Arty Farty

Ryan McNaught also known as “The Brickman” has a world of experience with LEGO! What is his favourite colour to build in? How many lego blocks does he have at home? Where does he get his ideas? In this fun conversation, we talk about The Brickman's career, what inspires him, his creative process and about building the Lego Opera House.

Sami Bayly is a young natural history illustrator and has released 5 books including 3 illustrated encyclopaedias. In this conversation, we talk to her about her encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, her career so far and how she got into drawing. She also discusses the environment - the impact of climate change on animals and what we can do to protect our planet.

Karlie Noon is a Gamilaroi astronomer and science communicator. For the last ten years she has been working in promoting Indigenous astronomical knowledge systems and advocating for women in STEM. During this insightful conversation, Karlie shares her story and explains some of the principles of Indigenous Astronomy.

Cristy Burne and Denis Knight are co-authors to the book series Wednesday Weeks, a series that blends fantasy and science. A young sorcerer's apprentice changes when her grandpa is captured by a goblin king! She is forced to embrace her magical heritage and use her love for science to save her grandpa! In this conversation, Cristy and Denis encourage kids to write stories, to not to give up on doing things they love even when they fail. They also explore the crossover between fantasy and science.

What is it truly like to make a career from playing video games like Minecraft? At 16yrs old, Eystreem became the youngest Australian gamer to surpass 1 Million subscribers on YouTube. Now at just 19yrs old and with over 7.5M subscribers, Jordan runs his own business and looks after a production team of over ten people who continue to push boundaries with his content. We talk to him about Minecraft, careers in gaming, the importance of education and more.

Dr Karl, popular science communicator, answers some of of Australia's students burning questions - how much does the sky weigh? How does the multiverse work? How can lizards regrow body parts? Could you survive in a falling lift if you jump as it hits the ground? Dr Karl offers insights into these questions and more, plus shares his four messages of hope for the future.

Join us for a creative conversation with one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors Andy Griffiths.

We will hear about his inspirations, writing habits and favourite tricks for creating his award-winning stories. Andy and illustrator Terry Denton have collaborated on more than 33 bestselling books and their phenomenal, award-winning Treehouse series is published in more than 35 countries.

Join Melbourne-based writer, artist and poet Maxine Beneba Clarke, whose award-winning books include Wide Big World, The Patchwork Bike and Fashionista – a celebration of self-expression.

Maxine is an Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean heritage whose stories embrace individuality and celebrate differences and diversity by using the natural wonders of the world. In this digital interactive discussion, Maxine will share her inspiration for becoming a storyteller, her experience growing up black in Australia and her passion for words, books and libraries. Maxine also offers tips and insights for budding authors and illustrators on creating stories and multi-media illustrations. 

Hear from Li Cunxin AO, author of Mao’s Last Dancer and Artistic Director of the QLD Ballet. His memoir tells the story of adapting to change and overcoming adversity.

Li was born in China and was selected to study at Beijing Dance Academy, upon his graduation, he received a cultural exchange scholarship to America.  Li subsequently became principal dancer with Houston Ballet and then The Australian Ballet and won multiple prestigious dance awards. He retired from dancing in 1999 and made a successful career transition from ballet into finance.

Join multi-award winning, Melbourne based author Zana Fraillon as she shares her inspiration for writing, her research process and how she honours real life human stories when creating fiction. Her new book The Curiosities is inspired by people who see the world differently – and make it more wondrous. With themes of creativity, curiosity and neurodivergence, this is an essential conversation.

Join Adam, Ellie and David for an exciting talk about this new work, looking at their inspirations for developing this book, their creative process and their journeys as storytellers. 

"Welcome to Our Country" is a collaboration between Adnyamathanha and Narungga man Adam Goodes, political advisor and former journalist Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.

The first book in the series, Somebody’s Land introduces readers to the term ‘terra nullius’, a Latin term meaning ‘nobody’s land’ – applied to the colonisation of Australia by white settlers. The book invites children and their families to imagine themselves in Australia’s past, to feel the richness of our First Nations’ history, and to acknowledge that our country was never terra nullius.

How is the Opera House floating on water?

Have you ever wondered how the Opera House is ‘floating’ on the harbour? Is it secretly a spaceship? Is it actually an island? Dean Jakubowski, the Building Operations Manager will answer this question and teach us some of the other awesome features of this very unique building.

Mr Opera House, I wondered who works there the most for the longest time?

Today we talk to one of the Opera Houses' longest employees Peter Tucker. Peter has worked here for 49 years and counting, which is longer than the Opera House has been open for! Hear about how he worked as a builder in 1971, and how he became the first fire officer and fan of the opera. 

Who was the biggest celebrity you've had before?

Who’s the most famous person ever to have visited the Opera House? Is it the Queen? Or is it Benny the Seal? Take an aural journey down into the vaults of the Opera House to talk to the person who’s an expert on all the Sydney Opera House records and photos.

Can anyone come to the Opera House to play?

Today, Frank Newman, the Creative Learning Specialist will tell us why everyone should feel welcome to come to the Opera House to play. We'll hear all about the fun programs that exist at the Opera House so that kids can not only come and see some art but then play and be the artist themselves.

How long does it normally take you to practice a performance?

Ever wondered how long it takes to become a professional performer? A day? An hour? Two hours? Two years?! A professional timpanist and percussionist tells us all about rehearsals and performing at the Opera House.

Do you think the Opera House likes swimming in Sydney Harbour?

Environmental Sustainability Manager, Emma Bombonato can help us answer this by teaching us all about the harbour that is the Opera House's backyard and the amazing animals that live in the water around us as well as why it's so important to protect this natural environment.

Do you have to get dressed up to go to the Opera House? 

Do you have to wear a dress if you’re going to a dress rehearsal? Do you have to wear a swimming costume if you’re going to see Handel’s ‘Water Music’? Find out what you should wear the next time you visit the Opera House!

Hi Mr Opera House, I wonder if there are any ghosts in the Opera House?

Today we're joined by Supervisor of Stage Management and Events, Annette Dale to help us answer this very mysterious question and tell us all about the spookiest theatre traditions.

How many shows does the Sydney Opera House do a day? 

The boss is here! We're so lucky today to be joined by the CEO of the Sydney Opera House, Louise Herron to help us work out how many shows happen at the Opera House per day. She'll also tell us all about the amount of visitors who can fit into the Opera House at once and the village of people who work to keep this very busy House running smoothly!

How many dinosaurs are at the Opera House?

Have you ever wondered how many dinosaurs are roaming around at the Opera House? Maybe they’re hiding behind the curtains at every show, or maybe they like to visit the Opera House every now and then? The Opera House has all kinds of things on its stages, and dinosaurs sound like they could be one of them!

What's the strangest thing that has ever sailed past the Opera House?

There are some giant cruises that dock in Sydney Harbour. But have you ever wondered what the weirdest thing to sail past the Opera House is? Is it a giant seal? Maybe a giant ship made from plastic bottles? Anthony Carthew knows the answer!

Why is the Opera House shaped so weirdly?

Today Caroline Grandjean-Thomsen from the Building Team joins us to tell us about Jorn Utzon, the architect who designed The Sydney Opera House, the competition to design the building and how important creativity and dreaming was in the creation of this crazy, weird shaped House.

Have you ever had to make huge robot animals and were those huge robot animals ever too big to fit on stage?

The question we all want answered. In this episode, we meet John Lavery who built sets at The Sydney Opera House for many years to learn about set design, imagination and the creative solutions that set designers come up with to help us enter the make-believe worlds of our favourite performances.

How big is Earth?

Earth is just one of the planets that exist in our galaxy. We know there are eight planets in our solar system, but does that tell us how big our planet is? In this episode, an opera singer and a physicist tells us more!

What was there, before the Sydney Opera House was there?

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful building with a funny-looking roof that existed in Sydney Harbour. Wait, that can’t be right. Tune into this episode to hear all about the rich Indigenous history that existed in Sydney long before the Opera House was built. 

Join the hilarious children's author and illustrator of The Turners trilogy and Squidge Dibley series, Mick Elliott as he talks about creativity and his passion for reading, drawing and developing unique characters.

Henry Naylor is an British comedy writer, producer, director, performer, and playwright. More recently, he has written plays that deal with difficult global and political issues.  Find out what inspires Henry to write plays and why he thinks it’s important to tell the stories that he does.

Alan Brough is a writer, comedian, broadcaster, musician and star of ABC music trivia show Spicks and Specks. In this episode, Alan discusses his broad career with a focus on the two children’s books he’s written as well as the process of turning one of them – Charlie and the War Against the Grannies – into a stage show! 

Tim Sharp is an Australian artist who has had his colourful and unique art exhibited all over the world and across Australia. Join Tim and his mum Judy as they discuss Tim's early years being diagnosed with autism, his life as an artist and creator and where this dream has taken him. Tim and Judy are wonderful ambassadors for autism and remind us that beauty can be found in diversity, inclusion and looking at the world through the eyes of different people.

Matt Stanton has so many books across many genres it would be impossible to count them all! Listen to how Matt starts getting words onto a page and how important reading is to creating stories. "Books inspire the imagination, imagination burst creativity and creativity changes the world."

Jessica Townsend's series of books - The Trials of Morrigan Crow have been released to record break sales and lots of awards. Find out about Jess's tricks to creating characters, the weird places she gets her ideas from her absolute love of daydreaming. Plus a sneaky read of some of her words by the author herself!

A global phenomenon in the world of film, TV and comedy, David Walliams first made the foray into writing children’s books in 2008. The rest has been history and his hilarious books are a modern staple in every kid’s bookshelf. David talks about his 2010 book Billionaire Boy and delves into the unlikely places that he’s found inspiration.

A renowned Australian writer and artist, Shaun Tan’s books have been translated into 25 different languages and his 2000 book The Lost Thing was adapted into an Academy Award-winning animated short film. Shaun dives into what it means to be an artist and shares some insightful advice: “Pay attention to things that you like. Draw, paint, and then write first and ask questions later. Don’t be afraid of failure.”

What if you couldn’t participate in the activities you wanted to, just because you couldn’t use the stairs or weren’t able to see what type of money you were holding? In this episode we talk about disability and learn about the importance of accessibility, so all kids can participate in the activities they love. Plus, learn the rules of wheelchair basketball! 

When we think about sport and the workplace- are we treated differently depending on if we are a girl or a boy or what cultural background we are from? In this episode we discuss the importance of gender and cultural diversity. Plus, learn why girls are just as capable as boys!

How do we deal with losing someone we love? In this episode we discuss the importance of reaching out and talking about how we feel when we experience failure, disappointment or the loss of a loved one. We meet Grace, whose father died when she was 10. Grace now makes a web series which celebrates her dad’s life and acts to keep his memory alive. Plus, learn how to make to make a cake for the soul (it’s chocolate flavoured!)

Come inside the science fair and hear about the projects created by kids who love all things science! Meet Macinley Butson who invented a technology to help women with cancer while she was still in school. Plus, learn how to make slime!

12 year old Ariel interviews Sydney Opera House Social Media Specialist Claire and we hear from kids helping to build a new App for young people.  We all know Social Media takes up a lot of kids time and energy and comes with some inherent dangers.  Yet all the kids we spoke to were keenly aware of being safe on the internet and pretty savvy about not relying too heavily on 'likes' to boost their self-esteem.

Lots of kids will do music lessons or learn an instrument at some point in their lives. But some kids have made it their lives. We talk to the Sydney Children's choir about what music means to them and what it's like to perform on stage at the Sydney Opera House. 

What is Creativity? Is it more than just music or art? Is it the way you see the world and tackle problems?  Our young thinkers define creativity and what it means to them.  Two young parkour trainees interview Dauntless Movement Crew to find out how to tap into their creativity.

School's back in session and there's a lot of learning going on. From maths to geography, circus stunts and tricks to dreaded homework assignments. But what do kids really think about their education? Find out as we visit Circus Monoxide in Wollongong, where the kids ask the teacher some big questions.

On the steps of the Sydney Opera House lies a snoozing Australian fur seal. What will happen to the beloved seal as the waters warm and Sydney Harbour becomes polluted? Hear the hopes, fears and what the environment means to the kids of today.