Questacon’s longest serving volunteer, Jenny Wanless, has generously donated to the institution to create the Curiosity Rover Cart and in turn support the tireless efforts of its volunteers.

The backbone of the Canberra’s beloved science and technology hub, pre-COVID, Questacon’s 80-odd volunteers would contribute more than 10,000 hours a year to science inspiration.

The endowment from Jenny and her family began with the Curiosity Rover Cart and the refurbishments to the volunteer hub. The idea for the Curiosity Rover stemmed from Questacon’s curiosity corner, an on-site base for volunteers.

“That’s where they do their little moments of wonder, the one-on-one interactions that actually set people on a journey of discovery,” Kate Driver, Questacon deputy director and general manager of operations, told Canberra Daily.

The Rover has been designed with interchangeable pieces so whichever volunteers are working on it can put objects from their passion into the drawers and talk about the things they like.

“We thought let’s get them out of the corner and give them a roving corner,” Ms Driver said.

Having dedicated half her life to Questacon, Jenny and her family have been involved with Australia’s science and technology centre since it was operating out of a spare room at Ainslie Public school in 1981.

“Jenny was so impressed with it that she volunteered that day,” Ms Driver said.

A testament to both her influence and that of Questacon itself, her three children have all gone on to enjoy careers in STEM, citing their mother and Questacon as the reason they all love science.

“It’s not just learning from a textbook, it’s not just an experiment over a Bunsen burner, and that’s pretty reflective of the experience of a lot of our volunteers,” Ms Driver said.

Now a university professor, Jenny’s son Ian Wanless told Canberra Daily the skills he developed working and volunteering at Questacon in his youth remains of great benefit to this day.

“I loved giving shows here, it trained me to have the confidence to get up in front of an audience and talk,” he said.

“I use all the communication skills I learnt here, the confidence to get up and explain technical things to an audience and keep them entertained.

“It was excellent training for me, and also inspiration.”

The Rover and volunteer hub upgrades are just the start of an ongoing program of donations from the Wanless family, who will be looking for other ideas to benefit the volunteers.

“Questacon was such a big part of mum’s life we thought we should do something while she’s still alive and able to appreciate it,” Ian said.

Over the course of his life Ian has seen Questacon evolve from a “rough and ready outfit” at Ainslie into a “slick and professional operation” while always maintaining its ethos.

“The idea behind it that people will appreciate science much more if they get to do it … that hasn’t changed,” he said.

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