The festival of science is currently taking place in Grenoble! During this time many interesting events are offered with the aim of engaging the wider public and giving a flavour of what scientific activity is happening in the region.
Many of the usually closed CNRS laboratories open their doors to high school students, to provide an insight into day-to-day scientific research. In particular, I acted as a guide for a group of high school students at Institut Néel. Upon entering the laboratory researchers explained to the students what they are working on, and why. In particular, my group got to learn about using superconducting circuits as qubits, and how to use spectroscopy to measure important material properties - via the counter-intuitive effect of quantum tunnelling!
The festival gives the wider public the chance to see how public money is spent on research, but also gives students a chance to think about their individual future study options and potential pathways.