National Science Week 2025

National Science Week is celebrated every year in Australia all across the nation. Organised by the Australian government's Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, it typically inspires more than 1000 events across the nation, including many in primary schools. This is a perfect week to come together as a school community and celebrate all things science and technology!

The week-long event in August is a good time for your students to learn about the latest scientific research and discoveries and to engage with scientists and other experts in the classroom or on an excursion. Focus on the year's theme, or celebrate your own way with curriculum-aligned science lessons that cover the unit you're already working through.

With the activities and lessons teachers like you do in the primary classroom, National Science Week can inspire the next generation of scientists and promote the understanding and importance of science in shaping our future. Talk about teachers having an impact!

Since it began in 1997, this science-themed event has occurred every August. In 2025, the National Science Week dates are from 9 to 17 August.

That means students will have an entire week to join in on one of the largest science events in the country!

The theme for this event changes every year, opening up new opportunities to get students excited and inspire your classroom activities.

In 2025, the theme will be 'Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature's hidden language.'

This theme encourages students and teachers across Australia to explore the mysteries of the Universe by learning about key areas of nature, like maths and quantum science.

Tied to the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology and the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Australia, it connects basic science education with advanced topics. 'Decoding the Universe' will help teachers inspire students by showing how maths and quantum science are behind both the natural world and everyday technologies, from photosynthesis to GPS.

Some of the past themes for National Science Week have also had an eye on the future of science and may give you ideas for your week of classroom activities! Here are just a few of the past themes from more than 25 years of celebrating science:

• Glass: More Than Meets the Eye
• Food: Different by Design
• Deep Blue: Innovations for the Future of Our Oceans
• Destination Moon: More Missions, More Science
• Game Changers and Change Makers
• Future Earth
• Drones, Droids and Robots
• Making Waves: The Science of Light
• Food for our Future: Science Feeding the World
• A Century of Australian Science
• Science Around the World
• The Chemistry of Life
• Celebrating Our Solar System
• Innovation: Powering Future Industries

Wondering what you can do in the classroom to celebrate National Science Week? Here are some ideas:

• Why not have students come to school for the day dressed up as their favourite scientist, and set up a science-themed photo booth in the classroom?
• Discover patterns in nature using maths by taking your students outside and identify natural patterns such as spirals in leaves or symmetry in flowers. Then, discuss how maths can describe these patterns.
• Introduce the concept of light and colour in quantum science by using prisms or old CD discos to demonstrate how white light splits into a spectrum of colours. Discuss how light behaves in waves and how this is related to quantum science.
• Understand the scale and relationships of the solar system by using materials to create a model of the solar system, arranging planets based on their distance from the Sun. Then discuss how maths and science help us understand planetary motion.
• Introduce students to basic coding concepts to create simple projects such as building a program that simulates the movement of planets or starts. This introduces the idea of using algorithms and coding to understand complex systems like the universe.