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By a guest author on

First News Takeover Challenge

My name is Edward Cecil and I recently won the First News Takeover Challenge competition at the Science Museum. To enter, I had to send in a video saying why I wanted the job and I said that I wanted the chance to teach other children and adults about science, and to inspire people to get involved with science.

Edward Cecil as a Science Museum Explainer.
Edward Cecil as a Science Museum Explainer.

The winner of the competition won the role of an Explainer in the Science Museum for a day – that person was me.

I was thrilled when I found out I’d won!

I arrived at the Museum on 18 October at nine o’clock. There I met with Kenny, the Head of Learning Operations at the Museum, and our First News Live! cameraman Alex. I was taken up to Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery to start the day’s work.

I was shown around Wonderlab to choose a few exhibits to learn about.

Explainers already working at the Museum were very helpful in explaining these to me. I helped prepare some dry ice for the ‘Icy Bodies’ exhibit and the chemistry demonstration in the gallery.

After lunch I started my job as an Explainer. I went around the gallery and explained my favourite exhibits to visitors. This was great fun, and I really enjoyed working with the children and adults who had visited the Museum.

Overall I found the day very interesting; I can’t wait until our film comes to First News Live!, and I hope that I have achieved my goal of inspiring the next generation of scientists.

By Edward Cecil, 13 Years Old. You can watch Edward in action as a Science Museum Explainer in this First News Live! film.

Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery

Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery © Plastiques Photography, courtesy of the Science Museum