Yesterday was more fun that most work days!. I spent yesterday at a large science festival with our Dept exhibit which aims to get people interested in our field, and to explain that to study our field you need to study science and maths to high level - at least to A-level in the UK (without revealing too much we often get people who have been poorly advised and think that geography is sufficient). We had some hands-on competitions and some demonstrations from our laboratory analogues of natural systems. Also in the "Discover Zone" were demonstrations about x-raying archaological finds, heat exchange, "dry water", nuclear technology, code breaking, microbiology yeast balloons and a whole host of big theater events. There was a lively bunch of (generally young) scientist presenters and lots of freebies. The attendees were mainly school groups aged 8-14, and some individual children with their parents. I spent my entire day on my feet just talking about our subject and interacting with a group of people I don't normally get to talk to. I returned home pumped full of adrenalin, enthused for our subject and convinced I should now go and work in a science engagement role rather than my current position... I should probably sleep on that decision.
I would say, if you get the chance to do something similar for a day, go do it - even if you feel nervous. Be prepared to be mentally challenged by the unpredictable nature of the interactions and physically exhausted, but to regain the motivation that led you to the subject in the first place. Oh, and it might even look good on your CV too :-)
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