Ahh this is so good I am now getting virtually up to date here!Ok so I spent about 4 days in all in Canberra and obviously the main reason for this was to visit Questacon, THE Australian Science centre.
Day 1:
It was an early bus that left around about 8.00 am, especially with the night before being my last night in Sydney. But it did get in to Canberra at about 12.00. it had been a while since I had carried so much stuff with me.
Mainly since I had the opportunity to store stuff with kath and Emma I had been traveling light down the East Coast.
Since I had Not heard from my contact in Canberra/Questacon, I booked into the Hostel accommodation for 2 nights I knew I would probably stay more than that, but at least it meant that it was out of the way.I do believe that I bummed a little bit around town all day and then promptly found myself falling asleep at 20.00. but not before I made contact with Lish and arranged to meet up with her the next day.
Day 2:
The morning saw me going to the local park where they had a flower competition/display on. All very nice but the weird and the cool bit was finding a gnome coloring/painting competition. Schools and businesses had submitted a load of rock and roll inspired gnomes... My favorite was this kiss one.
But the afternoon was more important than kiss ( I know what a thing to say!). That was of course me Visiting Questacon. It was great to see Lish Again. I hadn't seen her since London just before I quit my job there.
Any way she got me into the science centre and I got the chance to look around the centre, it is so good they have genuinely good interactives. Ones that actually get people to think. But
enough of my old shop talk. In the afternoon they gave me the chance to use the internet and talk to some of the teams there. They indigenous communities programme is pretty amazing, I would so love to be involved with that programme.Lish then lent me one of her cycles for the night and before I headed back to my hostel we had a quick pint at her local. Oh and some great beer batter chips!
Day 3:
The previous day I had agreed to do a talk for a questacon about adult programming and the Dana centre. So at 12.oo at sat down at a computer terminal and about 1 1/2 hours later I had Put together an amazing 24 slide power point presentation. I then gave a 40 min presentation of what they should and shouldn't be doing as well as an amazing history of the Dana centre Project.
What was most amazing was the fact that after not having been working at the place all the information was still in my head like a form of brain washing.
Then I was introduced to the Director of Questacon, Graham Durant, who I had a beer with up in his office, talk about classy.
The evening saw me having a lovely meal with Lish and one of her friends who worked at csiro,
another science communication place in Canberra. I was good to have a good old gossip about Science communicators in the UK. Then It was off to a local folk playing bar for a quick bevy. Then to sleep at Lish's House for one night. Lish was kind enough to let me stay at hers and it meant I did not have to spend more money at a hostel.Day 4:
Ok time for some serious tourist stuff around Canberra on what was to be My last day. I went and headed to the New parliament buildings as well as the old one and the portrait gallery.
I saw an Exhibition of Cecil beaton Photos as well as some thing about foreign reporting by ABC.
Ahhhh the culture flowing through my veins.
It was a late night Bus to Melbourne and got there the following day at 07.30 in the morning!phew
