrived just on dark as we were preparing our campfire dinner. This national park is located east of Glen Innes in northern NSW and is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, and very close to the Gibraltar Range National Park....
Continuing our theme of palaeontology, let's look at some recent discoveries made in the field of palaeontology here in Australia. Our country is an important place for finding fossils; the rocks here are some of the oldest in the world, so some of the oldest fossils can be found here, too. Discoveries can range from the relatively recent, like the Ice Age, to long, loooooong before the dinosaurs. Here are four recent finds made by Australian scientists!...
Palaeontology is a science plagued by an incomplete record. Most fossils only preserve “hard” parts such as shells, teeth, and most notably, bones. It is very rare to find fossils with skin or muscle preserved, for example. When we think of fossils, often what comes to mind are huge dinosaur skeletons; complete, intact, and on display in museums. No skin, muscle, or internal organs to be seen, just bones. But even an intact or complete skeleton is rare to find. ...
Do you need a fix of earth science? Do you have a craving to see some lava? Do you want to check out some crystals and fossils up close? UNE Discovery has got you covered from the 7th-9th of March!...
While we celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, we thought we’d also celebrate some of our female counterparts in nature too....
In the Northern Hemisphere, on the eastern edge of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, you’ll find the man-made Lake Abraham where an amazing natural phenomenon occurs during Winter. ...
Kiwirrkurra is a remote Indigenous community nestled in the Western Desert region of Western Australia, that recently commemorated the 40th anniversary of its establishment. The 40-year celebration was held around the time the first bore was sunk on Kiwirrkurra Country....
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kate Grarock last month at an Entomological conference in Albany, Western Australia. I watched her deliver a great presentation on her work in Bush Blitz. Bush Blitz is a conservation initiative that unites researchers and volunteers in an ambitious quest to explore, document, and safeguard Australia's incredibly diverse ecosystems. ...
On November 30th and October 1st, 2023, UNE Discovery was delighted to bring back Far Out Science! After a hiatus from 2020 until this year, it was wonderful to see the event return and bring so many school students back to visit the UNE Armidale campus for 2 days of science filled fun....
Over the last 6 months UNE Discovery, Cotton Info, and the UNE Smart Farm have undertaken a mammoth project. After the surprise success of the 2020 Soil Your Undies challenge, we were emboldened to make it bigger and better the second time around. When we opened our registrations in July, our 300 available places were snapped up amazingly fast by student groups all across Australia: from Broome to Byron Bay, from Hobart to Cairns, we covered Australia in soiled undies. ...
Last week was National Bird Week 2021, from Monday 18 October and Sunday 24 October. The celebration of National Bird Week has its origins back in the early 1900s when 28 October was first designated by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, as the first ‘Bird Day’. BirdLife Australia organises and promotes Bird Week with the goal of inspiring Australians to take action and get involved in bird conservation efforts....
We all know that 2020 and 2021 have not been normal years. Even though there have been normal times, the shadow of the pandemic has never been far away. Keeping people safe has meant limiting physical contact and close proximity to others. When your whole job description was to go out to schools and give students science to play with, it’s a dramatic change when you have to go online....
If you’ve been watching the news or live locally, you would know that Armidale was recently hit by a very dangerous tornado. The massive storm that spawned the tornado occurred just after 10pm on Thursday 14 October. We were relieved to learn that no one was injured, but the damage to homes and property was extensive. Our thoughts are with anyone who was affected by the storm and we hope you recover well. UNE was also in the direct path of the tornado, and a number of older buildings on campus were destroyed and many large campus trees were knocked over – some show evidence of being twisted from their base, picked up, and thrown across carparks or onto buildings....
Have you ventured into any national parks lately and come face-to-face with a beautiful waratah, aka Telopea? This stunning flower is out in full force in our local Washpool-Gibralter National Park not far from Glen Innes, NSW....
As a drama teacher, I witnessed first-hand the benefits of experiential learning. Students learned by doing. Even at senior level, we would often dive into dramatic play before the students were made aware of the learning objective. Their felt experience informed their intellectual understanding and stayed with them as physical memory to draw upon in the future....
Have you ever wondered what is crawling or creeping around your garden at night? Well here is a simple way to find out, and sample some of the biodiversity at your patch!...
While we’ve not been able to travel about the region or further afield for several months now, you may have seen one of our non-human team members out and about. Suzi, the UNE Discovery Voyager truck, has taken on a very important role during lockdown and beyond. Her adventures have taken her with UNE Life and the UNE Medical Centre to help set up COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Armidale, Inverell, Moree, Tamworth and Glen Innes....
You might remember earlier this year we announced that we’d been successful in securing a Federal Government grant through Inspiring Australia, and in partnership with Armidale City Public School, Armidale Regional Council and Settlement Services International (phew! That was a mouthful!)....
It’s that time of year, the Spring Swooping Season brought to us by our Aussie magpies. While most of us either love or hate the black and white feathery ones, they are smart and rather protective of their eggs and babies during nesting and hatching time. Professor Gisela Kaplan is an Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour in UNE’s School of Science and Technology. She is the author of over 250 research articles and 22 books, and has conducted ground-breaking research into vocal learning, communication and cognition of birds and other vertebrates. Prof. Kaplan's main research interests are in complex cognition and communication both in birds and primates. ...
Soil pH affects our soil health in several different ways. In just the same way that you don’t want to get strong acid or alkalines on your skin, neither do soil microbes and plant roots. Highly acidic and highly alkaline environments can be very hostile to microorganisms. ...
There is a curious little plant growing in my lawn. Whenever I brush against it, small capsules fly everywhere, either hitting me (gently) in the face or pinging off into the nearby grass. I suspect that when I touch the plant, it is explosively dispersing its seeds....
Last month, the UNE Discovery team were pleased to have Sarah Adeney, opera soprano, and Chris Clark, Director, both from the New England Conservatorium of Music (NECOM) visit the Boilerhouse. NECOM hosted an Opera Australia event during that week and we were thrilled that Sarah could come and test out the acoustics in the Boilerhouse stack (the very tall chimney of the Boilerhouse that you can see for miles). Can we just say . . . . WOW!!!! The small crowd we had in attendance were blown away by Sarah’s beautiful voice and the amazing sound that was achieved while Sarah was singing in the stack....
Basalt is a rock that comes in many forms, but how does this volcanic rock move through the crust? Join George as he wraps up his trip to Port Macquarie by checking out these cracks in the rocks that are filled with frozen basalt. ...
Play along with Andrea as she shows us how simple it is to make satisfying slime at home - it's all in the science!...
Honeycomb weathering is a cool surface texture that forms on rocks near the beach. But why only at the beach? Join George as he brings us a bonus video from his trip to Port Macquarie and takes a look at how this weathering process works. ...
As summer progresses, I have found many dead cicadas around our property. Most of these will become food for other animals, and contribute to nutrient cycling. I have managed to salvage a few and, with my niece, we have carefully pinned and preserved some beautiful specimens for our insect collections. ...
George has found his favourite rock ever! Blueschist is an extremely rare rock, but not for the reason you think....
On 21 December 2020 (22nd for us in Australia), Jupiter and Saturn will appear the closest together in the night sky in 400 years. The two planets will be so close that they will appear to form a "double planet" and some sky-gazers have been calling it the “Christmas Star”. ...
This year we've had so much fun making science play videos that we thought we'd share some bloopers and best bits!...
This week is undie excavation week, and in the wise words of challenge collaborator Dr. Oliver Knox, it’s time to liberate our pants! 207 citizen science groups joined us on the three month Soil Your Undies Challenge journey, undertaking a rather peculiar way of exploring soil health as they buried a pair of cotton underpants, discovering soil health through a series of educational checkpoints before reaching the time they have all been waiting for – undie excavation/exhumation/liberation and revealing the final results. ...
Serpentinite is a rock type formed when sea floor basalt is carried down into a subduction zone and cooked and altered by water. But then it starts to get really strange!...
Play along with Phil as he gets curious about why objects look different when we look at them through a glass of water. This is a fun and easy experiment about refraction to do at home or at school (actually, anywhere, any time you're having a drink of water - science in the café!)...
Chert is a type of sedimentary rock that forms in flat layers on the sea floor deep in the ocean. So what is it doing up on the beach and how come the layers are contorted and vertical?...
You might have played along with the Voyager team at your school and made your own Elephant's Toothpaste, or seen some of the monster versions on video. Here Kieran explains the science in more detail - while making some elephant's toothpaste of course!...
Join George as he checks out an interesting type of basalt formed on the sea floor… but how did it get here?...
Any play opportunity is a good one! And outdoor playgrounds provide structures that incite imaginative, active and collaborative play. With the summer school holidays coming up, and recent opening of Armidale’s newest playground in Curtis Park, we thought it would be an opportune time to have a look at the playgrounds in our region. We think there are some pretty special play areas around, all with their quirks and challenges. So next time you’re travelling in northern NSW with your kids (or not!), we encourage you to hop out of the car, stretch your legs and go play! ...
Geological Maps are special maps that show where different rocks are found. They are one of the most valuable tools a geologist can have. Watch on with George as he explains how you can make your own!...
The Soil Your Undies challenge is well underway and our participants have now received their Checkpoint 2 – Exploring Soil Texture email and instructions. Even if you’re not part of the challenge, you might find the concept of soil texture rather interesting. ...
Play along with Kieran as he shows us how to make a spinning colour wheel. What will happen to the colours when the wheel is spun? Will they merge into brown, white or black or simply disappear?...
In this chromatography experiment, instead of seeing what colours we can make by mixing a number of colours, we use ordinary textas, water and paper towel, to see what colours have been combined to make a colour!...
Join George as he takes a look at the erosion going on at the Great Escarpment at Dorrigo and ponders the rocks that are no longer there!...
Watch on as Andrea attempts to make her neurons form a different cycling brain map as she practices riding UNE Discovery's very challenging backwards bike!...
Join George on his trip to Ebor Falls to see basalt columns. This spectacular feature forms from cooling lava, and it’s certainly very cool now!...
Q: How can we measure the speed of light at home? A: With a block of chocolate! Play along with Phil as he uses a microwave oven, a block of chocolate and some mathematics to measure the speed of light....
Join George as he looks at the bank of a river, showing how different layers of sediment can reveal how a river has changed over time and what this rock might look like in the future....
Here's a fun experiment you can do at home using marshmallows - yum! Follow on with Kieran as he demonstrates how you can use air pressure to make 'monster' mushrooms....
Conglomerates are rocks made from ancient river pebbles - but how do we know this? Watch George explores this at the Gwydir River....
Hey, doesn't sand love absorbing water? So how can we make sand hydrophobic, that is, water-hating. Follow on with Andrea as she demonstrates this cool experiment you can do at home!...
This Onion Skin Weathering is so beautiful, it will bring a tear to your eye. Weathering is a collection of processes which break rock down into sediment and soil. Follow George as he explores this special type of weathering which resembles onion skins....
You're presented with a boiled egg and a bottle with a very narrow neck. The challenge is to get the egg in the bottle without pressing it in with your hands. How are you going to do it?...
Granite Tors are large rounded boulders of granite or a related plutonic igneous rock such as granodiorite or gabbro. Follow on with George in this video as he explores how they form. ...
How do water striders walk on water? Why does it hurt so much when you do a big belly flop? And why is Kieran not soaking wet after turning this up of water upside down?! ...
Follow on with George as he explores this plutonic igneous rock, granodiorite, that is around 250 million years old, and the chemical composition of magma that gives the rock amazing colours!...
Follow on with Kieran as he explores how the structure of balloons at a molecular scale allow us to play with this pretty cool science party trick!...
Follow on with George as he explores this plutonic igneous rock, granodiorite, that is around 250 million years old, and the chemical composition of magma that gives the rock amazing colours!...
Have you ever looked up at those big fluffy clouds in the sky and been curious to understand how they form?...
Have you ever wondered what igneous rock are, where they came from and how they formed? Follow on with George in the lab to discover exactly that!...
Follow on with Anita as she uses her understanding of reactions involving carbon dioxide to create a bubbling lava lamp from things you can find around home or school....
But, what's a xenolith? Follow on with George as he explores this important Greek term and the amazing colours produced in this rock from the mantle....
Follow on with Kieran as he explores how the density of a certain gas lends itself to putting out fires, and how we can create this gas from thing you can find in the kitchen cupboard!...
Armidale friends - have you ever driven past the road cutting on Madgwick drive and marvelled at the twisty geological layers, curious to know what it's all about?...
Follow on with Kieran to create a delicious rocky road slice and discover how all the ingredients can come together to resemble the not-so-tasty real conglomerate rock. ...
Follow on with George as he explores something called Liesegang bands and the geology behind the twisty formations....
Follow on with Anita as she makes some sherbet and explores how the chemical properties of each ingredient allow for a fantastic fizzing reaction!...
Follow on with Phil as he creates a clucking musical instrument from things you can find at home, and explores the physics of sound that lends itself to the crazy noises!...
Follow on with Andréa as she explores DNA and how we can extract the long strands from strawberries using bits and pieces you can find in the kitchen!...
Follow on with Anita as she creates a cabbage indicator masterpiece, and explores the science that lends itself to dyeing cotton....
Follow on with Anita as she explores pH and how we can create our very own colour-changing indicator using red cabbage!!...
Follow on with Phil as he explores how we make sound using our vocal chords, and the importance of those vibrations!...
Follow on with Jean as she explores how easy and fun it is to get outside, collect some bits and pieces and create some nature play creatures that are sure to leave you wanting to create more!...
Follow on with Phil, as he explores the importance of June 21st as the Winter Solstice!...
You too can try this at home! It doesn't have to be a pet - it might be a soccer ball along the ground or even you!...
We have extended the challenge by 24 hours! Be a part of our LEGO Construction Challenge - 1 DAY TO GO!!!!...
Be a part of our LEGO Construction Challenge - 3 DAYS TO GO!!!!...
Follow on with Phil as he explores how the properties of dishwashing liquid allow us to smash through surface tensions and create a bread clip speedboat....
Our friends over at Modern Teaching Aids have put together an amazing webinar series designed for teachers to get a better understanding of SPIKE™ Prime, EV3, and WeDo 2.0. ...
Be a part of our LEGO Construction Challenge and build your own SNOT ball!...
Ever wondered how different animals drink? It's not as simple as you may think! Here's a cool experiment you cxan try at home to explore how our Thorny Devil lizards drink....
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for! Our Term 2 LEGO Construction Challenge is a go, launched exclusively by our partner Modern Teaching Aids!...
