I've always thought paleontology is a really cool field, because it allows us to essentially travel back in time to figure out what the past environments were like. I became interested in earth sciences in middle school, with an earth sciences focused field trip. On that trip, we visited some caves in Southern Arizona and talked about earth sciences as a whole. The following year in 7th grade, I did a research paper on radiocarbon dating and using woolly mammoths as an example. During that and after it, I started watching paleontology documentaries on T.V. and became more interested in paleontology. In high school, I had a few opportunities to go on some field digs, which solidified my interest in paleontology, and I knew I wanted to study it in college. I was lucky enough to have my biology teacher haven been trained as a paleo-anthropologist, and I was able to do independent study classes with her on paleontological topics.
Once I was in college, I started to see museums as more of an interesting career choice. I think it's the perfect intersection of science and the general public, and where the public is the most engaged in learning for their own interests.