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True. Counterfeiting means to make a fake copy of something valuable. It was a massive problem in Australia and so the Reserve Bank of Australia asked CSIRO scientists to combat it. CSIRO scientists invented polymer banknotes with lots of anti-counterfeit measures including see-through windows!

While legend says that the apple fell on poor Isaac’s head, his biographer wrote that he simply saw the fruit falling from a tree. He was “struck” by how the apple fell straight down. He then made the connection between the force that brings the apple down and the force that keeps planets and moons in orbit. Both are gravity!

True! In 2019, scientists discovered two very well-preserved fossil pterosaurs that were covered in feather-shaped fibres. These feathers did not assist in flying but probably did keep the pterosaurs warm. Scientists aren’t sure whether birds and pterosaurs inherited feathers from the same ancestor.

Sirius is the brightest star in the whole sky and is visible in the Southern Hemisphere in the constellation Canis Major, which is near Orion. Alpha Centauri is the brighter of the pointer stars that point at the Southern Cross. It’s the third-brightest star in the sky, and it’s actually two stars orbiting each other. Actually, it’s three stars, but the third, Proxima Centauri, is so far from the other two that it appears as its own star in the sky.

The International Space Station normally has a crew of 7, but sometimes it holds more. When the Space Shuttle was operating, the ISS sometimes had up to 13 astronauts inside at the same time.

False. Cyclones in the Southern hemisphere rotate clockwise but hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere go anticlockwise. This happens because the Earth is wider at the middle than at the poles. As the Earth spins, the equator is moving at over 1,600 kilometres per hour. In Hobart where the Earth is thinner, it’s moving around 1,250 kilometres per hour, and down at Davis base in Antarctica, it’s only going at about 600 kilometres per hour. So as air moves north or south, this speed difference makes the weather spin!

David Unaipon was an Aboriginal inventor. He invented the shearing machine and the centrifugal motor. Mary Reibey was a convict who became a very successful businesswoman and is on the $20 note. Banjo Patterson was a poet and is on the $10 note. Dame Nellie Melba was a soprano and is on the $100 note.

False. The early Sun was actually about 25% dimmer and cooler than today. Despite this, there is evidence of liquid water on early Earth. Scientists are still not sure how Earth was warm enough for water, but greenhouse gases likely played a role.

Auroras occur mostly at the poles due to the way Earth’s magnetic field channels high-energy particles from the Sun. When these particles collide with atoms in our atmosphere, it makes a beautiful glow. Near the South Pole, Antarctica is a prime location for auroras.

Brake lights have been part of cars for almost 100 years – before that, drivers used hand signals to tell people that they were slowing down! Seatbelts started to appear in the 1950s, and wearing them became the law in 1971. Reversing cameras and lane departure warning systems only became common in the last 15-20 years.