National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip to begin in Karratha

The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip will take off from Karratha, WA, on Monday, 4 August, as it completes its lap of Australia.

The annual road trip will visit remote and regional schools and communities across the country before finishing in Sydney on August 17, with pop up events held in capital cities.

The 2025 event will complete a lap of the country that it began three years ago and has continued each year during National Science Week.

The road trip is organised by Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and for Dark Matter Particle Physics (CDM).

It aims to ignite an interest in STEM among regional and rural students, introduce quantum technology and particle physics to Australians, inspire a future generation of scientists and engineers, and highlight the potential of quantum technologies and dark matter discovery for the benefit of our society.

Road trip organiser and physicist Dr Ben McAllister, from CDM, EQUS and Swinburne University of Technology says the road trip plays an important role in introducing remote and regional students and communities to fundamental science.

“The National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip visits schools and communities that might not usually have access to world-leading scientists that are carrying out cutting edge research into dark matter and quantum science.

“This is particularly important given that students who live in rural, regional or remote areas of Australia are less likely to consider STEM careers.

“We also know from previous road trips how interested students are in hearing from real scientists, and understand the pathways that led to their careers. During our visits we introduce ourselves and talk about our day-to-day work and our professional pathways, alongside the exciting science that we’re doing, in the hope of inspiring them to considering pursuing their own careers in STEM.”

During the road trip, 16  scientists from the University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and the University of Newcastle will present talks and demonstrations at schools across Australia.

Macquarie University and EQUS Research Fellow Dr Kerstin Beer said she was particularly excited to be completing the lap of the length and breadth of Australia this year.

“When we started running the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip, we never believed that we would eventually cover the entire continent, travelling almost 26,000km, engaging with 4,000 school students and visiting 109 cities and towns across Australia.

“We’ve seen some incredible sights and visited so many different schools, from large regional schools to tiny outback schools with only a few students in each year level. We’ve learnt so much along our annual journey and I hope the road trip will be a catalyst for students to take a greater interest in the groundbreaking science happening in Australia. They might even become the scientists of the future.”

The cities and towns it will visit as part of the National Quantum & Dark Matter Road Trip are:      

●        Karratha WA

●        Wickham WA

●        Port Hedland WA

●        Meekatharra WA

●        Karalundi WA

●        Northampton WA

●        Geraldton WA

●        Morawa WA

●        Carnamah WA

●        Perth WA

●        Riverton SA

●        Kalgoorlie WA

●        Alice Springs NT

●        Eudunda SA

●        Adelaide SA

●        Broken Hill NSW

●        Leeton NSW

●        Junee NSW

●        Kildare NSW

●        Wagga Wagga NSW

●        Cootamundra NSW

●        Tumut NSW

●        Melbourne VIC    

●        Sydney NSW

●        Launceston TAS

More information about the road trip is available at www.qdmroadtrip.org. Photographs of road trippers are available on request.