As an Events Volunteer at the National Science and Media Museum, you’ll help support exciting public events and activities, from major festivals such as Widescreen Weekend, Bradford Science Festival and Yorkshire Games Festival to special holiday programmes. Volunteers can choose the events and shifts that suit their interests and availability, supporting museum staff to deliver memorable visitor experiences. The next opportunity to get involved is Widescreen Weekend, 24-28 September 2026.By welcoming visitors, answering questions, helping with activities, managing queues and assisting with event set-up and pack-down, you’ll play an important role in ensuring everyone has a positive and enjoyable visit. Your support helps visitors feel informed, included and able to make the most of everything the museum has to offer. This role is a great opportunity to meet new people, work alongside museum colleagues and be part of a vibrant events programme. Volunteers can develop valuable skills in customer service, communication, teamwork, event delivery, visitor engagement and problem-solving, while gaining practical experience in a busy cultural organisation. Alongside this, volunteers benefit from perks such as free cinema tickets and references on request.
About the role
Events Volunteers support the wide-ranging programme of events at the National Science and Media Museum, including Bradford Science Festival, Widescreen Weekend and Yorkshire Games Festival. Volunteers pick and choose events they are interested in volunteering at and have availability to support. These events are usually held at the museum and occasionally at external venues. The location, times and themes of each event will be made clear before volunteers sign up for shifts. Events Volunteers also get involved during school holidays, helping visitors make the most of their time in the museum when our additional holiday activities are running.
The next opportunity to get involved is Widescreen Weekend, 24-28 September 2026. Widescreen Weekend is our unique festival of big, bold cinema experiences celebrating the past, present and future of film technology. This year it’s bigger than ever in its 30th edition. An interest in film can be useful, but this role is more about making a difference to our visitors and help them make the most of their experience.
This role gives volunteers the opportunity to make a difference as part of a lively programme of high-quality public events and activities. In this role, volunteers help the event run smoothly by providing friendly customer service to all visitors and assisting with activities. It also gives them the opportunity to meet new people with similar interests, meet colleagues across the museum, and gain valuable experience supporting public events.
In this role you will:
- Provide excellent customer service to all visitors, including a warm welcome and promoting what’s on and where to help visitors make the most of their experience.
- Assist staff with the smooth delivery of events and activities
- Support visitors waiting to take part in activities and help make sure queues are managed positively
- Help with the set up and pack down of events and activities
- Assist in visitor surveys and data-gathering
What you’ll bring to the role:
This role is perfect for people who:
- Are friendly, approachable, and enjoy working as part of a team and chatting with people
- Have the confidence to meet people from all walks of life
- Are reliable and able to follow instructions
It would be good if you:
- Have customer service experience
- Are proactive and willing to take initiative where needed
What you’ll get from volunteering:
We want to ensure you have a rewarding experience with us. This means:
- Being part of a busy and dynamic programme of high-quality events
- Meeting new people with similar interests
- Gaining valuable experience in a working environment
- Perks such as free cinema tickets
- References on request
Key dates:
- If you are successful, you must be available for a volunteer induction and event briefing at the museum. This scheduled for Monday 14 September 2026, 18.00-20.00. Unfortunately due to time constraints ahead of this festival, we are unable to offer another time for this.
- Before the briefing, we will be in touch with applicants to have a short chat (around 20 minutes) to get to know you better and help match you to the right role. We have some flexibility with these, but the main days these will take place are 1 – 9 September.
Applying for the role
Please apply through the Student Union website initially. A member of the museum team will then send you a short application form to complete. Please be aware this will include writing a short answer to tell us more about:
- Why do you want to volunteer in this role?
- What personal qualities or experience do you feel you would bring to this role?
- What do you think can be the key challenges of working on large public events?
Additional Information:
- To volunteer in this role, you must be 18 or over.
- If successful, we’ll request a basic criminal record check for you. We’ll arrange and process this for you and will cover all the costs. Any issues raised in the check will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- We are legally required to ensure all volunteers from overseas have the right to volunteer in the UK, so please check your visa before applying. SMG is unable to act as a sponsor organisation if you do not have a visa that allows you to volunteer.
- We reimburse out-of-pocket travel expenses of up to £6.00 per day.
- Opportunity LengthLong term, Monthly, Occasionally, One-off, Short Term
- Area of Interest/ CauseCulture and Heritage
- Role OverviewCommitment: Volunteer when agreed, Easy: Good for first volunteer role, Prescribed: Mainly specific tasks, Quick to start
- ActivityPublic/Visitor Engagement
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Communication
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Teamwork
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Interpersonal Skills