Cheese, Chats and Cretaceous Creatures: Celebrating the Inaugural Queensland Dinosaur Week

Queensland is home to some of the most extraordinary dinosaur discoveries on the planet and this special edition of Cheese and Chats, supported by Inspiring Australia Queensland, is your chance to explore that prehistoric legacy with the people who know it best.

Join us at The Atrium as we raise a glass to the inaugural Queensland Dinosaur Week, with an evening of great conversation, fascinating stories and a few surprises from the land before time.

Be sure to come early and browse our show-and-tell display, featuring specimens and items that bring Queensland's deep-time story to life up close.

Event details

Date: Wednesday 6 May 2026
Time: 5:15–7:30pm
Venue: The Atrium, UQ Brisbane City, 308 Queen Street, Brisbane
Cost: $45 (includes a cheese box with tasting notes and a glass of wine)

Budding palaeontologists are warmly welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Children's tickets are half price and include a snack box and juice.

Limited tickets available. We hope to see you there!

Panellists

Associate Professor Steven Salisbury

Associate Professor Salisbury is Head of the UQ Dinosaur Lab and Director of Indigenous Engagement in the School of the Environment at UQ. His research focuses on the evolution of Gondwanan continental vertebrates, in particular dinosaurs and crocodilians.

Associate Professor Salisbury has led multiple palaeontological expeditions across Queensland and Western Australia and is also involved in field research in New Zealand and Antarctica. He is a Research Associate at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, as well as a Director for the Jurassic Foundation. Steve is passionate about transforming aspects of palaeontology and empowering Indigenous voices in the natural sciences.

Dr Anthony Romolio

Dr Romolio is a dedicated palaeo-ichnologist specialising in the study of fossil dinosaur footprints and trackways. Renowned for pioneering 3D techniques as a standard in his field, he provides 3D life reconstructions and animations with advanced analytical tools to enhance data collection and analysis in palaeontology. 

Dr Romilio has been named Australia's top researcher in the field of palaeontology by The Australian for the past four consecutive years. Beyond his technical expertise, Dr Romilio is deeply engaged in community outreach, enriching educational experiences in remote and Indigenous schools across Australia, with a collaborative research network spanning the USA, China, Korea and Germany. 

Lucy Leahey

Lucy is undertaking a PhD on Minmi and the early evolution of ankylosaurs (the armoured dinosaurs). This work has revealed that Minmi is no Australia's only known genus of ankylosaur. Specimens previously assigned to the group from coeval sediments of the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland, belong to new genera: Kunbarrasaurus ieversi (the Richmond specimen) and a yet to be named group (based on material from Julia Creek). This work has also been presented an numerous national and international palaeontological conferences. 

Currently, Lucy's work involved developing a deeper understanding of the anatomy of these new groups and collaborating with Argentinian and Chinese scientists to help transform our current understanding of ankylosaurs from Gondwana.

Karen Hanna Miller

Karen is the Executive Officer of Dinosaur Experiences Australia, the industry-led collective bringing together Queensland's premier dinosaur destinations and experiences under one banner. 

With over 35 years in events and marketing, Karen is the driving force behind the inaugural Queensland Dinosaur Week, working to position Queensland as a global leader in palaeo tourism. Under her leadership, DEA has forged landmark partnerships with Tourism and Events Queensland and the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation to develop, promote and sustain dinosaur tourism experiences across the state. 

Karen's vision is to turn Queensland's extraordinary fossil story into immersive, accessible adventures for visitors of all ages. 

UQ is the proud host of Inspiring Australia Queensland (delivered in partnership with the Australian Government and the Queensland State Government Department of The Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.