Category: News

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip will arrive in Tasmania in 2026 to share the joy and excitement of science with students and communities.

Now in its fifth year, the road trip aims to ignite an interest in STEM, inspire a future generation of scientists and engineers, and highlight the potential of quantum technologies and dark matter discovery for the benefit of our society.

The 2026 event is organised by the Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM) and Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC) and supported by the Australian Institute of Physics.

Starting at the Beaker Street Festival in Hobart on Friday, 14 August, the physicists will travel to Launceston, where they will attend the Big Day of Science at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Devonport, Roseberry and smaller towns along the route, before returning to Hobart on Friday, 21 August.

The road trippers will visit primary and secondary schools and hold community events including pub quizzes, talks and demonstrations. Public events will also be held in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as part of the road trip.

Organiser and physicist Dr Ben McAllister, from CDM and Swinburne University of Technology says the road trip provides a unique opportunity for students and communities to meet scientists, ask questions and learn about the world-class dark matter and quantum science happening in Australia.

“The Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip has been a really successful and hugely rewarding part of National Science Week in the past four years and we’re pleased to be bringing it to Tasmania in 2026.

“It can be rare for students outside metropolitan centres to meet physicists in person and hear about the exciting research going on in Australia. On the road trip we visit regional and remote schools to try to ignite a love of science in these students. We hope these young Tasmanians will be the ones to help us answer some of the great questions of the universe, and meet the challenges of the future,” Dr McAllister said.

“It is more important than ever to promote an interest in physics after the 2025 Year 12 Physics Participation Report Card found enrolment in Year 12 physics had dropped to 12.1% – the lowest on record, with girls continuing to be under-represented. This is the concerning situation across Australia, including in Tasmania, and we want to do our part to help inspire kids to stick with STEM into senior high school.

“This year we are excited to travel to places the road trip has never visited and inspire a whole new group of students and their communities.”

First time road tripper Eleanor Trimby of QUBIC believes introducing students to the exciting science happening in Australia can play a crucial role in igniting their curiosity and improve engagement in STEM subjects.

“As a teenager, science media including documentaries and radio shows played a big part in inspiring me to study physics. I loved hearing about real-world research beyond the school curriculum and how it was pushing our understanding of the universe forwards. I’m hopeful that this road trip will ignite the same curiosity in a new generation of future scientists! Bringing conversations about physics directly into schools and local communities has the power to get students excited about the future of quantum and dark matter physics, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of that,” Ms Trimby said.

Road trip organiser and participant, Dr Kerstin Beer wrote an article for EducationHQ News titled ‘STEM road trip mission: demystifying science careers so they feel more accessible.

Read the article here

 

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip has travelled the length and breadth of Australia in its mission to inspire students and communities and share the excitement of science.

As part of National Science Week, quantum and dark matter scientists from across Australia have been visiting regional and remote areas, and holding satellite events across the country.

The event was organised by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, with the support of a National Science Week grant.

This year’s road trip travelled from Karratha to Perth in Western Australia, and from Adelaide to Sydney, visiting schools and communities along the way.

Over the four years since the first event was held in 2022, road tripping quantum and dark matter scientists have crossed the Nullarbor, visited tiny schools in the Northern Territory and held events in Tasmania.

Road trip organiser and physicist Dr Ben McAllister, from the CDM, EQUS and Swinburne University of Technology, says the annual road trip provides a rare opportunity for students and communities to meet quantum and dark matter scientists and learn about the exciting research they are doing across Australia.

“This event really takes cutting edge into regional and remote Australia and we hope it plays a role in inspiring young people,” he says.

“We’re proud to have completed a lap of Australia and we’ve visited some incredible students and met so many engaged, enthusiastic students and teachers.

“In coming years, we hope to revisit some of the places that we have been to in previous years’ road trips to reinforce the road trip’s message that science is for everyone.

During the road trip, 16  scientists from the University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle presented talks and demonstrations at schools across Australia.

This year’s event visited more than 25 regional and remote schools, with public community events in Karratha, Melbourne, Kalgoorlie, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Port Hedland, Broken Hill, Brisbane and Alice Springs.

Macquarie University and EQUS Research Fellow Dr Kerstin Beer said students were often surprised that quantum science was already playing a role in their lives.

“Concepts like quantum science can seem very complex to students, and in a way they are, but by explaining how this technology is already present in their lives, like in barcode readers in the supermarket, or smartphones, it really brings this science to life.”

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip arrived in Geraldton in regional WA today and their visit to Geraldton Senior High School was captured by Channel 7.

Road tripper Kerstin Beer explained the event’s aim of inspiring regional and remote students to consider careers in science, and students spoke about the session.

Watch the segment below.

National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip organiser and road tripper Ben McAllister appeared on Channel 9’s Weekend Today show.

Ben spoke about the road trip, dark matter, and why it is so important to spread the word about science and careers in STEM in regional and remote Australia.

Watch the segment below.

National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip organiser and road tripper Ben McAllister spoke to Justin Smith on ABC Melbourne Mornings.

Listen to the interview below.

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip is back in 2025 to complete its lap across the length and breadth of Australia.

The annual road trip will begin in Karratha on 4 August and visit remote and regional schools and communities before finishing in Sydney on 17 August. There will also be pop-up events such as science-themed pub trivia, demonstrations and public lectures in capital cities across the country.

The lap of Australia began four years ago and road-tripping scientists have gradually visited regional and remote areas across the country, holding pop-up events across the nation’s capital cities.

The Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and for Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM) are organising this year’s event to coincide with National Science Week.

The road trip aims to introduce quantum technology and particle physics to Australians, inspire a future generation of scientists and engineers, and highlight the potential of quantum technologies and dark matter discovery for the benefit of our society.

Road trip organiser and physicist Dr Ben McAllister, from CDM, EQUS and Swinburne University of Technology, says school events will involve presentations, demonstrations and Q&A sessions.

He says scientists are expecting to address questions from students about all things dark matter, quantum … and extraterrestrial.

“Every year the kids ask amazing questions about all kinds of things. Funnily enough we are constantly asked about aliens and even though it’s not technically our area of research, we’re happy to provide the best answers we can to whatever areas of science interest the students. We love hearing what interests them, and trying to connect them to science.

“We’re thrilled that this year we will be completing the lap of the country that we started four years ago, visiting schools and communities that might not usually have access to the cutting-edge science that’s happening right here in Australia.

“We talk about the ways quantum technology already impacts their lives, through its role in computing, medicine and communications – quantum technology is used in MRI machines, fibre optic cables and even barcode scanning.

“The road trip is an opportunity to introduce Australians to the researchers at the forefront of scientific exploration and hopefully inspire them to consider pursuing careers in science.”

During the road trip, 16 scientists from the University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle will present talks and demonstrations at schools across Australia.

The cities and towns it will visit are:

 

Scientists from the University of Sydney, Australian National University, Swinburne University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Newcastle and the University of Western Australia will present pop-up events in capital cities.

Macquarie University and EQUS Research Fellow Dr Kerstin Beer is looking forward to spreading the word about quantum and dark matter science in this year’s road trip, after participating in the past two events.

“I have been involved in two road trips so far and it’s fantastic to see how engaged and curious the students are when we talk to them about quantum and dark matter research.

“This year’s event is particularly important as it is the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology and we can explain the role that quantum plays and will continue to play in the lives of Australians.

“Through this National Science Week road trip, we aim to demystify science careers for students who might never have met a scientist face-to-face, and show them how inspiring and exciting science can be. This is particularly important as we know that students living in rural and regional areas of Australia are less likely to pursue a career in science and that is something we’d like to help change.”

 

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip has received National Science Week funding to support its 2025 event.

The road trip was one of 31 initiatives to receive the Australian Government funding and this year’s event will be held between August 4 and 21. Recipients of the 2025 National Science Week grants were announced on 27 March 2025.

The details of the route are yet to be decided, but it is likely to travel across Australia from Broome to Perth and Adelaide to Sydney.

The road trippers aim to visit schools and communities, mainly in rural and remote areas of Australia, that they have not yet reached in the four years of the event.

Pop up events including public talks, science trivia nights and demonstrations will also be held at cities across the country.

Event organiser Ben McAllister says the annual road trip is a highlight of the science calendar.

“The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip provides an opportunity for communities in rural and remote areas to learn about the cutting edge science happening in Australia.

“We hope that by introducing students and members of the public to quantum and dark matter science, we can inspire a future generation of Australian scientists.”

This year’s road trip will coincide with the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

It is also the year that the SABRE South dark matter experiment, located in the Stawell Underground Physic Laboratory – the only facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere – will start taking data.

“Our scientists are carrying out internationally-significant research that might change the way we understand the universe, and the road trip is an opportunity to share the excitement of scientific exploration,” Dr McAllister says.

Stay tuned to find out more about the 2025 road trip on our website and social media channels.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: Event organiser and dark matter scientist Ben McAllister is available for interview.

Contact Fleur Morrison at fleur.morrison@unimelb.edu.au to arrange an interview or photo opportunity.

On Thursday 15 August 2024, as part of the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip, Dr Ben McAllister gave a public talk titled Shining a light on dark matter.

Australian scientists are on the cutting edge of the quest to unravel one of the biggest mysteries in the Universe: the nature of dark matter. This talk discusses the innovative research being conducted to understand the elusive substance that makes up about 85% of the matter in the Universe. Central to these efforts is the development of new technologies, including quantum technologies, which are enhancing our capabilities to search for dark matter with unprecedented precision. We will learn how new technology and new experiments are pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and bringing us closer to uncovering the secrets of the cosmos. This talk is designed for all audiences, offering a glimpse into the world of Australian and global dark matter research, and the future of quantum science.

About the speaker

Dr Ben McAlister is a physicist and science communicator who works across dark matter and quantum technology. When he’s not in the lab working on new experiments, he’s usually somewhere else talking about them. Ben works at Swinburne University of Technology, and is a member of the Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM). He is one of the organisers of the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip, and a lifelong North Melbourne Football Club tragic.

EQUS and CDM held another highly successful National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip in 2024. This year the road trip was more remote than ever, visiting the Northern Territory and Indigenous schools and communities for the first time.

The 2024 National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip saw 13 members of CDM and/or EQUS travel 8,000km from Brisbane to Broome, visiting 18 schools and delivering six public events. An additional seven public events were held in metropolitan areas in WA, NSW, VIC, Tasmania and online. Check out the highlights below from the 2024 National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip!

Highlight Reel

Thanks to Kerstin Beer for putting the video together!

Photos

These photos were captured by road trippers as they crossed the country from Queensland, through the Northern Territory, via remote communities, and finishing in Western Australia. Click on the thumbnails to see the full photos.