The First Scientists

In The First Scientists, Corey Tutt, founder of the Deadly Science charity and NSW Young Person of the Year 2020, brings us an extremely engaging, informative and at times funny account of the much-overlooked contribution of early First Nations people to various scientific fields. The text is presented in loosely chronological segments including First Astronomers, First Engineers, First Forensic Scientists and First Chemists. Within the sections each double-page spread is devoted to a concept or object, ranging from boomerangs and bush medicine to bushfire control and cane toads. Each brightly coloured spread includes a map illustrating the community or communities referenced in the text passage. This cleverly and succinctly demonstrates that disparate First Nations communities concurrently employed similar practices. The final sections explore the work of present day First Nations scientists and encourage young readers to become involved in STEM. Tutt’s experience writing for children (he writes for K-Zone magazine) is evident. The text is lively and engaging while still managing to convey a significant amount of information. Although Tutt has edited two books under the Deadly Science brand for Australian Geographic, this is his first-but hopefully not last-solo effort. Perfect for budding scientists aged 8-12, the text concludes with a rousing call to arms: ‘So what are you waiting for? Get out there and do some deadly science. Be inspired, be wowed, be amazed, but most importantly be deadly!’ *Hannah Gardiner has been a bookseller since 2005 and currently works as a children’s buyer. She speaks to Tutt here. *

Corey Tutt OAM is a Kamilaroi man from Nowra on the New South Wales south coast. As a kid, he dreamed of becoming a zookeeper and in high school he developed a love of STEM subjects. But unlike the arts and sport, he found there was little encouragement for Aboriginal people to pursue careers in STEM. In 2018, while working as a research assistant for the University of Sydney, Corey founded DeadlyScience, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to provide science books and telescopes to remote schools in Australia, and connects young Indigenous people with mentors to encourage their participation in STEM subjects. In 2020, Corey was named the NSW Young Australian of the Year, and a Human Rights Hero by the Australian Human Rights Commission. He continues to work tirelessly to send STEM resources to Indigenous communities, and show First Nations kids that STEM is for them. The organisation has even attracted international attention, with Corey presenting at Harvard and Oxford universities. In 2021, DeadlyScience received the Australian Museum Eureka STEM Inclusion Prize. In 2022, Corey received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Indigenous STEM education.