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Dayna Mason

Science Presenter/Communicator
Questacon Smart Moves

Bachelor of Science (Honours)
Bachelor of Arts
PhD

"It's not often that people can find jobs doing what they love, but I've certainly got just that."

What do farting cows, nanotechnology and secondary school students have in common? They can all be part of an interactive Questacon Smart Moves presentation.

Smart Moves, an outreach program from Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre, is designed to inspire young Australians to be innovative and entrepreneurial in science, engineering, technology and business, as well as to highlight the fantastic careers available in these areas. So, as part of the Smart Moves team, I get to present interactive multimedia shows to regional secondary school students all over Australia (we saw about 10,000 students last term). I've always wanted to get into science communication - it combines my drama background with my science education.

Smart Moves lets me share my passion for good Australian science with students and possibly makes a difference to their futures. One of the best parts of the job is the research and preparation side of things. Each show we produce uses fresh information about cutting-edge Australian research and innovations, so we find out all about lots of cool things that may pass the average person by. Putting the shows together requires flair, flexibility and a good working knowledge of many multimedia programs because the presentations need to be visually dynamic and interesting, and it's always a challenge to come up with fun (and relevant) interactive demonstrations.

Whilst studying at Monash, I enjoyed the variety of subjects the Arts/Science double degree allowed - I got to study the things I liked doing. Drama kept me sane when I'd been studying too much chemistry, and vice versa. My studies laid the foundations for the work that I'm doing now, a combination of dramaand science (as weird as that mixture may seem). It's not often that people can find jobs doing what they love, but I've certainly got just that.