Past Events

Food and oxygen are two things we definitely need in a future Earth and these two things are produced by an amazing and mostly green, group of organisms: plants. During National Science Week, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis participated on the Science in ACTion event in Canberra, where people had the opportunity to discover how plants transform invisible gases and light into their present and future dinner.

On Friday the 11th of August (Student Day), teachers and students got a glimpse of the future through interactive experiments on photosynthesis, watched a plant electricity-generator and investigated how the interaction of plants and carbon dioxide affects our environment.

Saturday 12th of August was a community day. Visitors were able to discover the crops that plant scientists are cooking up for the future, what their own blood and plants’ chlorophyll have in common and challenge themselves to save the life of a mouse with the powers of photosynthesis.

Centre Director, Professor Robert Furbank said, “Have you ever wondered why plants are green and your blood is red? Have you ever thought about what will you be eating in the future? This outreach event was an opportunity to answer all these burning questions and experience being a plant scientist for a day.”

Science in ACTion is one of the more than 1000 events organised to celebrate National Science Week across Australia. this year more than 6000 people participated in the main ACTion event and on Friday it was attended by more than 1200 students and their teachers.
For more information about National Science Week, visit www.scienceweek.net.au or visit our website www.photosynthesis.org.au