Brisbane has been buzzing this week with the thrill of scientific exploration. In addition to events about Albert Einstein and the spectacular, glowing creatures that swim in the darkest corners of the ocean, World Science Festival Brisbane brings the lab outside all weekend during Street Science!, a loud, messy, high-energy, delicious, interactive and unforgettable experience aimed at the entire family.

After two performances of “Light Falls,” free events for the youngest attendees seeking an up-close and personal introduction to baby sea turtles and migratory birds, plus valuable insight from famed explorer Sylvia Earle, World Science Festival Brisbane continues its celebration of science and the arts today with a host of captivating events.

A packed house inside of Playhouse QPAC theater kicked off the first day of World Science Festival Brisbane on Wednesday night with the Australian premiere of “Light Falls,” a dramatic original performance that brings Albert Einstein’s pursuit of the general theory of relativity to life over a century after he announced his groundbreaking work. To avoid being outdone by thrilling theories about the nature of our universe, spider enthusiasts — oh, they are out there — welcomed the newest species to walk on eight legs. Please join us in welcoming Dolomedes briangreenei to the official record. Queensland Museum arachnologist Dr Robert Raven discovered the water spider recently and he named it for physicist Brian Greene. That’s Australian hospitality right there. Cheers!

More than a hundred scientists from nine countries have gathered in Brisbane, Australia, for the first annual World Science Festival Brisbane (2016). Thousands of people have their tickets within arm’s reach. You can feel the buzz in Brisbane’s South Bank neighborhood. Between now and Sunday, more than one hundred events will take place that explore the excitement of scientific discovery across the city and throughout Queensland.

The small lab at New York University where Denis Voytenko works has large windows that face a busy Greenwich Village intersection. They are open invitations to anyone who happens to be cruising by: Hold up a second. Watch this guy spin liquid around in circles. On this afternoon in early March (2016), ten high school students from Bard High School in Queens have been invited inside NYU’s Environmental Fluid Dynamics Lab as part of World Science Academy, a new education program from the World Science Foundation that offers high school students and teachers in New York City the opportunity to visit with dozens of leading scientists inside their labs.