Maps! - Science Week Opening Session

Following a sold-out season at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, we're delighted to welcome Julian O'Shea for the opening session of National Science Week at the Royal Society of Victoria.

Geography Victoria, in partnership with the Royal Society of Victoria invites you to an afternoon of laughter, curiosity and fascinating stories about maps.

Join Julian as he shares hilarious true stories about maps, mapping mistakes and the surprising quirks of geography. Discover how the Victorian and South Australian border ended up in the wrong place, why one Australian petrol station has its own time zone, how St Kilda owes its name to a spelling mistake, and why H&M marks the exact centre of Melbourne!

Julian O'Shea is an engineer, comedian, researcher and one of Australia's most popular online creators, with millions of views across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), a Master of Engineering Science in Project Management, a Master of Business Administration, and a PhD in Sustainable Transport and Outreach Design.

Whether you're eight or eighty (plus), this entertaining event will have you not only laughing out loud but have you thinking about the fascinating field of maps and mapping and the world around you long after the event.

Refreshments included.

Location: The Royal Society of Victoria

8 La Trobe Street Melbourne.

Date: Sunday August 16, 2026

Time: 2.00pm-3.30pm

Arrival from 1.45pm

This event is proudly supported by Inspiring Victoria and the Victorian Government - part of National Science Week and supported by the Royal Society of Victoria.

*Please note, the venue is a historical building and has stair-only access, and a flight of stairs up to the theatre room and amenities. 

(Vishal Shah) – “Julian O’Shea’s Maps! is a lesson in geography and design you were not lucky enough to get while at school, but one that will stay with you for long after you experience it. In short, it’s pure nerdy delight. In sixty minutes, O’Shea takes you through a cartographic tour of the world in a way you’ve never known”.