Why I Outreach: Roland Schnuerer, PhD Student
“I’ve heard a lot of good stories about the size and fun of the Big Bang event and I was eager to participate. I had a couple of outreach events with few students, but this was another dimension. Dealing with so many students at a time was a challenge, it was a constant stream to our stand. Also the work and organization between our team was excellent, so we did not have any issues walking the students around and show them everything we got. After a little bit of time I got into the rhythm and then it was really pleasant talking with young people about our work in the Cockcroft Institute. The children were really excited for the virtual reality exploring the VELA accelerator. As normal for their generation they used the technology without any problems and could do everything by themselves with great fun. The explanations we gave were simple, but I am sure they are now aware of these advanced technologies just around the corner in the North West of England. My overall experience was excellent, although I would have loved a little more time to visit all the other interesting stands about medicine and chemistry etc. we were just too busy. The Big Bang is a great event, both for performing science and exploring it. Everybody had so much fun and I personally think that this has a big impact on the view of science for the kids and should be continued. I want to definitely be engaged in these outreach events again.”