A taste of working in events

A couple of weeks ago I had a tremendously exciting time at my work placement attending and helping out at not one but two Scitech events! One was the adults only evening, Scitech After Dark, that I had done promotional work for. The other was a Rio Tinto Partnership Day where the collaboration between Rio Tinto and Scitech was celebrated.

Both events were a tremendous success with tickets for After Dark selling out and the Rio Tinto Partnership Day saw both Scitech and Rio Tinto families alike having a fantastic day out enjoying the range of exhibitions and shows that had been brought along to the Claremont Showgrounds. 
This event was planned after Rio Tinto’s declaration they would be renewing their partnership with Scitech for a further five years showing the decade long partnership is still going strong.

At the event I spent the morning with Scitech photographer Miles as he made his way through the venue setting up shots with children interacting with Scitech staff and exhibits. It was my job to assist with setting up shots as well as interviewing children’s parents. This involved ensuring photo release forms were signed as well as identifying what area families were from and discussing what parts of the day families were enjoying the most, in order to gather any quotes that could possibly be used in a post event press release.

This was fast paced and I had to work quickly but efficiently – ensuring that I didn’t miss collecting the details of any children before moving onto the next shot – but also making sure I was having calm and enjoyable interactions with the families rather than making them feel as though they were being rushed. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable and valuable experience.

That evening it was time for the next event – After Dark. After seeing that a blurb I had sent off to the Weekend West had been published in the events listing of Seven Days I was feeling pretty positive about the heavy promotion that had gone into the night. And it definitely paid off!
Hundreds of science and sci-fi enthusiasts wandered the floor exploring the exhibitions – many of whom were dressed in their best impressions of various science fiction characters. It was incredible to see everything come together and all the visitors enjoying themselves and embracing the theme of the evening.

To top the evening off we had social photographer Cheyne Tillier-Daly respond to a media alert I sent out the week before who then came down and took photographs for the West Australian on the night. These were published in the Wednesday paper on 17 April.

Introduction to the world of PR at Scitech

Several weeks ago I began my professional placement within the Marketing Department at Scitech. I was tremendously excited about this as I have always perceived Scitech as a place that would have a fun and bubbly working environment – I was not wrong!

I was made to feel very welcome from the get go as I was taken around the building and introduced to all of the people that make up Scitech and greeted enthusiastically as a new addition to the team.

I was thrown right into work as I started in the middle of Toddlerfest which is a huge event aimed at children under 5 and brings brought in 15 000 people across the two weeks it ran. A photographer from The Sunday Times arrived at 10 and I assisted the girls in finding children and parents willing to be photographed for the paper, helping the photographer to stage shots and collecting details and quotes from those that were photographed.

I found it a little daunting to be doing this on my first day as soon as I had arrived but afterwards I felt pleased to have been apart of it. It was definitely a valuable experience because it allowed me to see what it is like to work with the outside media, not only the organisation itself.

After this it was straight onto my next task – promotions for the next big event – Scitech After Dark. After Dark is an 18+ event run for young adults where they can view the exhibitions and watch science and theatre shows while enjoying food and drinks. Scitech without the kids gives the adults a chance to interact and get involved in the learning themselves.

I was told by Sarah (my supervisor and the Communications Manager) that I would be in charge of organising a lot of the promotions, advertisements and social media buzz for After Dark. This was a scary thought but after week two and four days at Scitech I am looking forward to leaving my mark on the After Dark event. I am confident Sarah will guide me through the areas I require assistance with as she has already been so keen to show me new websites, programs and to let me take the reigns and try things for myself.