Nanofest 2024

The Festival celebrates and explores science through an extensive programme hosted in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Since the inaugural festival in 1998, the festival has engaged over 250,000 participants across Aotearoa, New Zealand, celebrating all areas of science, from the mysterious outer limits of the universe to the marvelous inner workings of robotics, with all the weird, wacky, weighty and wonderful stuff in between. The festival features guests from wider New Zealand and abroad alongside amazing local talent, transforming Dunedin into a city alive with science.

This year's free and family-friendly Festival Hub will be located in the Tūhura Otago Museum's HD Skinner Annex. Stop by daily during the festival for a rotating selection of interactive hands-on science! There will be some workshops going on upstairs and a handful of other events at venues around town.

Some of the exciting events are listed below but for a full list visit, go to: https://scifest.org.nz/programme

• Why little things are worth looking at: A conversation with Giselle Clarkson: Author and natural science illustrator Giselle Clarkson in conversation with Claire Concannon, host of RNZ's Our Changing World podcast.
• Drones for conservation: Drone technology is changing how conservationists do their work, presenting novel research methods and new perspectives.
  MĀUI63 is a drone desgined to find, follow and provide information to protect the last remaining Māui dolphins.
• Lights, camera, action!: Join five fabulous filmmakers from the University of Otago’s Department of Science Communication for a ‘wild’ afternoon of short science and nature films, followed by Q&A with the filmmakers.
• Sharks: inside and out: Join scientists from the University of Otago's Marine Science Department as they dissect a 1.8 m porbeagle shark.
• Meet New Zealand's tenth meteorite!: See New Zealand's tenth meteorite up close and learn about the meteor tracking camera network that helped us find it.
• Physics show: Witness captivating physics demonstrations that showcase the wonders of science in action.
• Participatory science at the NZ Marine Studies Centre: Marine Metre Squared, Shark Spy and Seasons of the Sea: Come and see all the science projects that you can be a part of!
• Te Riu-a-Māui / Zealandia underwater map: Explore Earth's 8th continent, Te Riu-a-Māui / Zealandia on this giant coloured map of undersea ridges, plateaus and valleys.
  
  

  Rights: GSA Today, Volume 27 Issue 3 (March/April 2017), Article, pp. 27–35. Zealandia: Earth’s Hidden Continent. Nick Mortimer (GNS Science), Hamish Campbell et al. Drilling site annotation by Prof Stephen Pekar.

  Bathymetric map of Zealandia

  This map shows the edges of the continental crust that defines the continents of Australia and Zealandia. The Cato Fracture Zone narrowly separates the two discrete sets of crust.

• The Science of crime: Join in for a hands-on crime scene investigation experience for all ages, where you use science to solve clues and crack the case!
  Use our activity DNA detective and the Mobile forensic kit – unit plan to explore the use of forensics in crime scene investigations.
• Computer de/reconstruction workshop: Learn about the inner workings of a computer by taking one apart and rebuilding it to take home!
• Kiwi Kai: Grab your virtual gumboots and become a farmer!
  Students can explore te ao Māori concepts in the context of farming and food production using our resrouces featured in Kiwi Kai virtual farm – an introduction.
• and so much more....