Moth Night – Citizen Science and the Atomic Choir for the Great Southern BioBlitz
21st September | 7-9pm
Chemistry Courtyard, University of Sydney
Get ready for an enchanting evening under the stars! Pull on some warm clothes, bring your picnic blanket, and join scientists from the University of Sydney and the Learning by Doing project for Moth Night. This special event invites you to explore the nocturnal world of moths and other fascinating creatures.
During the evening, you’ll have the opportunity to engage in citizen science using the iNaturalist app, sharing your observations with scientists worldwide. Plus, you can join the Atomic Choir, creating a collective soundscape inspired by our moth observations—no musical skills or instruments needed!
As night falls, we’ll gather on Chemistry Courtyard, where UV-lights and screens will be set up to attract and observe our local urban biodiversity. It’s a perfect mix of science, nature, and art, celebrating the rich biodiversity of our environment.
This event is free, suitable for all ages, and family-friendly.
Tickets are limited, so be sure to grab yours while you can! BYO picnic.
Featuring University of Sydney Researchers:
Dr Larissa Braz Sousa (she/her)
Larissa is a Research Associate in School Science Education using Citizen Science, at the University of Sydney. She leads the Learning by Doing research project, exploring citizen science as an approach to making scientific research more accessible and understandable. Her recent research focused on citizen science mosquito surveillance to enhance public health literacy and education outcomes, leading the Mozzie Monitors project. She is also the co-founder of the Great Southern BioBlitz, a global citizen science initiative to celebrate biodiversity during spring in the southern hemisphere.
Alexis Weaver (she/her)
Alexis is an electronic composer, sound artist and educator based in Sydney, Australia. Her experimental electronic works have been broadcast in Australia, the US, the UK, and Europe, and featured on New Weird Australia’s Collapse Theories (2022), and Solitary Wave (2019) albums. In 2023, Alexis commenced her PhD examining the role of music and sound design in science communication. In the same year, she was a resident of the College Musica at the Biennale di Venezia, where she collaborated with poet Dr Geosmin Turpin to compose a new immersive electroacoustic work. Alexis is a member of the Sonic Mutations AI project, which premiered at the Sydney Opera House in 2023 and the 2023 Sydney SXSW Festival. She is an Associate Lecturer in Music Technology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Alexis is a founding member of the Atomic Choir.
Dr Caitlyn Forster
Caitlyn is an Associate Lecturer in entomology and Superstar of STEM. She spends her time teaching undergrads about the wonderful world of insects. Her research spans across a range of fields in entomology, including pollination ecology and behavioural ecology. She is also trying to untangle how insect specimens can most effectively be used for educating our future entomologists and ecologists.
A/Prof Alice Motion (They/She)
Alice leads the Learning By Doing Project which is one of the projects emerging from the interdisciplinary Science Communication, Outreach, Participation and Education (SCOPE) Research Group that Alice founded at the School of Chemistry, University of Sydney. Connecting people to science in the overarching theme of Alice’s research which spans open source drug discovery, science communication and science education. Alice is also the creator and founding member of the Atomic Choir.
Learning By Doing 