It’s time for a small episode about some big prizes in science, with five fun and fascinating fast facts about the 2026 Nobel Prizes for Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine, a deep dive into optogenetics, and a mirror image molecule activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Support the podcast to keep it ad-free! https://buymeacoffee.com/creativescience

Join the email list: https://www.creativescience.com.au/contact/

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia

Instagram: @creative_science_australia

Episode content:

00:00 Buy a virtual test tube to support the Creative Science for Kids podcast

00:23 Introduction and fast facts

04:31 Deep dive into optogenetics

06:33 Mirror image molecule activity

Nobel Prize: https://www.nobelprize.org/

Mirror image molecule activity

You will need: your two hands and a mirror.

1. Stand in front of a mirror and hold up your left hand. If you wiggle your fingers, you will see the mirror image of your wiggly fingers on the hand you can see in the mirror. Your real hand, and the hand in the mirror, have all the same parts (four fingers, one thumb, fingernails, and a palm) but their three-dimensional shapes are not exactly the same.
2. Hold up your left hand and your right hand and do a thumbs up with both hands. Notice that your right hand is a mirror image of your left hand.
3. Hold your hands together so the palms are touching and all of your fingers line up and it seems like your two hands are a matching pair.
4. Put your hands flat on a table top, with the palms facing down, and then stack your hands on top of each other. The fingers don’t line up anymore and there is no way of matching up your left and right hands in this position.

What’s happening?

The 2026 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded for discoveries about mirror image molecules. These molecules are called ‘chiral molecules’ and the different mirror image molecules are called ‘left-handed’ and ‘right-handed’. There are a lot of molecules in the human body that are chiral molecules. For example, DNA is a chiral molecule, and our bodies only have one of the two mirror image shapes of DNA. We only have right-handed DNA, and the DNA in all living things is always right-handed.

It’s time to get buzzing, with five fun and fascinating fast facts about Australian native bees, an interview with Dr Elise Oakman, a scientist who knows a lot about Australian insects, and a cosy insect hotel activity for you to try yourself at home.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Buy tickets for ‘Creative Science: Mind Blown’ at Sydney Fringe 2026: https://sydneyfringe.com/events/creative-science-mind-blown/

Support the podcast to keep it ad-free! https://buymeacoffee.com/creativescience

Join the email list: https://www.creativescience.com.au/contact/

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia

Instagram: @creative_science_australia

Episode content:

00:00 2026 Sydney Fringe Festival show ‘Creative Science: Mind Blown’

00:17 Introduction and fast facts

05:55 Interview with Dr Elise Oakman

09:25 Insect hotel activity

Bug Hunt Australia: https://bughunt.org.au/

Insect hotel activity

You will need:

• an empty milk carton or juice carton;
• lots of thick and thin paper straws to fill the empty carton;
• some sticks, leaves, and bark from a garden or park;
• cotton string or jute twine

1. Ask an adult to help you open one end or cut off one end of the carton. Make sure you keep the other end of the carton closed.
2. Stand the straws up in the carton and use leaves, sticks, and bark to fill in any gaps between the straws. Make sure the straws are pushing against the closed end of the carton and pack the other things tightly, so the straws won’t fall out of the carton.
3. Choose a place to hang your insect hotel. The open ends of the straws should face North or North-East so they get some morning sun, but make sure the insect hotel is protected from direct sunlight in the middle of the day.
4. Tie the string or twine around the insect hotel and tie it to a tree, fence, or post. Make sure the open ends of the straws are angled down a little bit so they don’t fill with rain, or you can try making a little roof to stop rain and dew going into the straws.

What’s happening?

Female solitary bees can make nests in closed tubes like the straws in this insect hotel. They make the first cell in the closed end of the tube, laying an egg and leaving food for the hatching lava, before sealing the cell with some wax. The bee can then add more cells along the length of the tube.

Saturday the 15th of August to Sunday the 23rd of August is National Science Week in Australia, so it’s time to sow some seeds of excitement with five fun and fascinating fast facts about National Science Week; six scientists sharing what sowed the seed of their interest in science; an interview with Associate Professor Corey Tutt OAM about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Science Day; and a slimy psyllium seed activity for you to try yourself at home.

This episode is an Inspiring Australia NSW initiative and is supported by the NSW and Australian Governments.

Presented by Jenny Lynch and Matilda. Written and produced by Jenny Lynch. Music by Purple Planet Music. Sound effects by Pixabay.

Buy tickets for ‘Creative Science: Mind Blown’ at Sydney Fringe 2026: https://sydneyfringe.com/events/creative-science-mind-blown/

Support the podcast to keep it ad-free! https://buymeacoffee.com/creativescience

Join the email list: https://www.creativescience.com.au/contact/

Creative Science: https://www.creativescience.com.au

Facebook: @creativescienceaustralia

Instagram: @creative_science_australia

Episode content:

00:00 2026 Sydney Fringe Festival show ‘Creative Science: Mind Blown’

00:17 Introduction and fast facts

03:07 What’s a PhD?

03:36 Six scientists share what sowed the seed of their interest in science

07:32 Interview with A/Prof Corey Tutt OAM

12:10 Slimy psyllium seed activity

Special Guests:

Riley Easton, University of Technology Sydney

Sinali Weerasekara, Deakin University

Dr. Olivia R. Maurice, Western Sydney University

Lily Kenchington-Evans, University of Queensland

Shervin Zabeti Targhi, Western Sydney University

Dr Sara Chiaretti, Red Cross Lifeblood

A/Prof Corey Tutt OAM

Deadly Science: https://deadlyscience.org.au

Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Science Day: https://deadlyscience.org.au/pages/national-science-week

National Science Week DIY Science activities: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/diy-science/

Slimy psyllium seed activity

You will need: Boiling hot water, a heat-proof cup, two tablespoons of psyllium husk powder, a measuring cup, and a metal spoon for stirring.

Note: Psyllium husk powder can be found at chemists and in some supermarkets.

1. Ask an adult to help boil some water.
2. Add two tablespoons of psyllium husk powder to the heat-proof cup and ask the adult to add half a cup of boiling hot water to the cup.
3. Use the metal spoon to stir the psyllium husk powder with the water, and keep stirring until the powder soaks up all of the water and it turns into a gooey slime.
4. Wait for the plant slime to cool down and then you can play with it. It might be a bit sticky so make sure you a close to a sink so you can wash your hands.

What’s happening?

Plant slime is also called ‘mucilage’. By soaking up water and forming gooey mucilage, a seed can stay moist until it has time to grow. Mucilage also helps plant roots to push through soil and it’s used by carnivorous plants to trap insects. Some people use psyllium husk powder as a treatment for constipation. The psyllium husk powder works by causing a person’s poo to become larger and softer and easier to poop out.