Tweeting for science

Steven Hawking's A Brief History of Time tells the story of the universe in just 11 chapters. Now, keen scientists are being invited to do the same, only much, much more briefly.

As part of the University of Otago's ScienceTeller festival, organisers are inviting people to write a tweet to explain the origins of the universe. Members of the public will be able to vote on the tweets, with the winner to be selected from the top five by noted physics professor and author, Lawrence Krauss.

This is the first ever ScienceTeller festival, a gathering of science storytellers who use their art to celebrate the wonders of the natural world.

Competition entries must include the hashtag #scitell. The winner will receive an iPad 2, supplied by Cyclone Computers.

The ScienceTeller festival runs in Dunedin from November 15 to 19.