Engagement between scientists and school students

As scientists, it’s always difficult to reach out to audiences beyond researchers in the same field, but naturally we want to share our work and to inspire others to follow in our footsteps.

That’s where “I’m a Scientist – Get Me Out of Here” comes in.  It’s a UK-wide online activity where curious school students, aged 8 – 18, meet and interact with scientists through electronic chats.

I found out about it on social media and decided to participate because it is an easy way to reach school students to talk to them about my research and possibly provide motivation for a career in science. It’s not always easy to form a network of schools to visit. I know that when I was at school, I would have loved to participate in a chat with a scientist to find out more about the work of a researcher.

These online chats are a great way for students to see science as more personally relevant to them and to appreciate that scientists are ‘normal people’.  They can ask questions that come from their own interests and experiences to support or nurture their science-related aspirations. Just encountering people in science-related roles can let young people will see that they, too, could follow this path. 

How does it work?

Teachers can book an online text-based chat for their classes and invite scientists to participate.  Each chat is led by a moderator and generally has three or four scientists talking to 20 to 30 students.

The 30-minute chats run during school hours and are fast-paced and fun. The students can ask questions to any, or all, of the participating scientists.  Scientists can answer the questions in the chat or can return to the forum later.

Anyone in a science-related role is welcome to take part, whether they work in academia, industry or the public sector.  They could be a technician, an apprentice or work in communications or management.

What subjects are covered?

Each chat revolves around a specific scientific topic, requested by the teachers.

They may choose something from the curriculum or plan a chat to celebrate a special event, like British Science Week or something more general like Careers in Science.

It’s a student-led activity so you might be asked about yourself, your work or your science.  Or indeed any other topic.  It’s all about engaging students with science.

I have taken part in many chats, most recently one on STEM careers and one on plants and botany.  It works well as an outreach project because it is text based – no audio or video – so everyone is treated equally, irrespective of gender, age or appearance.  It is easier for shyer students to feel able to take part (and shyer scientists!).  Teachers say that these chats actively engage 89% of students and certainly my experience is that the young people seem to appreciate them and are very engaged and curious.

If, like me, you are an early career researcher and you want to engage with school students, have a look at, I’m a Scientist – Get Me Out of Here. It takes only a few minutes to make your profile, outlining your research or your work and adding information about yourself and your hobbies if you want. You can choose how many chats you want to participate in according to the time you have available.

You’ll gain a fresh perspective on your work and will find out what young people think about science and you may well inspire the next generation.

I highly recommend it.

Blog by Dr Gwendoline Kirschner, Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow working on root gravitropism.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are the views of the author, and not an official position of the institute or funder.