My Saturday with Niamh Shaw: It's as much about encouraging people as it is about getting to space
Dr Niamh Shaw: I can’t turn my brain off — I’m always thinking, planning and spending hours going through to-do lists in my head. Pic: Ailbhe O'Donnell
If I’m working I could be up at 6am or earlier. I can’t bear rushing out the door so I prefer to get up early.
If I arrive at an event an hour early I’ll have avoided the traffic, had a snooze or done my makeup while I wait.
If I’m at home I’ll have a lie-in and wake up around 8am.
I live in Laois and at the moment I’m working a lot in Dundalk on the Town Scientist Project so it could take me two hours to drive there.
The first thing I do is meditate in bed.
I can’t turn my brain off — I’m always thinking, planning and spending hours going through to-do lists in my head.
Meditation helps me feel calm and puts me in a good state of mind.
I’ll have a shower, do some stretches and have cider vinegar with turmeric in hot water and a coffee.
My husband Dave cooks the most fantastic American pancakes so sometimes he treats me to those.
I usually have events, library visits or festivals to attend.
If I’m at home, I’ll catch up on emails and writing, editing videos or making content for the public to explain things that are happening around space.
I might write my newsletter, update my website or plan big projects.
I could be anywhere in the world. Recently I was working with Amazon hosting their Girls’ Tech Day in the UK.
We have the Lego League All Ireland National Final coming up in March, which I’m hosting with Phil Smyth, as well as the Coolest Projects event in the Sport Ireland campus.
The kids are brilliant. The second you walk into a room full of these kids your mood lifts.
Many of the people who work on these sort of STEAM projects tend to be in the minority in school, the ‘quiet ones’ down the back, and suddenly they’re in a room where everybody’s the same and they feel normal.
That’s how I felt the first time I did the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in sixth year. You’re suddenly around people who are similar to you and that’s a fantastic feeling.
They’ve just spent the day with like-minded people, made friends and learned things from each other, so by the time we get to the prizegiving they’re super-excited.
It’s my job to keep that excitement going, to make a fuss of them and to tell them that they’re doing fantastically.
It’s also my job to encourage parents to keep bringing their kids to these events and to keep encouraging them.
I’ll do social media, make videos and highlight some of the amazing projects. I’ll talk to parents and help out the organisers so the day will go by really quickly.
I’ll be hyper for about an hour afterwards, so it’s important that I get on the road home before the adrenalin dips and I get too tired.
My husband usually has a hearty dinner for me. Dave spent 17 years working at NASA as a space engineer.
I did a course called the Space Studies Program at the International Space University in 2015 and returned to contribute in 2021 which is where we met.
Some time later he came to see me in Ireland and love blossomed.
We take turns picking a movie. As an actor and communicator, I love the movie business. I hate horror and will often default to science fiction.
If the story is good enough I don’t worry about the details and suspend belief but my husband will generally pick it apart in terms of its feasibility.
Neither of us drink alcohol so we’re not really interested in the pub.
It has been frugal for the last couple of years because the priority has been building my business and doing what I do without having to take on a second job.
Instead of going out for meals we’ll plan hikes and trips.
We keep our heads down and work hard when we’re in Ireland but when we have a job abroad we’ll go exploring.
Last week we were at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany and in July I’m off to the Arctic Circle as part of an art science residency.
I’ll go to bed around 11pm. I try to get more sleep at the weekend so I can keep going for the rest of the week.
I’ll catch up with social media. I’m very interested in popular culture and it helps when I’m speaking to young people.
When I go into schools, particularly boys’ schools, people are not always engaged, but it’s my job to learn how to communicate science better.
I explore TikTok and YouTube because those platforms can be just as effective in communicating ideas to young people as school visits can.
I didn’t always have the confidence to do the things I wanted to do when I was younger so my work is as much about encouraging people to ‘Dream Big’ as it is about me getting to space.
- Niamh Shaw is an engineer, scientist, writer, performer and one of Ireland’s leading science communicators and STEAM specialists.
- niamhshaw.ie
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