Hunter Science Festival
The Hunter Science Festival at Newcastle Museum is back for 2026 and it's packed with even more FREE science and entertainment for families!
This year the festival will feature an outdoor stage so EVERYONE can see the science shows! It's a big day of stage performances from Fizzics Education, The Bubble Laboratory, The Pretty Amazing Jono and HMRI Poo Palace researchers. Over thirty of your favourite stalls from last year are back PLUS we've loaded it with even more NEW free science experiences for kids and adults - check these out:
- Climb inside a City of Newcastle Garbage truck and talk to the driver
- Build and race your own mini solar car with CareerLinks and HISH
- Control your own combat robot in the robot arena with FabLab and Hunter Combat Robotics
- Be a poo inside the Hunter Medical Research Institute's Poo Palace
- Hold a real shark egg with Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters
- Plant your own native seeds to take home from the City of Newcastle's Environmental Biodiversity Team
- Come and try the new Charge Track Legends science-education video game from Net:Zed
- Meet the humanoid robot from NUBots and the robot dog from Fizzics Education
- Build a boat and test it with AiSTEM
- Use a real radio telescope with Future You
Plus SO MANY MORE interactive activities from Hunter Astronomical Society, Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, Newcastle Libraries, The Australian Native Bee Association, UoN's SMART Program, Geological Society of Australia, CLEANaS, The Citizen Science Podcast, Hunter Valley Amateur Beekeepers Association, CareerLinks, Newy With Kids, City of Newcastle's Climate Change and Sustainability Team, Makerverse, Hunter Water, Renew Sustainable Living, City of Newcastle's Transport Team, Hunter Innovation and Science Hub, City of Newcastle's Invasive Species Team, Australian Institute of Physics, Engineers Australia, National Schools Poster Competition, AIMERS Foundation, TAFE NSW and HMRI Gastroenterology researchers!
Bring your own lunch to picnic on our lawn whilst you watch the stage entertainment or enjoy a sausage sizzle from Rotary Club of Newcastle Enterprise and one of the famous "poo" cupcakes from KT Bakes Cakes!
Stage Entertainment Schedule
- 10am The Bubble Laboratory Stage Show
- 10:40am HMRI Poo Palace Presentation
- 11am Fizzics Education Science Show
- 11:40am The Bubble Laboratory Stage Show
- 12:20pm HMRI Poo Palace Presentation
- 12:40pm Fizzics Education Science Show
- 1:20pm The Bubble Laboratory Stage Show
- 2pm The Pretty Amazing Jono - Magic Mad Science
- 2:40pm HMRI Poo Palace Presentation
HMRI Poo Palace tips:
All HMRI Poo Palace tickets are free.
The HMRI Poo Palace jumping castle is a very popular exhibit at the Hunter Science Festival. This year the Poo Palace will also be operating 10am – 3pm on Saturday 22 August, so if you want to avoid the crowds on the day, get a free ticket to jump on Saturday instead! Tickets for sessions on the Saturday will become available from 9am on Friday 21 August via our TryBooking page.
Tickets for jumping on the HMRI Poo Palace at the Hunter Science Festival on Sunday 23 August, will be available via a QR code which will be displayed around the Museum on the day of the festival. Ticket releases will be staggered throughout the day, as follows:
- Tickets for sessions 10am – 12pm will be released at 9:30am
- Tickets for sessions 12 – 3pm will be released at 11:30am
- Tickets for sessions 3 – 5pm will be released at 2:30pm
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