Job Scope

Volunteer at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2024

The Royal Society is looking for reliable and highly motivated volunteers to be part of the 2024 Summer Science Exhibition, taking place on 2 – 7 July 2024 in London.

The Summer Science Exhibition is the Society’s flagship event, attracting thousands of visitors over the course of 6 days. This year, we have fourteen fantastic flagship exhibits and many more interactive activities, talks and workshops for families. It showcases the most exciting cutting-edge science and technology research from across the UK and provides a unique opportunity for members of the public to chat to scientists and ask them questions about their work.

With so much going on, we rely on our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to ensure the success of this event. We are looking for people who are happy to engage in a wide variety of tasks, have good team working skills, are comfortable talking to the public, have an interest in science and, above all, are enthusiastic.

The exhibition takes place 2 – 7 July. Working hours are flexible although we would usually expect volunteers to commit to at least 8 - 12 hours across one or more days of the exhibition. Although this volunteering opportunity offers ideal experience for someone looking to get involved in science public engagement or events management, we are also keen to hear from those who are simply passionate about science.

Diversity and Inclusion are an essential part of the Royal Society’s mission to recognise, promote and support excellence in science, and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

Applications are welcome from everybody regardless of the characteristics they possess, protected or otherwise. We are dedicated to equal opportunity and work diligently to mitigate bias in our processes.

In return for your time, you will learn new skills, meet some of the world’s leading scientists and get the opportunity to go behind the scenes at this prestigious event, which has been in existence for over 200 years. The exhibition is always a busy time at the Royal Society, but it is also a very fun and rewarding event to work on, and successful applicants will get the opportunity to volunteer at other events throughout the year should they wish to.

Tasks during the exhibition will include:

• Interacting with the public, greeting visitors and responding to queries
• Briefing school groups and teachers visiting the exhibition
• Staffing the information desk
• Signposting people towards the building and assisting with queue management at busy times
• Supporting feedback of the event through observations and data reporting
• Administrative tasks including evaluation and monitoring emails.

Volunteers will be given a full day of training prior to the exhibition, scheduled for Tuesday 11 June 2024, 10.00am - 4.30pm at the Royal Society in London. You will need to be available to attend this training session in order to qualify as a volunteer for the Exhibition.

We will cover travel expenses and provide meals and refreshments during exhibition opening times. Volunteers must be aged 18 or over and no longer in full time secondary education.

Next steps

If you are interested, please submit a CV and a brief cover letter of no more than one page explaining why you would like to volunteer and why you think you would be suitable for the role by Sunday 12 May 2024.

Your cover letter must include information about your availability during the Exhibition week (2 – 7 July) and contact details for two referees.

Interviews will take place by phone between commencing 14 – 24 May. Please note, all volunteers will be required to undergo basic safeguarding training and will have a level of responsibility (under supervision) for safeguarding visitors of the exhibition.

For more information, please email exhibition@royalsociety.org.