Renée Watson is an Australian-born science communicator and entrepreneur. She is the founder of The Curiosity Box.

Background

Born in

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

, Australia, Watson attended the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, graduating in 2000 and moved to the UK during the same year. In 2008, Watson founded a business called WATS.ON, an association development company which worked with scientific societies and associations, helping them become

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and increase outward looking, high-impact work. From 2008 to 2017, Watson managed the Oxfordshire Science Festival.

The Curiosity Box

The Curiosity Box is an

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

-based company and the UK's first

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

subscription box, providing science-oriented activities for children aged 7 to 11. It began as a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign in 2016. Watson won the 2017

Women In Science The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made substantial contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

England (WISE) Toy Award for the creation of The Curiosity box and was awarded

Let Toys Be Toys Let Toys Be Toys is a campaign designed to persuade retailers to stop categorising toys by gender. It was started by a group of parents on the parenting on-line discussion forum Mumsnet. History In 2012, a thread was opened on the Mumsnet onl ...

'Toymark' Good Practice Award

Talks and interviews

* TEDxAthens: ‘Is curiosity the secret to a wonder-filled life?’ *

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skir ...

Six Women in STEM to Watch Out for in 2018 * Top Hat: This

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Is Making Kids Fall in Love With Science * Humans in Business blogpost:

Meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

to Melinda: My 2018 *

Goldieblox GoldieBlox is an American toy company that markets interactive toys designed for girls. GoldieBlox, which pairs a construction kit with a storybook, launched in 2012 as a prototype on Kickstarter. Its Kickstarter campaign led to more than $1 mill ...

- STEM role model call: 10 inspiring women in STEM *

Adafruit Adafruit Industries is an open-source hardware company based in New York, United States. It was founded by Limor Fried in 2005. The company designs, manufactures and sells electronics products, electronics components, tools, and accessories. It ...

celebrating the work of Renée Watson, scientist & educator on

Ada Lovelace Day Ada Lovelace Day is an annual event held on the second Tuesday of October to celebrate and raise awareness of the contributions of women to STEM fields. It is named after mathematician and computer science pioneer Ada Lovelace. It started in 200 ...

* Stories from Science: Ep 8 – Destination Detonation: Renee Watson and her journey to The Curiosity Box * Muddy Stilettos: Real Resolutions 2018 * Enterprising Oxford: Entrepreneurs Uncovered * Critchleys Conversation: Local Business Heroes

Awards

Watson has won numerous awards for her work, including

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

Director of the Year London & South Finalist Innovation 2019, and 2018, Inclusive Tech Alliance Diversity in Tech, Entrepreneur of the Year Winner 2019 Tech Alliance UK Entrepreneur award Nominated, Blenheim Start Up Finalist 2018, WISE Toy of the Year award winner 2017

Business Magazine Business journalism is the part of journalism that tracks, records, analyzes, and interprets the business, economic and financial activities and changes that take place in societies. Topics widely cover the entire purview of all commercial act ...

Spotlight on Women in STEM finalist Sep 2017, and WOBA Innovation Award winner 2017.

References

External links

Curiosity Box webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Renée Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Australian businesspeople Australian National University alumni Australian science communicators People from Queanbeyan