New Zealand International Science Festival

05/10/2026

"What happens when we allow Art and Science to mingle?"

At the NZ Science Festival, we think art and science have more in common than many people think, and that embracing art and creativity is vitally important in achieving our goal of connecting people with science.

Our 2026 Art & Science Panel brought together artists, researchers and science communicators to explore the connections between creativity, scientific thinking, culture and the natural world. Afterwards, we were lucky to explore the incredible collaborative Art and Science Exhibition, Time - Once Upon A time.

A huge thanks to Dr Gianna Savoie, Dr Sione Faletau, Pam MacKinlay, Aidan Geraghty and Elle Gilchrist for sharing their insight, enthusiasm and experiences for this panel.

If you missed this inspiring conversation at NanoFest, you can now watch the full recording on our YouTube channel - New Zealand International Science Festival

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Hosted at the 2026 New Zealand International Science Festival on 15...

24/09/2026

📅9-18 July 2027 - Put it in your calendar!

Make sure you are in Ōtepoti Dunedin in July next year for 9 amazing days of science fun. There will be shows, workshops, exhibitions, talks, walks, tours and all sorts of other engaging and creative ways to learn about science.

Maybe YOU have an idea?
Our official application process will open early November, but if you have ideas of things you'd like to see, bring or create, we'd love to hear from you in the meantime!

22/09/2026

Congratulations Caroline! 🎉

At the NZ International Science Festival, we are lucky to work with so many extremely passionate, experienced and dedicated scientists, leaders and communicators. Caroline Orchiston is all of these things, as well as one of our board members, and next week will be giving her Inaugural Professorial Lecture.

Caroline has led various national research programmes and teams, including as Associate Director for QuakeCoRE (NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience), an MBIE Endeavour programme investigating earthquake sequences in central Aotearoa NZ, and the Rural programme in Resilience to Nature’s Challenges. She was the Science Lead for the award-winning AF8 (Alpine Fault magnitude 8) programme for 8 years, which made a significant impact in improving awareness and readiness for earthquake hazards of national significance.

Her research group includes numerous PhD students working on advancing knowledge of societal risk and resilience, community resilience and risk communication, including in rural and tourism contexts. Caroline has been the Director of the Centre for Sustainability Research since 2021.

More information and a link to the live stream can be found here: https://www.otago.ac.nz/about/news/events/inaugural-professorial-lecture-professor-caroline-orchiston

15/09/2026

🎉Ko te Wiki o te Reo Māori tēnei, nō reira me whakanui tātou i te reo! It's Māori language week so let's celebrate and use the language together!

We started planning a post with science-specific terms but then decided to celebrate the language of everyday life. Because no matter if you are a celebrated scientist, curious researcher, passionate teacher, or just a general science nerd like us, there are some things everyone has in common - work, rest and play!

This week, challenge yourself and your friends to learn and most importantly USE some new words or phrases - no matter how small.

Remember the whakatauki : he iti he pounamu, though it is small it is precious.

We know it can be daunting but using and normalising te reo Māori is how we all play a part in ensuring this is a forever language. Here are a heap of ideas to get started, and there are lots more at reomaori.co.nz

07/09/2026

📣Its that time of the year again... vote for your favourite bird!

Aotearoa is a pretty special place in the bird world, with nearly half of the world's seabird species living or visiting here and many forest and wetland species that live nowhere else in the world.

Unfortunately, over 80% of them are seriously endangered or threatened. The Bird of the Year campaign is a fun way to learn more about these creatures we share our places with and to advocate for their ongoing support and survival.

Whoever you choose to vote for, take the chance to learn more about our amazing birdlife and share the conversation with a friend or colleague. Voting is open now!

Check out the workplace kit to get the conversation started: https://forestandbird.sharepoint.com/sites/ExternalDocumentHosting/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FExternalDocumentHosting%2FShared%20Documents%2FBOTY%202026%2F2026%20Workplace%20Kit&p=true&ga=1

06/09/2026

👉Nanofest 2026 - Festival at a Glance!
We have nearly finished out post-festival reporting and wanted to share some of the highlights with you 😍

💙113 event sessions (including 22 shows and 45 workshops!)
💙45 organisations involved (including 9 University departments)
💙9935 festival attendees
💙First ever Science Train sold out over 400 seats weeks in advance!

💙Free Festival Hub in Wall St Mall
5096 attendees over 5 days (the biggest ever)!
HUGE thanks to the 27 organisations that brought their expertise, time and creativity to make this such a popular and engaging space.

💙Biggest Nanofest yet!
We have been operating on a 'full festival - smaller festival (Nanofest) alternating years' system since 2020 and this was our biggest 'small festival ever'. It will also be our last as we move to a full festival every year from 2027!

💙Happy Attendees and Event Hosts
This is the best measure of success to us! It was such a treat to read all the wonderful feedback from attendees and event hosts. It is very encouraging to see the huge appetite for learning, sharing knowledge and generally engaging with science. We also got some fantastic feedback on what we can improve on and what you would like to see more of. The survey is still open on our website if you would like to add your voice to the conversation.

🫶Once again an enormous THANK YOU to all the individuals and organisations that so generously volunteered their time to bring such a wide variety of engaging science learning opportunities to life.

14/08/2026

📣Calling all keen scientists in Years 12 and 13!!

Our friends The MacDiarmid Institute offer this amazing opportunity each year and applications close soon - 23 August 2026.

👉NanoCamp is a four-day residential lab experience with top scientists, completing hands-on investigations into a range of topics including electron microscopy, laser physics and nano-electronics. All flights, accommodation, meals and fun activities are included!!!

🔍They are looking for current year 12 or 13 students with a strong academic background who are planning to continue with science, so if that is you, or someone you know.. get your application in now!

https://www.macdiarmid.ac.nz/news-and-events/events/nanocamp-2027/?mc_cid=88bdfb65dc&mc_eid=73276c7d76