Flying Scientist - Where did our fanged kangaroos go?

Where did our fanged kangaroos go? What does research from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area tell us about the extinction of Australia's fanged kangaroos? Come along to the Flying Scientist event with Dr Kaylene Butler and find out!

Join us for light refreshments and hear about the latest on fanged kangaroos and fossil research from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area with scientist Dr Kaylene Butler. Kaylene's talk will be followed by a Q&A session providing an opportunity to find out more about the science happening right here in Queensland and what a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) research is really like.

About the speaker:

Dr Kaylene Butler is a Palaeontologist who studies extinct kangaroos from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northwestern Queensland. She received a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology with first class honours in 2013 and a PhD in 2018 from The University of Queensland (UQ). Her PhD research aimed to determine potential drivers of the extinction of a family of fanged kangaroos known as balbarids. She also recently described a new genus and two new species of Olgio-Miocene kangaroo from Riversleigh. After completing her PhD, Kaylene worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Queensland University of Technology before returning to UQ as Program Officer for Wonder of Science.

About Flying Scientists:

The Flying Scientists program engages rural Queenslanders in Science. It is a partnership between the Queensland Office of the Chief Scientist and Wonder of Science. The flying scientists speak at community engagement events and accompany the WoS Young Science Ambassadors on school visits. WoS organise the events and travel arrangements for the flying scientists.

The Flying Scientists are all Queensland-based STEM researchers. Their expertise and fields of research are broad and varied and often quite quirky! As such they are appealing to community members in rural and regional Queensland, who tend to be under-catered for in relation to science activities and events.

Despite having a relatively decentralised population, with strong regional centres, the majority of science related activities and events are hosted in South East Queensland. A recent survey commissioned by the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist demonstrated an appetite for participation in science activities and events with 64% of Queenslanders in regional/remote areas considering there are not enough events/activities in their area.

As a result of little activity, students and communities in regional and remote Queensland have limited exposure to science and scientists first-hand and as a result students are often less likely to choose science as a career path. This has implications not only for the State’s goal of building a knowledge economy but also affects the visibility of more regional and remote research challenges and the efforts taken to address these.

About Wonder of Science:

Wonder of Science is promoting a STEM culture in Queensland schools – where students understand the importance of STEM and believe that STEM education and careers are accessible to them.

STEM Inquiry - Challenging, real-world tasks aligned to the Australian Curriculum

Wonder of Science challenge tasks immerse students in authentic and collaborative inquiry. Students develop critical and creative thinking skills as they are challenged to develop a group response to a real-world problem or scenario. Representative teams are chosen to attend regional student conferences to present their response and showcase their work.

Young Science Ambassadors - Bringing STEM to life

Selected PhD researchers from leading Queensland universities visit participating schools to work with students on their challenge tasks, and support them to develop a group presentation. The ambassadors are inspiring role models for both students and teachers. The ambassadors support implementation of Wonder of Science, and judge presentations at the student conferences.

Student Conferences - Aspirational regional and state student showcases

Representative teams from participating schools are invited to present their challenge task response and compete against other schools at a one-day regional student conference. In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in ‘Speed-meet-the-Scientist’ activities and workshops.

Strategic Partnerships - Linking schools, universities, industry groups, non-profit organisations & government agencies

Wonder of Science fosters partnerships between schools and the wider community through our partner organisations. Our university partners host student conferences and provide students for the Young Science Ambassador program. Industry partners attend student conferences to provide workshops and judge student presentations.