Science Alive!
Overview
At Science Alive, I was responsible for creating educational content, teaching science classes, and serving as the marketing and events publicist for various educational programmes, including school outreach, library sessions, and holiday events. I also appeared twice on WhatNOW, a popular children’s TV show, to promote Science Alive and the importance of science education for young audiences.
Marketing Goals
The primary goal was to engage children with hands-on, interactive science activities while increasing brand visibility for Science Alive. Secondary goals included promoting educational programmes in schools, libraries, and holiday programmes, while also growing overall audience engagement.
Challenges
• Engaging a wide age range, from preschoolers to teenagers, with interactive science activities.
• Communicating complex science topics to a young audience in a way that was understandable and fun.
• Operating within limited resources in a charity-based organisation while delivering high-quality educational experiences.
Strategic Approach
1. Educational Content Creation – Developed interactive science content using props, activities, and conversational teaching to engage children and spark a love for science.
2. Teaching – Delivered hands-on science lessons in schools, libraries, and holiday events, ensuring content was accessible and engaging for all ages.
3. Public Relations & Marketing – Managed the publicity for Science Alive events and developed marketing materials to promote educational programmes.
4. WhatNOW Appearances – I appeared on WhatNOW, a children’s TV show, twice, where I introduced fun science activities to engage the audience and promote the brand.
Results
• Big Science Day: Successfully marketed and attracted 20,000 attendees to the Big Science Day, the first event held in Cathedral Square post-earthquakes, marking a major milestone for Science Alive and the community.
• Under 5 Fest: Ran marketing campaigns for the Under 5 Fest, which saw over 5,000 children under five years old attend, highlighting the success of the event and the engagement of young families.
• Engagement: The hands-on, interactive approach led to high participation rates in science classes, with many children attending regularly.
• Brand Visibility: Science Alive gained more recognition, with increased attendance at educational programmes across schools, libraries, and community events.
“What I admire about Geni is how important it is to her that she works for an organization where she feels she can make a difference. Geni was an extremely supportive co-worker. She communicated with me to make sure I was comfortable with the tasks I had been given and always made me feel my help was valued and appreciated.
Geni has an incredible passion for science and is enthusiastic about sharing this passion with others. Though not trained as a scientist herself, she worked very hard to research, develop and organize different interactive science classes for the children. Communicating science to a general audience is not an easy task. However, Geni managed to do this effectively for a range of scientific topics, demonstrating her excellent communication skills.
Working for a charity which suffered significantly in the Christchurch earthquakes, Geni was often required to be creative and resourceful when developing class activities. Even with limited resources, Geni strived to ensure that the classes were the best she could offer.
The fact that she had the same children regularly attending her classes is a testament to her hard work and contagious love of science.”
“Geni is a truly creative designer and marketer who makes branding and marketing really fun and cool. I have worked with Geni on multiple projects, and she is always fast, accurate, and effective. Geni is super tech-savvy, helpful and very easy to work with. I miss working with her and her productions, especially all the cool movies she has created to promote science education.”
Image credits: Geni McCallum (except the first three of me teaching)
WhatNOW videos starring and all subsequent videos made by Geni McCallum.
