There aren’t many scientists who have a daily radio show. But Adam Shirley has tens of thousands of devoted people listening to his dulcet tones every day.

After his year in the Shell Questacon Science Circus, Adam gained the ‘initiative, resilience and confidence' to be able to make a career of communication.

A career that has led him to the gig of presenting the Drive programme on 666 ABC Radio Canberra. His voice is now familiar to many Canberrans tackling the school run or the commute home. He occasionally covers science topics and calls on the skills he picked up as part of the Science Circus.

“[The Science Circus] was my first step in getting into the media. To this day I use the live communication skills that I gained during that year,” he says.

But life in the Science Circus wasn’t all about the glamour.

“[My fondest memories are] sleeping on vinyl mattresses in caravan parks, travelling for hundreds of kilometres on ruler-straight roads, getting in amongst fabulous local towns and people,” he says.

“And above all, spending a small period of time with the wonderful school students who were a part of each show."