If the smiles on the faces of the children weren’t satisfying enough – Children’s Medical Research Institute’s first ever stall at the Sydney Royal Easter Show has received an award.

The CMRI stall received a Bronze Award for Best Exhibitor. It was a particularly impressive result, considering that the stall was manned entirely by volunteers over the 12 days of the show.

While we set out to educate the public about the importance of research and encourage the next generation of young scientists with some fun interaction, we had also hoped to attract some donations along the way. In fact, we raised more than $20,000 through donations and through the sale of Future Scientist show bags and lab coats. A huge ‘thank you’ to all those who showed their support!

Children’s Medical Research Institute’s Head of Fundraising, Andrew Kelly, said everyone who visited the stall were impressed by having real-life researchers doing fun experiments with children. They were also fascinated to learn about the 1 in 20 children born with a birth defect or genetic disease.

“We received wonderful feedback and compliments on the stand from many who came past to visit, which included medical professionals, medical suppliers, and teachers at every level,’’ Mr Kelly said. “Parents gave high praise, seeing the level of concentration exhibited by their children doing the pipette activity.’’

Mr Kelly said one of the most outstanding moments was a man who bought a couple of show bags for his children and then handed over $1000 to CMRI.

“When I thanked him I said, ‘Please excuse me, but do you mind if I ask why?’ He simply said, ‘I get it. We need to do everything we can for our children. They are our future’.’’