Price
Free
Event date and time
Wednesday 7 May 2025
2.00pm to 3.00pm AEST
Location
Webinar (via Zoom) hosted by Australian National Maritime Museum.
A day to celebrate and learn about our wonderful whales!
Event summary
Join renowned marine biologist Dr Vanessa Pirotta and learn all about the largest animal on the planet! Whales!
To celebrate the annual arrival of whales to Australian waters, this whale-y awesome webinar will dive into the world of these magnificent marine mammals. From icy Antarctic waters to the tropics, students will learn amazing facts from the wonderful world of whales and discover how scientists like Vanessa and special guest Dr Ben Arthur from CSIRO study whale biology, ecology and conservation.
From drones diving into clouds of whale snot to the amazing art of scooping up whale poo from the ocean, this session will have you spouting for more!
This free webinar includes a Q&A session for students to ask all their biggest questions about whales and other marine animals.
Annual Hump(back) Day is an exciting new initiative presented by Dr Vanessa Pirotta, CSIRO and the Australian National Maritime Museum. It will be a whale education event held annually on the first ‘hump day’ – Wednesday – of May each year.
Audience
School students – Kindergarten to Year 6
Host
Dr Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University
Special guest
Dr Ben Arthur, CSIRO Marine National Facility
Partners
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Pricing
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Free! Register now to book your class into this whale-y fun event.
Free
Dates and Times
Event date: May 2025
Wednesday 7 May 2025
Webinar (via Zoom) hosted by Australian National Maritime Museum.
2.00pm to 3.00pm AEST
Contact
More information
About the presenters
Dr Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University
Vanessa is one of Australia’s most renowned wildlife scientists. Her research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation, working collaboratively across marine/terrestrial environments and merging cutting edge tech to access animals in unique ways- think drones to collect whale snot. She leads the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science program, which is learning more about marine life in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
Vanessa is a proud children’s book author, with her book The Voyage of Whale and Calf, serving as an annual reminder of humpback whale biology and ecology in Australian waters. In 2024, Vanessa also published two additional books; The Humpback Highway: Diving into the mysterious world of whales and a second children’s book, Oceans At Night. In 2025, Vanessa was named the NSW Premiers Woman of Excellence.
Dr Ben Arthur, CSIRO
Ben is a marine ecologist and science educator with CSIRO. He has researched marine mammals and seabirds in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica, and is passionate about our natural world, how science helps us makes sense of it and inspiring others about it. Ben is the Engagement Programs Coordinator with the CSIRO Marine National Facility and a Voyage Manager on our national ocean research vessel (RV) Investigator. He is also a Founding Director of the Macquarie Island Conservation Foundation.
In 2024, Ben was awarded the Tasmanian STEM Communicator of the Year by the Tasmanian Government.
Looking for more whale-y good stories? Check out Story time from a Science Ship.
In 2023, Vanessa and Ben teamed up during National Science Week to deliver Storytime from a Science Ship, a unique event for Australian school students beamed from onboard CSIRO’s ocean research vessel, RV Investigator. Dive into the story: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2023/august/the-whale-and-the-calf-book-reading-nswk