Precious dinosaur tracks in Queensland saved!

2021-02-03T08:50:46+11:00

The town of Winton in outback Queensland is one of Australia's most important locations for dinosaur fossils. Last week it was revealed that a team of volunteers and paleontologists had worked together on nearby Karoola station to excavate a very rare find: a set of footprints belonging to three different types of dinosaur, including the first set of sauropod footprints found in Australia. They removed the prints just before the arrival of destructive monsoonal rains and took them to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in Winton, where they will go on display. In this video, paleontologist Dr Stephen Poropat discusses how the [...]

Precious dinosaur tracks in Queensland saved!2021-02-03T08:50:46+11:00

Brontosaurus meets porcupine

2021-02-03T08:50:51+11:00

In late 2013, palaeontologists in Patagonia, Argentina made an exciting discovery. Now, more than six years of careful work later, their discovery has finally been unveiled to the world: Bajadasaurus pronuspinax, a new species of dinosaur that lived approximately 140 million years ago. From the fossil evidence uncovered, it is believed that Bajadasaurus was a sauropod (the family of dinosaurs with long necks and long tails) with a very distinctive feature: A row of fearsome-looking spikes running down its spine that probably served as a deterrent to predators. This image is an artists impression of what Bajadasaurus may have looked like. [...]

Brontosaurus meets porcupine2021-02-03T08:50:51+11:00

Get your bananas! Just $3 – each?

2021-02-03T08:50:59+11:00

In March 2006, Cyclone Larry smashed into North Queensland, right into the state’s prime banana-growing region. 90% of the crop was destroyed, creating a huge shortage of the fruit. Banana prices around Australia soared to as high as $14 per kg, or about $3 per banana. The industry recovered within a year, however, in 2011, Cyclone Yasi arrived and wreaked the same havoc all over again. Our thanks and respect goes to Queensland banana farmers - after weathering two huge storms in five years, they continue to produce beautiful bananas for the rest of us to enjoy. [...]

Get your bananas! Just $3 – each?2021-02-03T08:50:59+11:00

Meet Jon: He flies into Hurricanes

2021-02-03T08:51:04+11:00

Dr Jon Zawislak is a Hurricane Hunter. He is an atmospheric scientist whose laboratory is a specially-equipped plane that is flown right into severe storms to collect data on windspeed, air pressure, temperature and humidity. All the data is sent to his colleagues in the USA’s National Hurricane Centre to help form predictions and get information out to the public. And yes, it is a very bumpy ride. Jon described his most recent flight, right into the eye of Hurricane Michael, as ‘extreme’.

Meet Jon: He flies into Hurricanes2021-02-03T08:51:04+11:00

Quick Magnet Facts

2021-02-03T08:51:08+11:00

All magnetic objects contain a metal, but not all metals are magnetic. The most common magnetic metals are iron, nickel and cobalt. Neodymium is a rare earth metal that is combined with iron and another element called boron to make very powerful magnets that are capable of lifting a thousand times their own weight! Magnets have two distinct ends called ‘poles’ (North and South). The north pole of one magnet will attract the south pole of another magnet,  but it will repel (push away) the north pole of the other magnet. (This is easily remembered with the phrase ‘opposites attract’.) [...]

Quick Magnet Facts2021-02-03T08:51:08+11:00