TMOS researchers are taking to the road in Tasmania this week, bringing the science of light, optics and holograms to communities across the state through a series of free, hands-on workshops in public libraries.

Over five days, the How-to Holograms tour will visit nine libraries across Northern and Southern Tasmania, giving children and families the opportunity to explore the fascinating science behind holograms and discover how light behaves through a series of interactive demonstrations.

Want to find out more about How-to Holograms and where we’re heading next? See the full workshop details and destinations here.

Day 1 – Launceston and Kingston

The tour kicked off on Monday at Launceston Library and Kingston Library, with a fantastic turnout of curious young scientists ready to explore the science of light.

TMOS researchers introduced participants to the fascinating world of optics through hands-on activities and demonstrations, exploring how light behaves and how holograms work.

A huge thank you to Haiwei, Nick, Maryam, Yue, Taskil and Nika for doing such a wonderful job launching this new adventure across Tasmania!

Day 2 – Devonport and Glenorchy

Day 2 brought a very different workshop experience for our northern team at Devonport Library.

In the morning, Haiwei and Nick worked with a small group of four children, giving them plenty of opportunity to explore the activities one-on-one, ask questions and dig deeper into the principles behind light and holograms.

The afternoon was a complete change of pace, with more than 30 high school-aged students joining the workshop. Many of the participants were home-schooled, making for a fantastic turnout and a busy afternoon of hands-on science.

Meanwhile in the south, more than 30 children joined Taskil, Yue and Nika at Glenorchy Library for another day of hands-on exploration of light and holograms.

A special thank you to Myf at Glenorchy Library and Jilian at Kingston Library, and a particular shout-out to Simon Burrett, Children and Young People Coordinator for the South Central Region at Libraries Tasmania, who has been a key point of contact for TMOS and helped make the Tasmanian library tour possible.

Day 3 – Ulverstone and Hobart

The How-to Holograms tour continued across Tasmania on Wednesday, with workshops running simultaneously in Ulverstone and Hobart.

At Ulverstone Library, Angus, Sudhanshu and Rohini welcomed more than 30 young participants across the day. Around 25 joined the morning workshop, followed by a smaller, more relaxed afternoon session that gave the team plenty of opportunity to interact with participants and answer their questions.

Meanwhile in Hobart, James and Kritsana welcomed around 30 children across two workshops, continuing a fantastic week of curiosity, experiments and hands-on science.

Day 4 – Smithton Library – Visit of Rosny

No distance is too far, and no group too small for TMOS outreach!

At Smithton Library, TMOS Chief Investigator and Outreach Director Professor Igor Aharonovich travelled to Tasmania’s northwest to share the fascinating science of light and holograms with local primary school children.

The hands-on demonstrations brought optical physics to life, including a creative experiment where a laser beam passed through a prism with a TMOS sign attached, projecting the TMOS logo onto the ceiling!

Thank you Angus, Sudhanshu and Rohini.

Taking TMOS to new heights! A laser and prism demonstration projects the TMOS logo onto the ceiling at Smithton Library

Unfortunately, our workshops in Rosny have been reported to November, so, James and Kritsana got a day off in Hobart!

Day 5 – Burnie Library

What a way to wrap up our Tasmanian adventure!

The How-to-Holograms tour finished on a high note at Burnie Library, with a full room and 20 enthusiastic young participants in the morning workshop, all eager to explore the science of light and holograms.

A huge thank you to Libraries Tasmania, all the librarians, organisers and helpers who welcomed our teams throughout the week and helped make this tour possible.

Special thanks to Dr Sophia Aharonovich and Professor Igor Aharonovich for leading this outreach initiative, and to all the TMOS researchers who shared their time and enthusiasm, including Haiwei, Nick, Maryam, Yue, Taskil, Nika, Angus, Sudhanshu, Rohini, James and Kritsana, and everyone else who contributed along the way.

And this isn’t quite goodbye to Tasmania! TMOS will return to Hobart for our annual meeting in November, and we may even squeeze in a few more workshops along the way.

Thank you, Tasmania, for such a wonderful week of science and discovery!

Exploring the science of light

Through hands-on activities and demonstrations using lasers, prisms, diffraction glasses and more, participants explore some of the fundamental properties of light, including reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference.

The workshops are designed to make optical physics accessible and fun, encouraging participants to experiment, observe and ask questions while discovering the science behind holograms and other everyday optical effects.

The activities are part of TMOS’s How-to Holograms outreach program, developed to make optical physics accessible, interactive and fun for young audiences.

Taking science into the community

The Tasmanian tour brings together TMOS researchers from The Australian National University, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, taking science beyond university laboratories and directly into local communities.