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Urban Ocean Lab founder and marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson in front of images of brightly coloured fish
Photograph: Supplied/Sydney Science Festival

The Powerhouse is hosting the Sydney Science Festival free online right now

Speakers include the creator of virtual reality, ABC star Dr Norman Swan, and stargazer Karlie Noon

Stephen A Russell
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Stephen A Russell
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If you’re of a certain vintage, you probably think virtual reality was created by horror writer supremo Stephen King (hullo The Lawnmower Man stans). But in a far less scary reality, the digital realm was actually summoned forth by Silicon Valley guru Jaron Lanier, among others. Something of a big deal, he’s the star guest set to open the Powerhouse Museum’s now all-online, all-free Sydney Science Festival.

Running from August 14-22 and coinciding with National Science Week, the geek’s dream showcase will livestream a fascinating series of talks from bright minds, including Lanier. He’ll kick things off via video link on August 14 at 1pm with Gadgets, Dreams and Dilemmas, a chat with the Powerhouse’s acting director of curatorial, collections and exhibitions, Matthew Connell. They’ll share ten technological objects from the museum’s computing science collection with audiences watching at home, including Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No 1, letters from Ada Lovelace to Babbage, the Apple 1 computer and the Enigma cipher machine. They’ll prompt a discussion about opening up brave new worlds and the ethical quandaries they unleash.

Elsewhere in the fest you’ll be able to stream smart insights from First Nations leaders. STEM champion Corey Tutt, founder of educational charity Deadly Science, will host a session celebrating our first scientists and looking at bush medicine, astronomy, land management and more in Our Deadly Science on August 15 at 5pm. And the inimitable Karlie Noon brings her tenure as the Sydney Observatory’s inaugural astronomy ambassador to a close with whiz through the best stuff to see on winter nights in Southern Sky Livestream on August 18 at 7.30pm.

Some of the smoothest voices guiding us through these crazy days team up in Pandemics – Past, Present and Future on August 20 at 6pm, including ABC host Dr Norman Swan and the Kirby Institute’s Professor Raina MacIntyre. Brooklyn-based Urban Ocean Lab founder and marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson calls for a Blue New Deal in Justice for the Oceans on August 21 at 3pm. And American cosmologist and activist Professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein writes back in the voices that have been obscured in pioneering quantum and particle physics, in an introduction to her new book The Disordered Cosmos on August 22 at 11am.

And don’t worry if you miss any of these free but ticketed events, because you’ll be able to stream them on demand after the fact here. Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse chief executive says, “The Powerhouse has transformed Sydney Science Festival 2021 into a free online program that everyone can engage with no matter where you are. The last 18 months have continued to reinforce the vital role that science plays in our everyday and we are committed to providing a platform where audiences can engage with science leaders from across Australia and around the world.”

Sounds great? Find out more from keynote speaker Corey Tutt here

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