12 August 2021 Update: Many of the events planned for Served With a Side of Science have now been postponed or cancelled due to the ACT COVID-19 lockdown. We’ll update this page as soon as possible once we have more information.

Served With a Side of Science: A Canberra Food Festival is a weekend-long, city-wide event celebrating all things science and food as part of National Science Week 2021. No matter your interests or where you live in the ACT, we’ve got a buffet of events and activities on 14-15 August.

Whether it’s a tour of an urban farm, workshops on Indigenous plant use or seed growing, talks about beekeeping, demonstrations on how to reduce food waste, or riveting panel discussions and film screenings, we’ve got you covered! Served With a Side of Science is sure to have something for everyone with both online and in-person events from Tuggeranong through to Gungahlin, so get those brains and taste buds ready!

A food festival you say?

Last year we brought you the out-of-this-world Satellite Selfie event for National Science Week, along with a whole range of space-themed activities and events. In 2021, we thought we’d come back to Earth. The United Nations has declared 2021 both the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development; so what better theme to focus on than food — its past, its future, how we relate to it, and the science that ties it all together? And what better way to engage our local Canberra community than to come to you with food-related events spread across the ACT? The result is Served with a Side of Science: A Canberra Food Festival. We hope you find it appetising!

What’s so scientific about food?

Lots actually! Agricultural science is one of the oldest branches of science. It helps us to understand  how to make the best possible use of soil, water, the seasons, and weather to produce food. Advances in agricultural science have allowed us to crossbreed or engineer plants and animals to be bigger, tastier, more nutritious, and hardier to suit our growing population and changing climate.

Agriculture has always relied on innovation and technology, and today it makes use of all kinds of advanced technology like automated tractors on the ground as well as satellites in space monitoring our herds of cattle, crops, and the weather.

When thinking about the relationship between food and science, it’s important to consider how we’re connected to and rely on the environment. This includes topics like how bees are essential to pollination and how we go about keeping them safe, how we ensure our farming and fishing practices are as sustainable and non-polluting as possible, as well as what we can learn from Indigenous communities who have been managing the land for tens of thousands of years.

Food is intimately connected to our health too, and scientists are constantly working to make sure it is as safe, nutritious, and delicious as can be. Science has helped us answer questions like what nutrients we need, how best to preserve food, how to reduce food waste, and even how to do wild things in the kitchen like make ice-cream with liquid nitrogen.

Science is everywhere. Most importantly, it can be fun to engage with and rewarding to understand. We hope you’ll agree, so make sure to get along to Served with a Side of Science: A Canberra Food Festival.

What’s on?

We’ve got a veritable smorgasbord of food-themed events happening all over Canberra and online on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of August. Check the calendar below, and follow the links through to the National Science Week website to get more information about each event!

Keep checking back as we’ll continue to update the calendar as more exciting events go online!

Friday 13th AugustSaturday 14th AugustSunday 15th August
Indigenous Food and Agriculture
ACT Nat Sci Wk & The Royal Society of Victoria
Location: Online
Time/s: 6:30-7:45pm
The Canberra Youth Science & Entrepreneurship Festival
The Australian School of Entrepreneurship
Location: Reid
Time/s: 9:00-11:00am, 11:30am-1:30pm, 2:00-4:00pm
The Canberra Youth Science & Entrepreneurship Festival
The Australian School of Entrepreneurship
Location: Reid
Time/s: 9:00-11:00am, 11:30am-1:30pm
Tour of Ainslie Urban Farm
Canberra Environment Centre
Location: Ainslie
Time/s: 10:00-11:30am, 12:00-1:30pm
Native Plant Use
Dreamtime Connections
Location: TBD
Time/s: TBD
Bush Foods and Science workshop
YURBAY
Location: Gungahlin
Time/s: 12:30-01:30pm, 2:00-3:00pm
Fuzzy Logic Science Show
Fuzzy Logic Science Show
Location: Radio 2xx, 98.3fm
Time/s: 11:00am-12:00pm
Science at the Tuggeranong Homestead
Tuggeranong Homestead
Location: Richardson
Time/s: 10:00am-2:00pm
Mt Majura On Country Tour
Canberra Seed Savers
Location: Hackett
Time/s: 1:00-3:00pm
See Inside Canberra's One and Only Insect Farm – the future of waste management and protein production
Goterra
Location: Hume
Time/s: 12:00pm-1:00pm, 1:15pm-2:15pm, 2:30pm-3:30pm,
Sustainable Food for Kids: Maker burger
Canberra Environment Centre
Location: Acton Peninsula
Time/s: 2:00-3:30pm
Space Beer
BentSpoke Brewing Co
Location: Braddon
Time/s: 4:00-5:00pm
Growing a Seed Workshop
Canberra Seed Savers
Location: Chifley
Time/s: 2:00-3:00pm, 3:00-4:00pm
NFSA Live: Honeyland
National Film and Sound Archive
Location: Acton
Time/s: 6:00-8:30pm
Sustainability and Composting at Home and in the Workplace
Mount Stromlo Observatory
Location: Mount Stromlo Observatory
Time/s: 3:00-4:00pm
Growing Food in Space
ACT Nat Sci Wk
Location: Online
Time/s: 7:00-8:30pm
Future Food Perspectives: Food Security, Nutrition, and Culture - A Panel Discussion
ACT Nat Sci Wk
Location: Online
Time/s: 6:30-7:30pm
Pub Trivia Served With A Side Of Science (Northside)
Broderick Matthews & ACT Nat Sci Wk
Location: Aranda
Time/s: 7:00-9:00pm
Thursday 19th August
Pub Trivia Served With A Side Of Science (Southside)
Broderick Matthews & ACT Nat Sci Wk
Location: Kingston
Time/s: 7:00-9:00pm

 

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National Science Week in the ACT is jam-packed with a wide variety fun activities for all ages and interests  check out the full calendar of events online.