
FESTIVAL EPICENTRE
Beaker Street Festival’s second weekend takes over Nipaluna/Hobart’s cultural precinct, with our Main Stage program at City Hall, our Roving Scientist Bar at the Hope & Anchor, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery After Dark, and our Market Place Street Party — a weekend long celebration for our 10th birthday!
Get amongst it. You’ll find the lineup below. Main Stage shows are ticketed. Everything else is free.
MARKET PLACE STREET PARTY
Saturday 15 August – 12.00pm to late
Sandwiched between City Hall and the Hope & Anchor, you’ll find a laneway with fire pits, bars and food, raucous nerds, and a stage brimming with good things to watch and listen to. Live bands, Dinosaur Dance-Offs, off-the-cuff interviews, the ever-popular PowerPoint Karaoke, plus the magical Zak Pidd returns to host Beaker Radio.
![]() | Live Music: King Billy Sets between 12.00pm – 5.00pm King Billy is a group of Tasmanian musicians making soulful, organic beat music drawing on soul, jazz, hip-hop, and Hobart’s DIY music culture. |
![]() | Family-Friendly Roving Scientist Session 12.30pm – 2.30pm Bring your most relentless question-askers to chat with the people best equipped to answer. Meet real-life scientists, peer down microscopes, and find out what Australia’s latest scientific research looks like up-close. No bookings required. More Information |
![]() | Roving Scientist Bar 3.00pm – 9.00pm We’re taking over Australia’s oldest pub, putting a scientist at every table, and inviting you in for an outrageously nerdy night out. No bookings required. More Information |
![]() | Science Open Mic 5.00pm – 5.30pm Calling all scientists, science lovers, and nerds of the world! Have a pet theory, niche obsession, or a poem about tardigrade romance? Pop your name on the whiteboard, grab the mic, and wrap up within three minutes. Props welcome, but leave your conference slides at home. |
![]() | Live Music: Mum and Dad Sets between 6.00pm – 9.15pm Part music act, part comedy duo, and self-described "MUM and DAD from Moonah who tell it like it is while making you shake your rump." You've been warned. Catch them on the Market Place Stage. |
![]() | Power Point Karaoke 8.15pm – 8.45pm Test your scientific and comedic prowess. The rules are simple: Contestants take to the stage to convincingly present a deck of randomly assorted PowerPoint slides they have never seen before, giving a "talk" on a topic chosen by the audience. The stage will be open to anyone and everyone who thinks they've got what it takes. |
![]() | Power Point Karaoke: Championships 10.00pm – 10.30pm It all comes down to this. The finalists from our two weekends of PowerPoint Karaoke qualifying rounds are invited to compete for the ultimate prize, a coveted Beaker Street Tip Shop Trophy. A true test of quick-thinking, shameless confidence, and the ability to turn total rubbish into a compelling argument. Come along to cheer on your favourite contestant. |
MAIN STAGE AT HOBART CITY HALL
![]() | Meet Your Replacement: An AI Demo 12.45pm – 2.00pm Love it or hate it, AI has arrived. Come see what it can actually do. Book tickets |
![]() | Can't Look Away: How Our Technology Keeps Us Hooked 2.45pm – 4.00pm A behind-the-screen look at how tech companies manipulate us. Book tickets |
![]() | Psychedelics Revisited 5.00pm – 6.00pm How once-taboo substances are reshaping mental health care. Book tickets |
![]() | The Beaker Street Game Show 6.45pm – 8.15pm Australia's science glitterati face off in a mildly informative, highly entertaining battle of brains and banter. Book tickets |
![]() | SexTistics 9.00pm – 10.00pm Join Kinky History star Esmé James and her mathematician mum for a cheeky, data-driven deep dive into our modern sex lives. Book tickets |
TASMANIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY
![]() | CoLab Exhibition 10.00am – 4.00pm and 5.30pm – 9.30pm What happens when you pair research scientists with high-school art students? More Information |
![]() | Science Photography Prize Exhibition 10.00am – 4.00pm and 5.30pm – 9.30pm Science through your lens, from the microscopic to the monumental. See the exhibtion of the Beaker Street Science Photography Prize finalists, and vote for the Peoples' Choice award. More Information |
![]() | TMAG After Dark 5.30pm – 9.30pm A night at the museum with live music, microscopy, a bar, and TMAG’s Scientific Team. More Information |
![]() | Video Games in the Basement 5.30pm – 9.30pm Grab a controller and join in on a couch co-op video game, then chat to game developers and gaming researchers. More Information |

















