Museum of Science and Industry

MOSI will this year be hosting the Manchester heat of a competition to discover the 21^st century faces of science who can share their expert knowledge, engage the public and allow them to see the world from a new perspective.

NESTA FameLab 2009 is calling for charismatic scientists to enter the Manchester heat, which will be held on Saturday 4 April.

During the auditions, entrants will have three minutes to pitch to a panel of high profile science, media and communications professionals. There will then be a regional final held later that day, in which those who get through will need to give a different three-minute presentation.

The Manchester winner will get the chance to take part in the national final at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in June 2009.

As well as substantial cash prizes, including £10,000 prize for the national winner, the Manchester finalist will win a residential weekend MasterClass, where they will work with TV producers, journalists, science communicators and media trainers to develop their media and presentation skills and work to initiating their communications career options.

Robin Holgate, Head of Learning at MOSI said: “If you are currently working in science and think you have what it takes to excite the public about your subject, we would urge you to come forward for Manchester auditions.

“We are searching for charismatic new faces and voices of UK science, engineering and mathematics who can not only help to inform and excite the public about the day-to-day relevance of science, but also inspire the next generation of scientists, who can make a big difference worldwide.”

The competition is the brainchild of The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, in partnership with NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts).

Several previous NESTA FameLab winners and finalists have gone on to great things since taking part in the international competition. Steve Mould has just been named as the new science anchor for FIVE news, while Maggie Aderin has become well known in the field of Astronomy and was recently awarded an MBE for her services to science. Evolutionary biologist Simon Watt, has gone on to present for Channel 4, while 2007 winner Jonathan Wood appears regularly on BBC Radio Oxford.

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