Extrasensory

See, hear, smell, taste, feel, more at this cornucopia for the senses.

Augment your reality. AI, bionics and smart devices are here to extend and enhance your senses. So what are the possible futures of human perception? At this event combining performance, storytelling, and experimentation, make sense of the world of the senses, and find the limits to your own.

See the unseen, and walk on the surface of a cell. Find your way with your fingers, and experience next generation 3D audio and hearables. Sniff out some bacteria and feel your immune system at work, then if you’re brave wash your hands with soap made from sewage.

Tell a story about the patterns hidden in the night sky, and try our virtual balance challenge. Ponder the concept of common sense, and what animals can perceive that humans can’t. Listen to the music of the elephants, the last moments of the Mars Rover, and the unfolding of the evolution of species.

Challenge your senses to work together, and become aware of senses such as kinaesthesia. Learn about how our senses mingle in synesthetic experiences, and sometimes fool us with hallucinations.

Can you maintain your appetite in the face of distinctly un-appetising pictures? Or avoid being tricked in our food sensory testing lab? Congratulate yourself with a drink from our bar, and discover why champagne is so bubblicious.

The world is full of new phenomena to explore, hiding just beyond the reach of your senses. So tune your ears, engage your nose, ready your tastebuds, and flex your fingers in preparation for an evening sure to be extra sensory.

Extrasensory is presented by the Victorian Coordinating Committee for National Science Week, The Royal Society of Victoria, and the Parliament of Victoria.

This event is recommended for a 16+ audience. Finger food provided as part of your ticket price. Beverages will be available for purchase at the event.

Appearing at the event:

EXHIBITS & EXPERIMENTS:

• Skunk Control (Victoria University) - ‘Fractured Altar’ (light installation)
• CBNS (Monash University) - Journey inside a cell
• Dr Dominic Orth (Swinburne University) - try the virtual balance challenge
• Dr Simon Cropper (University of Melbourne) - Star stories, can you find the pattern?
• Arup - Pop up sound lab experience
• Science Gallery Melbourne - 'The Sewer Soaperie'
• Sensilab (Monash University) - Tactile treasure maps
• Rossjohn Infection and Immunity Lab (Monash University) - Immersion immunity
• CASS (Deakin University) - Can you taste it? The art of sensory marketing
• Tara Storey (Food Scientist) – The sound of sweetness
• Dr Simon Harrison (CSIRO Data61) - ‘The Digital Human’
• Dr Frank Feltham (RMIT) - Sonic Efforts: the expression of walking through sound
• Dr David Sly (Swinburne University) - Next Gen 3D audio and hearables

QUEENS HALL MAIN STAGE

• Elissa Goodrich (composer / vibraphone), Adam Simmons (saxophones / shakuhachi / bass clarinet), Gideon Brazil (saxophones / flute) – ‘Gene Tree Project’ - music of the evolution of species
• Nicholas J. Johnson – ‘Deceptology: the neuroscience of magic’
• Vicki Hallett (composer / clarinet) – ‘Elephant Trail’
• Sam Colcheedas – (composer / piano) – ‘It’s getting dark’ - music of the Mars Rover
• Dr David Farmer – ‘Intrasensory’ - science comedy

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

• The Science of Champagne (Culinary Science)
• Beer Science (Jon Seltin, Brewer)

CHAMBER TALKS PROGRAM

• Dr Darlene Lim (NASA) - Sensing beyond Earth: mission Mars
• Silverpond - Artificial Intelligence: the new sense?
• Dr Erich Fitzgerald (Museum Victoria) - Whale sense
• Dr Simon Cropper (UoM) - Slave to sense: hallucinations and synesthesia
• Prof Arun Ram (UoM) - The musical sensation of mathematical discovery
• Dr David Sly (Swinburne University) - Hearables: the augmented human
• Dr Kate Selway (Macquarie University) – Sensing the extreme
• Dr Luke Smillie (UoM) - Common sense and Pseudo-profound Bulls**t
• Dr Maddy Yewers (UoM) - Do you see what I see? Animal vision in a colourful world