A free all-ages event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, at 5pm Tuesday 12 November, will start the rural leg of the Australia Museum’s Festival of Science 2013. The multi-event festival aims to encourage people to see and understand the science they encounter every day, and includes hands-on experiments and practical demonstrations. CSU spokesperson Dr James Crane, lecturer in physiology and anatomy in the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “Charles Sturt University is excited to play host to the Australian Museum’s Science Festival. To meet the challenges of the future, Australia needs people from all walks of life and backgrounds to have an appreciation for science and how science is done. This festival is a truly fantastic opportunity to introduce children, and re-introduce adults, to some of the excitement of doing science and learning about the world we live in. It offers primary and high school students, as well as the general public, an unparalleled opportunity to get hands-on and ‘do’ science. There really is something for everyone. As part of this festival, staff and students from the University’s paramedic program will be teaching CPR, performing a simulated vehicle extraction, and discussing the science behind paramedic practice and first aid.”