Arty Farty

Recommended for ages 8+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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended for ages 8+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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended for ages 9+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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended for ages 8+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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended for ages 9+What is it truly like to make a career from playing video games like Minecraft? At 16yrs old, Eystreembecame 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended for ages 9+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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Get ready to laugh your socks off!Oliver Phommavanh is Thai-Australian children's author who loves to make people laugh. Using his early experience as a primary school teacher, stand-up comedian and blogger, Oliver has now turned his attention to writing and sharing his passion for telling stories with kids.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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.-Watch other children and family videos on Stream. The new streaming service from the Sydney Opera House. Register for free now and start watching.Follow the Sydney Opera House on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who are the biggest celebrities who have visited the Opera House? Valerie Ng, who looks after the Opera House's records and photos, joins us in this episode to tell us about some of the most famous guests who have visited the Opera House and some of the interesting things that happened while they were there.

Have you ever wondered how the Opera House is able to float on the water in the harbour? What is holding it up? Today, Dean Jakubowski, the Building Operations Manager will answer this question and teach us some of the other awesome features of this very unique building.

Who has worked at the Opera House for the longest time? In this episode we'll meet Peter Tucker, who has worked for the Sydney Opera House since 1971 - before the building was even open!! Peter will share some of his most interesting stories from helping to build our House, to working as a fire officer to his role now as a building operations supervisor

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.

In this episode, Percussionist Brian Nixon joins us to answer the question "How long does it take to practise a performance?". We'll learn just how much preparation goes on behind the scenes to bring our favourite performances to life.

Have you ever wanted to come to play at the Opera House? 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.

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!

Are there 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.

Do you have to get dressed up to go to the Opera House? Are there special clothes you're supposed to wear for different shows? In this episode Tour Guide, Bruce Barnett joins us to remind us that The Opera House is for everyone - no matter what you look like, what your abilities are or what you're wearing!

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 seen a dinosaur at The Sydney Opera House? In this episode, Scott Wright, the artistic director of a company called Erth, joins us to tell us just how many dinosaurs have been released into Our House! Scott's company specialise in huge prehistoric puppets so he is the perfect person to tell us all about not only dinosaurs but also turning our imaginations up to 11 and really getting swept up in the magic of a performance.

In this episode we're joined by Anthony Carthew, the executive assistant to the CEO of The Opera House to answer the question "What is the strangest thing that's ever sailed past the Sydney Opera House?". Anthony is an expert in lots of the strange and exciting things that happen around this House and has so many fun stories to share.

What was there before The Opera House was there? In this episode we are joined by Rhoda Roberts, the Head of First Nations programming who will tell us all about The Gadigal people, who are the original custodians of the land on which the Opera House sits, Bennelong Point. She'll also teach us about some really cool aboriginal customs and practises and why Bennelong Point is such a special place.

How big is Earth? A really big question that requires a really big answer, and we know just the person to help us! The super clever Jacqui Dark is not only an Opera Singer but also a physicist so she is the perfect person to help us work out the size of this planet. She'll also explain why creativity and big imaginations are so important when answering tough maths and physics questions like this one!

This is the question we all want answered - Have you ever had to make huge robot animals and were those huge robot animals ever too big to fit on stage? Today were going to 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.

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 the ABC music trivia show Spicks and Specks. In this talk 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.

An Australian artist with autism who has had his colourful and unique art exhibited around the world, Tim’s hugely successful super hero character Laser Beak Man has also been turned into an animated television series airing on the ABC and internationally. In this heartfelt discussion, Tim and his mother Judy Sharp discuss his early years after he was diagnosed with autism, his life as an artist and creator, and where this adventure has led him.   

An Australian author and illustrator best known for his hilarious book series Funny Kid, Matt Stanton discusses his creative process, what his favourite books were as a child, and why he thinks reading and stories are important. 

Jessica Townsend’s popular novel series Nevermoor has hit record-breaking sales and captured the imaginations of fantasy fans the world over. Find out what Jess’ tips and tricks are when it comes to creating characters, the funny places her ideas have come from and why daydreaming might be more meaningful than you think. 

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 take music lessons or learn an instrument at some point in their lives. Some kids practice daily and make music a central focus of life. For almost every kid we spoke to music meant something personal to them.  Hear from Sydney Children's choir about why they make music and what it's like to perform on stage of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

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 takes up a big part of kids’ lives and while we may hear lots of complaining, most kids – at least those we talk to – say they like learning, in and outside the classroom. In this episode, we visit circus school and hear what kids really think about their education.  

Arty Farty is a podcast for kids produced by the Sydney Opera House.  Season 1 is called 'This Kid Life' and in each episode kids discuss a new topic that affects their lives.  They start with The Environment.