A satirical article in The Betoota Advocate, mocking the announcement of music sensation Raye as the headlining act for the Canberra leg of the Spilt Milk festival, has prompted Questacon to make a real push to host the pop artist.

Raye, best known for her song ‘Where is my husband!’, averages over 43 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with her top song amassing over 1.3 billion streams on the platform.

Raye was announced as the headliner for Spilt Milk last week alongside Lewis Capaldi, whose song ‘Someone You Loved’ has over 4.39 billion streams.

The article mockingly stated the only reason Raye agreed to headline this year’s festival was that she was offered a private tour of the popular science centre.

“It’s always been a bucket list item for me,” ‘Raye’ supposedly said to Betoota.

“So when they told me they could roll it into the Canberra show, it was a no-brainer.

“Lewis (Capaldi) is apparently also keen, so it should be a bit of fun,” laughed the popular singer about another huge name on the lineup.

Upon the article’s release, Questacon responded to the publication’s satirical claims and, in turn, made a genuine offer to the artist.

“Although The Betoota Advocate is famous for satire, we figured there’s no harm in discussing what a visit from Raye could look like,” Questacon posted to its socials.

“Do you think she has a favourite element?’ We asked ourselves. “We then guessed ‘probably carbon.’

“This is because we heard her mention, ‘I would like a ring, I would like a ring, I would like a diamond ring on my wedding finger, I would like a big and shiny diamond, diamond, diamond, diamond’.

“As you may know, diamonds are around 99.95% carbon. We would gladly welcome other artists from the Spilt Milk 2026 lineup.”

Despite Questacon’s similarly tongue-in-cheek response to Beetoota, Executive Director of Questacon Jo White took the time to formally offer the popstar a legitimate tour of the centre while also offering free entry to any of the performers of this year’s music festival.

“Canberra comes alive during events like Spilt Milk, and we wanted to join in the excitement in a uniquely Questacon way,” Ms White said.

“After seeing The Betoota Advocate‘s playful suggestion that Raye had agreed to perform because of a promised visit to Questacon, we thought we’d embrace the joke and extend the invitation ourselves.

“Questacon is Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre, and we welcome half a million visitors each year. Whether you are a local or a visitor, here for a music festival, a holiday, or a school trip, there’s something for everyone to discover at Questacon.

“We’d be thrilled to host any of the artists performing at Spilt Milk, but we’re equally excited to welcome the festival-goers who will be visiting Canberra in December.”

Spilt Milk will be held at the Exhibition Park on Saturday 12 December. Tickets are available now.

Questacon is open 9 am to 5 pm daily.