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What motivated you to engage the public with your work?

We decided to apply to present at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibitions as it would provide a valuable opportunity for a group of us to communicate our research to the general public. The exhibitions lasted for 5 days and were attended by school children, teachers, parents as well as senior academics. The primary motivation was to try and encourage young people into enjoying science and hopefully to consider pursuing science in further education. It also enabled the public to see where funding for scientific research was being used. It was an incredible experience and completely novel for most members of our group.

Describe the public engagement activity you have done.

I co-led a successful application to present at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. This exhibition showcases the UK's top science projects to members of the public including large groups of school children. Our presentation focussed on the use of fluorescence and luminescence to understand the importance of protein movement within cells. We were then invited to present the same exhibit at the Glasgow Science Exhibition. We were further selected as one of 12 research groups to present at Science Day at Buckingham Palace, which was organised to demonstrate the work carried out at British Universities to selected school children and teachers. This day was later attended by members of the Royal family, including Her Majesty the Queen, as well as MPs and well known scientists.

What are your top three tips for other researchers?

1. Aim the science at the appropriate level so that it can be interesting and understandable to the whole audience

2. Get as many people involved as possible; it is /can be hard work.

3. Think carefully about the amount of time that will be required to make it a success

What are the top resources to support your engagement work?

1. Financial support

2. Colleagues who are willing to help

What would you say to encourage another researcher to engage with the public?

Having to explain your science to the public makes you understand the importance of the work you are doing. It is also very rewarding to encourage young people to become interested in science.