Summer time Planner: Monday December 28

Waterworld Central is on at three locations. Photo: Supplied

IN SYDNEY

The Sound of Music at Capitol Theatre

The hills are alive with the sound of music at Capitol Theatre. The Australian production of this legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical will be running in Sydney until February. Let your ears melt to the angelic voice of cheerful governess Maria Rainer (Amy Lehpamer) as she breathes life and joy into the von Trapp family through music. Hear classic songs Climb Ev’ry Mountain, Do-Re-Mi and ​Edelweiss sung live and remind yourself why The Sound of Music is one of your favourite things.

Waterworld Central returns this summer. Photo: Supplied

Until February 7, Capitol Theatre,13 Campbell Street, Haymarket, $80-125, 9320 5000, .

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Sports stars at Madame Tussauds

​Wack on your runners and get ready to compete with the world’s biggest sports stars at Madame Tussauds’ interactive sports zone. Out-manoeuvre soccer stars David Beckham and Lionel Messi with your tricky footwork, out-bowl cricket legend Sir Donald Bradman with your strong throwing arm and glide the waves with pro surfer Layne Beachley. These uncannily realistic wax figures will have your friends flipping out with jealousy when you post that selfie with Tim Cahill. 

Cool off and chill out at Old Clare Hotel rooftop pool and bar. Photo: Nikki To

Open daily, 9.30am-7pm (closes 5pm New Year’s Eve), Madame Tussauds Sydney, Aquarium Wharf,1-5 Wheat Road, Darling Harbour, adult $40, child $28, 1800 205 851, .

Rooftop bar and pool, Chippendale

Summer in the city can often feel suffocating with the crowded walkways and polluted streets. But locals have found a secret haven, hidden away in the revamped Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale. Its stylish rooftop pool and bar is located right near Central station and best of all, entry is free – even if you’re not a hotel guest. Soak in gorgeous views of the surrounding suburbs with a delicious piña colada in hand, and forget the woes of the city beneath.

Escape the summer heat at Old Clare Hotel rooftop pool and bar. Photo: Nikki To

Open Wednesday to Friday, 3pm-9.30pm, Saturday to Sunday 11am-10pm, the Old Clare Hotel, Level 4, 1 Kensington St, Chippendale, free, 8277 8277, .

Waterworld Central

Summer in Australia isn’t quite complete without pool games and epic water gun fights. Make the most of the sunny weather and splash around at Waterworld Central, which returns to Australia for the summer. Grab your pals and head to one of three locations: Moore Park and Blacktown in Sydney, or Bateau Bay in the Central Coast. Speed down the 10-metre long Dino Slide, walk on water in a Zorb Ball and do some wild steering on the Bumper Boats.

Old Clare Hotel Rooftop Pool and Bar Photo: Nikki To

Open daily until January 26 (closed New Year’s Day), 10am-4pm, Sydney Entertainment Quarter, 220/122 Lang Road, Moore Park, Blacktown International Sports Park Athletics Field, Eastern Road, Rooty Hill, Bateau Bay Hotel, Cnr The Entrance Road and Lumby Drive, Bateau Bay, $25 for three hours unlimited rides, .

FOR THE KIDS

Art of the Brick: DC Comics

The Sound of Music is on at Capitol Theatre.

Combine superheros and lego, and you’re sure to grab the kids’ attention. Pull your little critters away from the cartoons on television and throw them into a whirlwind of action alongside their favourite superheros – and villains – at the Powerhouse Museum. From the ashes of millions of lego bricks arise the legendary Superman, Wonder Woman and the Joker, each crafted by talented New York based artist Nathan Sawaya. For Batman fans and rev-heads, it’ll be hard to walk past the life-size Batmobile, constructed from a whopping half-a-million bricks.

Open daily until May 1, 10am-5pm, Powerhouse Museum Sydney, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo, adult $26, concession $22, child $16.60, family $64, 9217 0111, .

Jurassic Seas

The Sound of Music runs until February 7.

If your bouncy children are making you feel a little ancient, take them to see the truly old sea creatures at Jurassic Seas in the SEA Life Sydney Aquarium. You’ll feel like an infant standing next to the 500 million year-old nautilus and those frown lines on your forehead will be barely noticeable compared to the mudskippers, lungfish and marine animals who have outlived the dinosaurs. Kids will also get to travel back to pre-historic times to feed the deadly Plesiosaurus through an interactive game, before moving on to greet the 13,000 other sea creatures living in the aquarium.

Open daily, 9.30am-7pm (closes 5pm New Year’s Eve), SEA Life Sydney Aquarium, Aquarium Wharf,1-5 Wheat Road, Darling Harbour, adult $40, child $28, 1800 199 657, .

FREE

Art of the Brick: DC Comics features a life-size Batmobile made out of Lego. Photo: Supplied

Art in the Family: Aboriginal Masters

Art often begins in the family and travels throughout generations. In the Aboriginal community of Utopia, acrylic art continues to tell their stories, inspired by ground designs, rock paintings, ceremonial and body paintings, and flora and fauna. Over the years, Utopia art has become bolder in style, colour and flair, as seen in the works of Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre and Ada Bird. Ultimate Art Gallery’s Art in the Family exhibition features master artists from both Utopia and Papunya Aboriginal communities, with free 45-minute tours of the Aboriginal section available daily at 10.30am and 2.30pm with bookings essential. 

Open daily (closed January 4, 7) from 9.30am, Aboriginal tours daily 10.30am and 2.30pm, bookings essential, Ultimate Art Gallery, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George Street, Sydney, free, 0435 844 347, .

Art of the Brick: DC Comics is on at Powerhouse Museum until May 1. Photo: Supplied

What a Life! Rock Photography

Not all of us get to trace the lives of Australia’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll stars. But one man was the king of it – Tony Mott, whose best photographs are currently showing at the State Library of NSW. Mott is the man who captured Divinyls’ lead woman Chrissy Amphlett at a Kings Cross pub in 1983 and who snapped Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave in 1996. His iconic magazine covers, candid gig shots and revealing portraits will take you down memory lane of the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s to a time when rock ‘n’ roll still reigned the streets. 

Open daily until February 7, Monday to Wednesday, Friday 9am-5pm, Thursday 9am-8pm, Saturday to Sunday 10am-5pm, Mitchell and Dixson​ Galleries, State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney, free, 9273 1414, .

Check out the Joker at Art of the Brick: DC Comics at Powerhouse Museum. Photo: Supplied

OUT OF TOWN

Sideshow Alley exhibition, Canberra

If you want to find infamous and macabre characters, head to Canberra. There, you’ll find townsmen who derive pleasure from watching outlaws mercilessly laid out on the streets or bushrangers who wield guns to intimidate the population. Yes, much criminal and institutional savagery can be found at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery, with its exhibition Sideshow Alley unveiling the worst of Australia’s colonial settlements. This one is for the voyeur in all of us. 

Art in the Family: Aboriginal Masters features master artists from both Utopia and Papunya Aboriginal communities. Photo: Supplied

Open daily until February 28, 10am-5pm, King Edward Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, adult $10, concession $8, 6102 7000, .

SWIFF, Coffs Harbour

Load your bags into the car boot, grab your least-annoying film buff friend and take a six-hour road trip up to the beautiful town of Coffs Harbour. Screenwave International Film Festival (SWIFF) in Coffs Harbour will be running until January 28, featuring the best world cinema, art house, independent and local Coffs Coast films, including Gayby Baby on same-sex families, Star Wars inspired Elstree 1976 and Putuparri and the Rainmakers, which explores an Aboriginal man’s struggle to retain his culture amidst a Western upbringing. Along with 38 film sessions, this month-long festival will feature filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions and two free outdoor cinema events. 

December 27 to January 28, various times and locations in Coffs Harbour and Bellingen, five films $50, 10 films $90, full festival pass $150, find specific times and locations at .

Andrew George Scott, alias Captain Moonlite c.1879,?attributed to Charles Nettleton (1826–1902), from the Victoria Police Historical Collection is one of the artworks on show at the Sideshow Alley Exhibition at Canberra Portrait Gallery. Photo: Mark Mohell

Summer Showcase Art Exhibition, Port Macquarie

Judged by Australian landscape artist Ken Strong, the winner of the $1000 Open Mid North Coast Art Prize will be announced tonight at 6pm at the opening of the 10th Summer Showcase Art Exhibition in Port Macquarie. The exhibition runs until January 3, encompassing an array of mediums, styles and subjects, including illustrious rolling plains, vibrant laneways and glistening lakes. Entry is $2 and all artworks are for sale.

December 28 to January 3, 10am-5pm (opening night and award presentation on December 28, 6pm), Laurieton United Services Club, 2 Seymour Street, Laurieton, 0408 962 151.

This prison photograph of Ned Kelly c.1873, photographer unknown, from the National Museum of Australia is part of the Sideshow Alley Exhibition at Canberra Portrait Gallery. Photo: Supplied

LAST CHANCE

Hills Sky Show

Christmas may be over but the Hills Christmas Sky Show is still running – not for long, though! Three unique Christmas stories will be broadcast on a dazzling 40m x 10m LED light canopy with The Little Christmas Tree showing at 8.15pm, Spirit of Christmas at 9pm and Rockin’ Christmas at 9.45pm. Christmas shows end on December 30, followed by one last New Year’s Eve themed show on December 31, with two special NYE sky shows broadcast at 8.15pm and 11.15pm and a live telecast of the Sydney fireworks shown on the big screen. 

View from the Ridge Gloucester by Rita Carosi, from the Summer Showcase Exhibition, Port Macquarie. Photo: Picasa

Christmas shows until December 30, 7pm-10.15pm, New Year’s Eve show on December 31, 6pm-12am, Main Street (Old Northern Road), Castle Hill, free, 9843 0112.

Ascending art by quadriplegic artist

Art has always been part of Hamish Graham’s life. But when a devastating cricket accident rendered him quadriplegic, his creative expression became stifled. Discovering digital art eight years later revitalised Graham’s artistic passions, as he learned to use a mouth-mouse to create an impressive range of both personal and purely aesthetic artworks. Often taking a month to complete one piece, Graham’s work explores the growth, rebirth and movement of his disability journey, expressing himself through intricate details, colour layering and vivid imagery.

Ormiston Gorge by Brian Barker, from the Summer Showcase Exhibition, Port Macquarie. Photo: Picasa

Until December 29, 9am-5pm, Foyer Exhibition Space, 31 Victor Street, Chatswood, free, 9882 3323.

Summer time Planner: Monday December 28

State Aquarium staffers bond with animals at dinner time

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) – Squirt does not like red bell peppers.

None of the staffers at the Texas State Aquarium know why Squirt, an active green sea turtle sports an aversion to colorful vegetables, but happily munches on green ones.

“We know what they like and don’t like. They’re picky. They’re just like humans,” said Brittney Laurel, aquarist II. “Squirt – we make sure to give her all greens.”

Laurel, and a number of other dedicated aquarists and trainers at the aquarium, makes it her job to know what the animals like to eat and what they enjoy doing, and she does that by examining their actions every day.

“You get to learn all of their personalities, and they really do all have different personalities,” she told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (http://bit.ly/1FT9UVN). “There’s one turtle that likes back scratches. They can actually feel it. So you scratch her shell, and she wiggles like a dog would if you were to scratch them.”

That turtle’s name is Einstein and she is a Hawksbill sea turtle. She will eat any food dropped in the tank.

Another turtle, Dani, loves strawberries, and will eat them in less than five minutes.

Tiki, a Loggerhead sea turtle, is mostly a carnivore and won’t show up for feeding time at the tank unless shrimp or fish are thrown in.

“We do get to have a really good connection with all of them,” Lauren said. “We know immediately if something’s wrong because they’re not acting normal.”

In April, the aquarium and its staff dealt with the loss of 389 fish from the accidental introduction of a lethal chemical that was mislabeled as a treatment for parasites.

The fish kill included Hans, a sand tiger shark that was a longtime favorite of staff and aquarium members.

Since then, about 95 percent of those fish have been replaced, mostly through donations from aquariums and zoos across the nation.

There’s also big expansion plans in the works that will about double the aquarium’s size with the addition of the Caribbean Journey exhibit.

Construction is underway on the $50 million addition, which is expected to open in 2017. The new wing will include 65,000 square feet, a four-story addition, and a science, technology, engineering and math education center.

More room means more animals.

Story Continues →

State Aquarium staffers bond with animals at dinner time

Octopus Cannibalism Caught on Video for First Time

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When octopuses go hunting for prey, they sometimes end up “dining” on members of their own species, and the cephalopods seem to have a taste for their victims’ arm tips.

Divers have captured video of this octopus-on-octopus action in the wild for the first time on video.

In a new study, researchers described three cases of cannibalism in the common octopus — Octopus vulgaris — recorded with a camcorder by scuba divers in Ría de Vigo, Spain, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast. In two of the cases, the predators had started to eat the tips of the arms of their prey by the time the divers found them. [See Images of the Cannibalistic Octopus]

And, in one of the cases, the predator had access to more “traditional” prey in the form of mussels, but it still chose to feed on another, smaller octopus.

Although scientists had been aware of cannibalism occurrences among members of O. vulgaris, the previously reported cases were known only from analyses of stomach contents and laboratory observations, the researchers wrote in the study published Sept. 8 in the Journal of Comparative Psychology.

However, “this behavior has never been described from direct observations in the wild by scuba diving,” said study author Jorge Hernández-Urcera of the Institute of Marine Research (IIM) in Vigo, Spain.

The researchers documented the first of the three cannibalism cases on Dec. 11, 2012, at a depth of 40 feet (12 meters), on a rocky bottom off the Cíes Islands, which are part of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia (NAPAIG). A male octopus weighing about 4.85 pounds (2.2 kilograms) was holding in its grasp a smaller octopus without visible sexual characteristics, which weighed a bit less than a pound (about 400 grams). [See Video of the Cannibalistic Octopus in Action]

“The animal was dead, showing a pale white color and the tips of its arms had been eaten,” the researchers wrote.

The second case was recorded July 13, 2013, on a sandy bottom about 60 feet (18 m) below the surface near the Estelas Islands. A male octopus of about the same weight as the in first case carried an octopus weighing a bit more than a pound (540 grams) inside a ball-shaped sack that it had formed with its arms and web – the skin between its arms that it can spread to capture prey.

The diver who recorded the case realized that “the prey was still alive, because it poked and moved one of its arms between the dorsal pair of arms of the predator,” the researchers wrote. The diver disturbed the predator, which in turn let go of the prey, letting it escape, and therefore the researchers classified this case as “an attempted predation.”

Octopus Cannibalism Caught on Video for First Time