The Fairhill Blog · 6 August 2026
Backyard Science on the Sunshine Coast: A Family Guide for National Science Week
National Science Week, Australia's annual celebration of science, runs from 15 to 23 August 2026, and this year's schools theme could not suit us better: Seeds of Science. You do not need a laboratory to join in. A garden, a farmyard and a lake hold more working science than most classrooms, and the questions kids ask outdoors are the real thing.
So here is our guide to a Science Week day out at Fairhill, and three experiments to take home afterwards.
Start with the seeds
Every plant on our benches began as a seed that waited for its moment: the right warmth, the right moisture, and for some natives, even the smoke of a bushfire. Bring the kids through the Nursery, South East Queensland's largest native nursery, and let them choose a seedling to grow at home. Watching something you planted put out its first new leaf is the seed of science in the most literal way there is.
The farmyard is a biology lesson
In the Animal Farmyard, the science walks around on four legs and two. Our miniature goat kids are a lesson in animal behaviour all by themselves, and our Quamby chickens carry a genetics puzzle you can see: clues in a hen's appearance hint at the colour of the eggs she will lay. Ranger-led sessions run every half past the hour in the mornings, so the kids can put their questions to someone who works with the animals every day.
Down at Turtle Lake, stand still for five minutes and count what surfaces. Turtles coming up for air, ducks upending, and water dragons basking on the banks. Reptiles rely on the sun for their body warmth, which is why a cool winter morning is the best basking weather of the year.
Three experiments to take home
The seed jar
Fold a bean seed into damp cotton wool against the side of a glass jar, keep it moist on a windowsill, and watch the root find down and the shoot find up over a week. Ask the kids which way the root will grow before it does.
The sunbeam survey
On a winter morning, count where the lizards are. Reptiles warm their bodies from the sunshine rather than from food, so every basking spot is data: sun, surface, and time of day.
The pollinator minute
Pick one flowering native and watch it for a single timed minute. Count every visitor: honeyeaters, bees, butterflies. Different flowers keep different company, and one minute is enough to see it.
Pollinator spotting works especially well among our grevilleas, whose nectar keeps the honeyeaters busy all winter. If the kids catch the collecting bug, our grevillea guide is the next rabbit hole.
And there is a brand new reason to visit: The Kids' Barn, our newest farmyard addition, opens on Sunday 9 August 2026, the weekend before Science Week begins.
Plan your Science Week visit
114 Fairhill Road, Ninderry, five minutes from M1 exit 215. Entry to the Country Store, Nursery, Gardens Café and Terrace Bar & Takeaway is free; adult Day Passes to all three Realms are $5, and adults come in free with a child who has a Day Pass or Membership.