I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here!

Pilots for I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here began in 2008, and were well received by school students and teachers.[1] It was founded by Shane McCracken of Gallomanor Communications.[2] The activity is divided into several zones, which focus on either general science or a specific industry. The funding for each zone is provided by an associated learned society, organisation or industry.[3][4][5][6][7] The competition format is similar to The X Factor, and school students vote for the winner based on answers they receive to their questions submitted online and in live, text-based chats with the scientists.[8] Participating scientists are given an opportunity to develop their communication skills whilst school students and teachers benefit from contact time with a real-life, practising scientist.[9] The competition is also run for engineers, geoscientists, medics and astronauts.[10][11][12][13][14]

The activity takes place annually in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Kenya, and Vietnam.[15][16][17][18][19] It has also run in previous years in the United States, Malaysia and Australia.[20][21][22]