Professor Graham Durant is Questacon's third director, having joined us in early March 2003. Prior to Questacon, he spent ten years as Senior Curator and Deputy Director of the Hunterian Museum, Scotland, and was closely involved in the opening of the Glasgow Science Centre in 2001. He has a PhD in geology and a background in science communication. Did you know Graham was once a UK universities canoe slalom champion?
Questacon's dinosaurs to get a new lease on life
You may have seen recent media coverage regarding the departure of Questacon's Terrorsaurus exhibition. After more than 20 years at Questacon the dinosaurs will be gifted to the Scienceworks science centre to form part of an exciting new experience in Melbourne. The last day for visitors to see the Terrorsaurus exhibition is Sunday 29 August 2010.
The Terrorsaurus exhibition has toured nationally and internationally during its life at Questacon including tours to Thailand and a 15 month stay at Currumbin on the Gold Coast.
Questacon strives to provide a dynamic experience for all visitors. With more than 440 000 visitors to the Centre in Canberra each year, it is imperative that we continue to provide new hands-on experiences appropriate for all ages.
While we understand that the Terrorsaurus exhibition will be missed by many of our younger visitors, I encourage the parents and carers of preschool aged children to explore the other experiences available for this age group including Mini Q—fun for 0-6 year olds and Science Time. Many of Questacon's exhibitions designed for older age groups have individual tot spot exhibits suitable for 0-6 year olds.
Our exhibition concept, design and fabrication team are currently working on the newest addition to Questacon's suite of interactive exhibitions. H20 Soak up the Science is planned to open in November 2010 in the gallery currently occupied by the Terrorsaurus exhibition.
H20 Soak up the Science will explore the different properties of water and what makes it so special. The centrepiece of H2O is the hydrotram. At nearly seven metres tall, the hydrotram will show water in all its forms; as the water moves through and down the hydrotram it will take the form of mist, steam and fog, as well as flowing water.
As Australia's National Science and Technology Centre, Questacon aims to provide exhibitions that explore and explain important scientific issues such as water and water conservation to the broader Australian community. In portraying cutting-edge science, Questacon aspires to engage and inspire the next generation of Australian scientists.
Graham Durant
6 August 2010
Questacon Smart Moves Invention Convention
Australia has a strong tradition of innovation and invention. This morning I was pleased to welcome the next generation of young Australian inventors to the Questacon Smart Moves Invention Convention.
The importance of invention and innovation cannot be understated. Our environment, economy and our communities are underpinned by innovation and creativity. Everyone, especially our Invention Convention delegates, has an important role to play.
Each year the Invention Convention brings together innovative young Australians aged between 14 and 18 to take part in workshops and seminars to equip them with skills to make their ideas a reality. This year 22 delegates from every state and territory are attending the Invention Convention.
Delegates have brought with them ideas ranging from a new way to support a broken or damaged arm, a computer fridge that uses barcodes to monitor expiration dates and produce shopping lists, an electric sign that allows motorists to communicate with each other and improve road safety and a multifunctional baby care unit.
As the 2010 Invention Convention delegates have demonstrated, identifying a problem and working towards a practical solution is at the heart of invention. However, turning their ideas into a product or a business is the key challenge.
I look forward to getting to know this year’s delegates and I hope to see their ideas and innovations come to fruition in the not too distant future.
Graham Durant
5 July 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 6
Iceland is aptly named. Several thick ice sheets cap the volcanic mountains and feed glaciers. In common with most glaciers around the world, Iceland’s glaciers are receding. Volcanic activity under the ice will speed up the melting process and a good portion of the Gigjökull glacier was lost during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. Clear glacial ice on a black sand beach is not a sight familiar to Australians but it is a feature of the coast below Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest and thickest ice cap. One of the glaciers from Vatnajökull ends in a coastal lagoon where large blocks of ice float around and slowly melt or get carried out to sea.
Carbonated mineral water is a popular drink at restaurants. In Iceland there are naturally carbonated mineral waters where carbon dioxide from the volcanic activity bubbles through the spring. Not surprisingly it tastes just as good as bottled water! The spring at the eastern end of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula is one of many such springs that are found off the main axis of volcanic activity.
Snaefellsnes is a remarkable locality dominated by the towering Snaefellsjökull volcano at its western end. This volcano has been immortalised by Jules Verne as the starting point of the journey to the centre of the world. Sadly scientists are unable to travel into the mantle and core so have to rely on geophysical and geochemical studies to reveal what is going on below. Magma that erupts from volcanoes is produced by melting in the upper mantle and what happens to that liquid between production and final eruption can be worked out from studies of its chemistry. Magmas from the mantle start off rich in elements such as magnesium but progressively become richer in silica and poorer in magnesium due to a process known as fractional crystallisation. As the magma slowly cools crystals can form and become separated from the remainder of the liquid magma, thereby changing its composition. Magnesium-rich olivine is one of the minerals that crystallises out early on.
Iceland’s volcanic rocks are mainly dark grey varieties of basalt, rich in magnesium and pale pink rhyolite. The two contrasting rock types are clearly seen as boulders on a beach at the foot of Snaefellsjökull.
The Snaefellsnes peninsula reveals a range of text-book examples of volcanic phenomena from relatively recent cinder cones and lavas to sub-glacial rhyolites.
Stykkisholmur on the northern part of the peninsula is the home of Professor Haraldur Sigurdsson the renowned Icelandic volcanologist who I was able to meet at his gallery that displays volcanic art from around the world. Using a block of one of the world’s youngest rocks, erupted only a few days ago from Eyjafjallajökull, Professor Sigurdsson was able to explain the sequence of that eruption in detail and also outline some of the research work still needed to fully understand Icelandic geology.
This short trip to Iceland was sandwiched between speaking engagements at the European science centres annual conference and an International Forum on the Square Kilometre Array telescope project. It was a privilege to return to my geological roots and to the remarkable volcanic and glacial landscapes of Iceland. I am grateful for the kindness shown to me during my visit including being driven some 2500kms to visit key localities. I hope to be able to share my images and stories of Icelandic volcanoes at an early opportunity. I came to see and understand more about the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. The weather prevented a flight over the summit crater but did allow access to the crater above Gigjökull in the Thorsmork valley. At the time of my flight out of Iceland, the authorities have closed this valley to public access since a large body of water is collecting in the summit crater and any resumption of volcanic or earthquake activity could trigger another devastating flood.
Graham Durant
22 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 5, Part 2
Eyjafjallajökull was a comparatively small eruption that brought Europe to its knees. There are much bigger volcanoes in Iceland that could cause disruption not only from ash but also from pollution and changes to the weather in northern Europe.
Around 935 AD a 75km long section of the rift zone was erupting basalt lava for several years. The lavas flowed tens of kilometres from the fissure and now covers an area around 750 square kilometres. In 1783 another huge 27km long fissure eruption near Laki produced extensive lavas. The ash and gas from these two eruptions caused devastating effects in Iceland and Europe with ill-health and famine on an unprecedented scale due to climate change, ash particles and poisonous gases. The weather across Europe was severely affected by the estimated 122 million tons of sulphur dioxide erupted during the 1783 Laki eruption. Much more was produced in the 935 AD eruption. These eruptions were believed to have been the trigger for important historical events. It is likely that other such eruptions will occur but it is hard to predict when these might be.
Travelling around Iceland it is interesting to note the different vegetation cover on the older and younger lava flows. Lavas older than 1000 years have a thick growth of moss whereas younger lavas have little vegetation.
Graham Durant
21 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 5, Part 1
Volcanoes are usually classified as active, dormant or extinct. Iceland has all three with around 30 currently deemed to be active. This does not mean that the volcanoes are in a continuous state of eruptive activity but rather that there is a high level active magma chamber beneath the volcano and that there is the potential for an eruption. Eruptions can be triggered by a number of things. An earthquake can fracture the roof of the magma chamber, pressure can build up from below or new hotter magma can enter a cooler magma chamber of somewhat different composition.
Magma mixing has been the trigger for a number of historic Icelandic eruptions including that of Askja in 1875. This explosive eruption produced a vast amount of pumice that contains light a dark streaks indicative of mixed basalt and rhyolite magmas.
A lot of exciting things happen in magma chambers underneath volcanoes but these are often not revealed until millions of years of erosion have removed the upper parts of the volcano and exposed the crystallised magma of the chamber. As a magma cools crystals of minerals such as olivine can start to form and settle out. As more and more minerals crystallise out, the composition of the remaining magma changes to become richer in silica and other elements. In this way a silica-poor basalt from the upper mantle can produce a silica-rich rhyolite. The longer the period between eruptions, the greater the compositional change can be and the more explosive the eruption since volatiles are also concentrated.
Rhyolite magmas tend to be very viscous and when they erupt they produce thick short flows of glassy obsidian as seen in the Landmannalaugar area. Rhyolite eruptions under ice produce thick piles of hyaloclastite (broken glass) and these rocks weather to spectacular pink coloured hills that are a conspicuous feature of the Icelandic landscape.
The 1104 eruption of Hekla produced some 2.5 cubic kilometres of rhyolitic pumice. The 1947 eruption by way of contrast produced a smaller but still substantial amount of basaltic scoria that covers the ground to the north and west of the volcano. Hekla has erupted at least 23 times in the historic period since settlement of Iceland. Regarded by many medieval Europeans as the gateway to hell, Hekla is probably Iceland’s best known volcano but one which is difficult to predict. The magma chamber is full and it could erupt again at any time.
Graham Durant
17 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 4, Part 3
The combination of ice and volcanic fire is one of the characteristic features of Iceland. When a volcano erupts under ice the heat produces a vast amount of water that can burst from the glacier causing extensive erosion and flooding. Such glacier-bursts or jokullhaulps are capable of moving boulders the size of cars in hot sediment laden water.
The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull produced a significant amount of flooding as well as the ash clouds. The mixing of hot magma at 1000 degrees and cold water in a volcanic vent can cause steam explosions that fragment the magma into tiny particles. When the vent becomes blocked to water then it is possible for the magma to arrive at the surface and erupt. If this surface is still under ice then the lava tunnels its way from the vent melting through the ice.
This is what happened at the northern flanks of Eyjafjallajökull during one of the later phases of the eruption in early May 2010. A flight over this part of the volcano reveals the lava cutting into the Gigjökull glacier and the deeply eroded canyons from the meltwater.
Geologists have known for a number of years that magma was moving below Eyjafjallajökull. Icelandic scientists constantly measure earthquake activity, slope elevation and gas composition, to help predict eruptions and warn residents of danger. Shallow focus earthquake activity has been building up at this locality for a number of years but it is impossible to predict just when an eruption will occur until just before it happens.
The first phase of the current Eyjafjallajökull eruption started on March 20th when a 500m long fissure erupted on the eastern side of the volcano building up scoria cones from a series of small vents along the fissure. The largest scoria cone was just under 50m high. A small lava flow moved from this fissure and flowed spectacularly into a nearby canyon. This phase of activity ceased in early April.
The second phase of activity focussed on the top crater of the volcano under its ice cap. Explosive activity producing enormous dark clouds of ash hit the headlines around the world. The ash was carried up some 8km and then spread out mainly to the south and west. Skies were clear to the north of the volcano but a significant volume of meltwater flowed from beneath the Gigjökull glacier into the Markafjlot river.
After April 20 less water entered then vent and less ash was produced. This allowed glowing red magma to erupt at the surface changing the character of the photographs captured by the many photographers drawn to Iceland. A quick Google image search reveals some wonderful images.
In early May the character of volcanism changed again with the vent opening above Gigjökull. Apart from occasional steam explosions, Eyjafjallajökull is now quiet. Further eruptions are possible but for the time being attention is focussed on the neighbouring Katla volcano under the Myrdalsjökull ice cap. This has the prospect of producing a more devastating eruption but fortunately it is quiet for the time being. However the strong smell of sulphur coming from the Solheimajökull glacier under Myrdalsjökull is a reminder that geothermal and fumarolic activity is happening under the ice.
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption demonstrates the variability of both eruptive activity and the associated erosion and sedimentation. Volcanoes that erupt under ice produce a fascinating range of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Elsewhere in Iceland it is possible to see dramatic landscapes produced by volcanic activity under the more extensive ice sheets of the last ice age.
Graham Durant
16 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 4, Part 2
Most of the fine ash from the 2010 eruption at Eyjafjallajökull was blown to the south and south east during the eruption causing problems for the local farms and communities and disrupting flights further afield. Photographs of the eruption show that one side of the volcano has clear skies whereas the other side is towered over by dark billowing clouds. This is not unusual and it demonstrates that the prevailing wind direction is a critical factor is determining who cops it.
The 2010 ash is very fine indeed. Other Icelandic volcanoes produce coarser material or tephra during eruptions. The volcano Hekla has erupted many times in its history and is due for another eruption sometime soon. The last big eruption of Hekla in 1947 produced macadamis-sized dark scoria (basaltic pumice) fragments that formed a layer over the ground predominantly to the north and west of the volcano. Another eruption of Hekla in 1104 produced very thick deposits of similar-sized white pumice fragments. Each of the different layers of ash, scoria and pumice from the different volcanoes can be analysed and found to be distinctive. They can be dated in a relative sense, ie this layer is on top of that layer, and the date of the eruption can be determined by radiometric dating.
Ash, scoria and pumice produced during volcanic eruptions is called tephra. The study of the different layers is called tephrochronology. Boreholes drilled through sediments in Scotland show evidence of volcanic ash from Iceland that is from bigger eruptions than that of Eyjafjallajökull. This means that sooner or later European airflights could again be disrupted depending upon which way the wind is blowing at the time.
Graham Durant
15 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 4, Part 1
The first sign of the recent volcanic activity, apart from the fine dust in the air, is the road works. When Eyjafjallajökull erupted under the ice it produced a large amount of floodwater that threatened the bridges on the main road around Iceland. Thinking quickly, the authorities dug away the road in several places to allow the sediment laden floodwaters to reach the sea without destroying the road bridges. After the floodwaters subsided the roads were repaired with the expensive bridges intact.
The second sign of the recent volcanic activity was the film crew interviewing famous Icelandic geologist Haraldur Sigurdsson by the side of the road.
Access to the volcanoes summit is still closed for safety reasons but it was possible to drive to the base of Eyjafjallajökull along Thorsmork to the north. This allowed access across the ash-covered landscape to Gigjökull, a glacier and part of the ice sheet from which the floodwaters emerged. A beautiful glacial lagoon and popular tourist attraction has disappeared to be replaced by thick ash deposits covering everything in a thick grey blanket.
Occasional distant explosions from the summit were a sign that although the volcanic activity is diminishing, it has not yet ceased. Just a few weeks ago, ash from Eyjafjallajökull closed the airspace across Europe but already grey is giving way to green as the land recovers. However layers of ash and tephra from different volcanic eruptions that can be seen at several locations show that it will only be a short time period until the next eruption from one or other of Iceland’s volcanoes.
Graham Durant
11 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 3
Geysir is known worldwide for the phenomenon of jets of hot water periodically jetting into the air. Geysir itself is not active at present but its neighbour Strokkur is a regular performer every five or six minutes.
Hot water is what keeps much of Reykjavik warm in the winter. A geothermal power plant close to Thingvellir lake heats water that is pumped uphill to a point from which it can flow some 25 kms downhill to Reyjavik and into a system that distributes heat to Icelandic homes. 30% of Reyjavik’s heating is supplied from this source.
Thingvellir is a location where the stretching and downfaulting of the Icelandic crust is very noticeable with gaping cracks, some filled with water, cutting through the lavas of the valley floor.
Graham Durant
10 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 2
The Reykjanes Peninsula is made up of broken lava fields and black basaltic sand. Mosses grow on the surface of the flows and the amount of growth can help determine the relative ages of the different lava flows, some only a few thousand years old in this location.
Geothermal activity is conspicuous with plumes of steam from geothermal plants visible from a distance. These geothermal plants use steam heated by the hot rocks of the Icelandic crust.
In addition to significant geothermal power, Iceland has reliable hydro-electric power generation. This power source is used to produce aluminium from Australian bauxite that is shipped across the planet to use cheap energy. The aluminium is sold on to European car manufacturers who then export some cars back to Australia!
Boiling mud pools are a surface feature of the high geothermal activity. A sulphurous smell is all pervasive.
Graham Durant
9 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Day 1
Flying into Iceland it was possible to glimpse a distant view of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano steaming away but not erupting the dense clouds of ash that had closed down European airspace a few weeks ago.
Iceland’s main airport at Keflavik is close to Reykjanes where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge comes ashore. This is the principal reason for Iceland’s extensive volcanic activity as the ocean crust is pulled apart by plate tectonic forces. Evidence for this crustal stretching can be seen as gaping fissures cutting across older lava flow near the airport.
Iceland is the only part of a mid-ocean ridge that is above sea-level because a long-lasting plume of magma from the mantle sits underneath the island causing the volcanic activity at the surface.
There are three main types of volcano seen in Iceland, fissure eruptions from cracks along the ridge axis, central volcanoes where magma sits in cylindrical magma chamber at a high level within the crust, and shield volcanoes which bring hot magma to the surface from greater depth in the upper mantle.
Each of these types of volcano looks and behaves in a different way. Since Iceland is an island and since there have been extensive ice caps during glacial episodes, each of Iceland’s three types of volcano can erupt under water, under ice or into the air. This creates an interesting diversity of volcanic landforms that makes Iceland such an interesting place to visit.
Graham Durant
8 June 2010
Hot Rocks, Cool Seas - Introduction
That’s me in 1981 at Iceland’s Krafla volcano with one foot on the North American tectonic plate and one foot on the Eurasian tectonic plate.
I’m travelling to Iceland to have a look at some of the geothermal activity, looking at boiling mud pools, fumarolic activity, Geysir, and looking at some of the products of the volcanic activity. One of the highlights for me will be visiting the Eyjafjallajökull volcano that’s just been erupting and producing a lot of volcanic ash that’s been causing a bit of disruption in the northern hemisphere.
Graham Durant
7 June 2010
Our Water exhibition
Questacon was pleased to have the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Penny Wong, officially launch our latest travelling exhibition, Our Water, on Friday 14 May 2010.
Developed by Questacon and sponsored by the National Water Commission, the Our Water exhibition challenges visitors to investigate water from an urban, agricultural, industrial and environmental perspective.
The 28 interactive exhibits ask visitors what they would do if they were in control of Australia’s water and invite them to examine the consequences of the different uses and re-uses of water in Australia.
A result of a successful partnership between Questacon and the National Water Commission the Our Water exhibition is an example of how government agencies can inform and engage with the community on important issues.
The second outcome of our partnership with the National Water Commission is Questacon’s permanent exhibition, H2O soak up the science, scheduled to open in November 2010. The complementary website will ensure a world-wide audience for this exciting and important exhibition.
Our Water is an opportunity that should not be missed to gain a better understanding of Australia’s water issues and how individuals and households can save and re-use this precious resource.
Our Water will remain at Questacon in Canberra until August 2010 before embarking on a national tour to 14 locations throughout regional and metropolitan Australia.
Graham Durant
14 May 2010
We don’t leave inspiration to chance
Questacon was honoured to recently host a visit from the Prime Minister, Minister Carr and Chief Scientist Penny Sackett on the occasion of the visit to Canberra of Australia’s latest Nobel Prize Winner Professor Elizabeth Blackburn. Questacon’s ‘Excited Particles’ presented some demonstrations for the assembled guests to introduce telomeres which form part of the work for which Professor Blackburn was honoured. Questacon’s newly refurbished Boardroom was named the Blackburn Room during the event.
Questacon is continuing to work with organisations across Australia on the development of a national science communication strategy. The report “Inspiring Australia; a national strategy for engagement with the sciences” was released by Minister Carr on February 8th at the 2010 National Conference of the Australian Science Communicators and has been well received by key stakeholders.
Questacon believes that inspiring Australians is too important to leave to chance and this is a key message in a new video about Questacon featuring ABC’s Bernie Hobbs.
Questacon was awarded the Tourist Attraction Award at the National Tourism Awards, February 26th in Tasmania. Questacon has previously won the Award in this category in 2002-3, 2005 and 2007. View a Media Release about the Award.
The capital improvements to the building are still proceeding well and although there are a few more months of disruption ahead we will have an even better facility for Questacon visitors by July. In response to the landscaping work between Questacon and the National Library we will be soon turning the foyer around by moving the café, shop and ticketing desk to improve the sense of arrival from the car-park.
Graham Durant
1 March 2010
An inspiring year in prospect
2010 is already shaping up to be an excellent year for Questacon with strong visitor numbers and strong membership growth over the holiday period.
The capital improvements to the building are proceeding well and although there are a few more months of disruption ahead we will have an even better facility for Questacon visitors by June. In response to the landscaping work between Questacon and Lake Burley Griffin we will be soon turning the foyer around by moving the shop, café and ticketing desk to improve the sense of arrival from the car-park.
Questacon has been working with others on the development of a national science communication strategy. The report “Inspiring Australia; a national strategy for engagement with the sciences” was released by Minister Carr in early February. Questacon will have an important role to play in developing the national strategy working with organisations and individuals across the country.
Questacon’s new digital studio is nearly complete and trials are now underway. The facility will allow us to interact with schools across Australia and institutions around the world extending our capability to communicate science and share neat experiences.
Questacon will once again be representing the ACT and Capital Region in the National Tourism Awards with the award ceremony to be held on February 26th in Tasmania.
It should be an exciting year ahead!
Graham Durant
8 February 2010
An Eventful Period for Questacon
It has once again been an eventful period for Questacon. The construction work in and around the centre is continuing on track. A new and improved café is due to open in February and the rear Science Court is scheduled for reopening in mid December. Entry to the Centre will still be via the eastern main entrance while the Science and Humanities Campus is completed. As always, Questacon’s front desk and gallery staff will do everything they can to ensure the capital works within the foyer cause as little disruption as possible.
The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, held in the Great Hall at Parliament House on 28 October, was a wonderful success. This was the first year Questacon has coordinated the event. The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are the nation's pre-eminent awards for excellence in science and science teaching. The Prizes are a tribute to the important contributions that our scientists and inspirational science teachers are making to Australia's current and future scientific capabilities. The top prize for excellence in teaching in primary schools went to Mr Allen Whittome and the prize for excellence in teaching in secondary schools went to Mr Len Altman. For more information see the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science Website.
2010 will be another milestone year for Questacon with the 25th birthday of the Shell Questacon Science Circus. The Shell Questacon Science Circus is a travelling science centre that tours around regional Australia for 18—20 weeks each year. Enthusiastic science graduates bring lively science presentations to towns and schools. Since 1985 the Shell Questacon Science Circus has been the benchmark from which all other science centre outreach program around the world have been measured. More about the Shell Questacon Science Circus.
With holiday season once more fast approaching I hope you and your family are able visit us over the period, whether you live in Canberra or travel from afar.
On behalf of all the staff here at Questacon have a happy and safe festive season.
Graham Durant
30 November 2009
A Hive of Activity
The last couple of months have been busy ones for Questacon as we welcomed school holiday visitors to the Centre, toured a number of outreach programs across the country, celebrated National Science Week in August and experienced changes to our foyer and surrounds.
2009 National Science Week was the first that Questacon has coordinated. With over 1,000 events there was a full and exciting program across Australia. If you missed out on attending this year, I hope you will join us for one of the many fantastic events planned for National Science Week next year.
Questacon has been busily consulting with stakeholders around Australia as we lead the development of a proposed National Science Communications Strategy.
If you’ve visited recently you will have noticed that Questacon is a hive of building and construction activity. The external works are part of the Humanities and Science Campus which, when completed, will transform the area between the National Library of Australia and Questacon into a beautiful park, while the internal works will improve visitor access and flow to the Café, Q Shop and ticketing desk. While these works have created access issues and some disruption, the end results will be both functional and spectacular.
Thank you for your patience whilst these works are progressing and please seek assistance from any of our staff if you experience related difficulties. We will continue to do what we can to ensure your visit is enjoyable.
I hope you and your family will be able to visit us at the Centre in the near future.
Graham Durant
2 November 2009
2009/10 Budget
As Director, I spend a great deal of my time seeking resources and building partnerships to enable Questacon to provide even more programs and services for visitors, both in the Centre and across Australia through our various Outreach Programs.
The recent 2009/10 Budget provided additional funds to support both our Outreach Programs and also to enable us to improve the amenity of the foyer area in the Questacon building. This is wonderful news and we are pleased to now embark on the planning for the allocation of the money.
Over the next 12 months we will make changes in the foyer area to improve entrance arrangements. The area outside Questacon is being landscaped and this will redirect most visitors from the car-park through the café entrance soon to be redesigned as our front door. To achieve this we will change the position of the reception counter, café and the shop. The design work is underway and we will share that with you as the plans develop.
We are keen to ensure that your comfort and amenity is maintained through this refurbishment period. There will be information provided as the works commence and your comments will be welcomed through the usual feedback mechanisms currently in place.
The Questacon Management team is also developing a five year plan for the Outreach Programs, with considerations of what the new funding can achieve. Once completed it will be made available here on the Questacon website.
Our partnership work with the National Water Commission is proceeding well and Questacon’s new concepts team are currently working up ideas for an exhibition on the science of water in Australia. The all new Perception Deception exhibition is looking wonderful. I encourage you all to come in and discover that ‘reality’ isn’t all it seems!
Graham Durant
2 July 2009
Earth Hour 2009
At 8.30 pm this Saturday 28 March people all over the world will be switching their lights off as part of Earth Hour. The World Wildlife Fund organised Earth Hour is a chance for individuals to make a statement encouraging world leaders to take a stand on climate change. By switching off the lights in your house for just one hour this Saturday you can contribute to a global effort to reduce carbon emissions.
Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 when two million people and businesses turned off their lights. In 2008 the number of people involved grew to 50 million with several international landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Coca-Cola sign in Times Square, New York turning off their lights. In 2009, the organisers are hoping that all up over 1 billion people will take part in the effort and the findings from Earth Hour will be presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year.
Australia is one of 81 countries and Questacon one of over 18 000 businesses signed on to participate in Earth Hour. Along with other national institutions around Lake Burley Griffin and science centres around the world, Questacon will be turning off our lights for an hour on Saturday night.
If you’re interested in doing your part for Earth Hour download a copy of Questacon’s Earth Hour Experiment Guidebook. This step by step guide will help you calculate your household’s energy savings during Earth Hour.
Graham Durant
23 March 2009
International Year of Astronomy
2009 is the International Year of Astronomy which will be a year-long, worldwide, public celebration of astronomy, held to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo turning a telescope to the sky. IYA2009 has been endorsed by UNESCO and is being coordinated by the International Astronomical Union, the international body that represents the world’s professional astronomers. Australia is one of the 63 countries signed up to participate.
Questacon is currently celebrating 20 years as Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre and 20 years in the current building, the design of which was strongly influenced by Jai Singh’s early 18th C astronomical observatories - particularly the one in Dehli.
It is appropriate then that Questacon hosted the Australian launch of the International Year of Astronomy by astronomer and Chief Scientist Professor Penny Sackett on January 28th. Over 100 guests attended the launch which featured a talk by the Chief Scientist, live links to the Anglo Australian Observatory at Coonabarrabran and the Gemini telescope in Chile and a viewing of a film about the SKA project produced for international planetaria and space theatres by Scitech as part of the Questacon-Scitech SKA educational program partnership.
Questacon is one of some 2400 science centres world-wide that together last year attracted 290 million people to their centres and programs. The world science centre community is in a position to influence a significant number of people, school students, teachers and families, each year. Most of those science centres are heavily involved in International Year of Astronomy education and public awareness activities supporting the aim to get 10 million people looking through a telescope for the first time.
Questacon will be working with science centres around the world to participate in the International Year of Astronomy in such programs as the ‘100hours of Astronomy’ held between April 2-5 and working to develop the ‘Sound of the Stars’ on-line interactive educational resource. Questacon will also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing in July which has special meaning for Canberra because of the role played by the Honeysuckle Creek receiving station in relaying images of the landing to the world community.
The Chief Scientist’s speech at the IYA launch reminded guests that Australia is very good at astronomical research and that astronomy captures the public imagination at all levels. Professor Sackett urged us all was to take some time out to look at the night skies during 2009.
The full list of Australian International Year of Astronomy activities can be found on their website.
Graham Durant
5 March 2009
Merry Christmas
This has been another busy and rewarding year for Questacon.
If you are lucky enough to get a break this festive season I hope you enjoy yourself and come and visit us whether you live locally or have to travel to Canberra.
I'd like to highlight to you an interview our Q Club staff recently did with Sarah, one of our Smart Movers - it shows how we have a much bigger footprint in Australia than just that of our building in the Parliamentary Triangle. More...
Best wishes of the season to you and your family.
Graham Durant
1 December 2008
20 Years of Science
Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre celebrates 20 years of inspirational science this year.
From a modest, volunteer-run science centre, to the national institution that stands on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin today, Questacon has become one of the world’s leading science centres and a major innovator in informal learning.
As an established leader in science communication, Questacon plays a critical role in supporting formal education to stimulate interest in science, technology and innovation and its importance to all Australians. Questacon is proud of its world-class standing, its extensive national reach, the quality of its exhibitions and programs, all of which are due to the people behind these achievements.
Our achievements over the past 20 years reflect the dedication of a highly skilled team. To our staff and volunteers and Advisory Council Members, past and present, I extend my thanks and congratulations for their commitment, creativity and enthusiasm. Building on our achievements in the past 20 years, we can look to a future of new opportunities to make a difference to the lives of people across the nation.
In this anniversary year, it is timely to honour Questacon’s foundational relationship with Japan. Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre opened on 23 November 1988 as a joint Australia-Japan Bicentennial Project. The Japanese Government and business community contributed half the cost of the building, the hub of Questacon’s national and international activities. A number of special events and activities to celebrate this relationship have been held this year, with more to come.
Questacon values the support and contribution of our corporate and strategic partners. Together with these partners, Questacon has developed exhibitions and programs that bring stimulating and inspiring hands-on science experiences to communities across the length and breadth of Australia.
It is a great honour to be Questacon’s Director and I look forward to playing a part in establishing the direction for Questacon’s next 20 years!
Graham Durant
15 October 2008
Let’s save the planet!
Questacon’s recent ‘Rock your world’ geology day was of particular interest to me as a geologist. I always believed, and still do, that knowing some geology gives perspective about the world around us and the immense time-scales involved for most geological processes. Humans now seem to be a geological force because our collective actions are rapidly changing the surface of our planet and its atmosphere.
The rapid build-up of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is a matter of great concern to scientists. For much of Earth’s long history the carbon dioxide has been locked up in rocks, coal and oil and it is now being released into the atmosphere contributing to global warming.
I have just returned from the 5th Science Centres World Congress in Toronto, Canada, a meeting of science centre leaders from 51 countries. One of the keynote speakers was an Inuit leader who was speaking about their loss of culture and traditional ways of life as the Arctic ice melts. This is the human dimension of global warming. It is probably too late to reverse the warming trends in the Arctic which is particularly vulnerable but working collectively we can slow down further warming.
Questacon is part of a global network of science centres that exist in most countries irrespective of geography, economic situation, economy, culture or religion. There are about 2500 science centres worldwide and the various centres, exhibitions and outreach programs are attended by 290 million people annually, mainly young children and families.
Collectively science centres have great impact and the centres, their audiences and members can be a powerful force for good in the world by working together to overcome cultural, physical, social, economic and geographic barriers to connect people through science and education. Members of our Q Club are also part of that global network of people committed to do what they can to make a difference through education leading to action.
At the 5th Science Centres World Congress I signed, on behalf of Questacon, the Toronto Declaration, a statement of intent from the world science centre community. This declaration commits Questacon to help make a difference in issues such as global warming. We need you to help. If 290 million people worldwide make changes in their lifestyles to reduce energy use then this will be an important contribution. Imagine if every visitor to all science centres planted a tree each year.
The full Toronto Declaration is online at the World Congress web site. I hope that you will take the time to read it and join us as part of the efforts of the world community.
Graham Durant
23 June 2008