Media Release March 22th 2013
SciFest 2013 at Dublin Institute of Technology reveals the science behind robots, the toxic touch and turns apples and oranges into amps and ohms
~ Post-primary school students from schools all over Dublin city and county taking science to the next level with over 70 projects in SciFest 2013@DIT ~
Post-primary school students from all over Dublin city and county gathered at Dublin Institute of Technology to showcase their science projects and to begin the first of 15 regional SciFest Science Fairs. Over 70 science projects were displayed at SciFest@DIT, with approximately 150 students from schools all over the county delving into the deeper realms of scientific exploration with some interesting results. Entries to this year’s SciFest have broken all records with up to 4000 students exhibiting their projects at the 15 venues over the next three months.
SciFest 2013@DIT, officially opened by Mary Mitchell O’Connor, TD, featured a range of scientific discoveries and explorations – the results of which are bound to raise a few eyebrows. The five second rule was put to the test, radioactive material found in North County Dublin seaweed was investigated as was ‘whether or not smiling is contagious
SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science competition where second-level students showcase their science, technology and maths projects at a series of one day science fairs held in the 14 regional Institutes of Technologies and the University of Ulster, Derry. The winners from each science fair will go on to compete at the national final in November. The SciFest programme is primarily sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Science & Engineering and Intel Ireland. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations.
The top prize on the day went to 5th year student Tom McDonald from Skerries Community College with his project ‘Coastal erosion in Skerries’ which examined coastal erosion and deposition on his local beach in Skerries. He discovered that the beach profile changes seasonally due to wave and wind action experienced. He will now go on to the national final of SciFest which will take place in November in the Science Gallery in Dublin.
Other eye-catching investigations that were showcased at SciFest @ DIT include:
· The effects of school bags on the shoulder and the spine - transition year students from St. Wolstan's Community School Corrie Bowes, Lauren Burke and Aisling Grimes discovered that carrying more than 15% of your body weight on a daily basis can lead to scoliosis or sciatica and in their school over 38% of students carry more than that. They out forward an iPad as an alternative to the school bag.
· The Space Elevator – second year student from St Andrew's College Botterstown Julie Gallagher created a scale model of a space elevator that she believes is the future of space travel! A cable with a weight would go into geostationary orbit and the pull of gravity would keep the cable rigid thereby allowing an elevator to be attached to it and heralding a new era of space travel.
DIT SciFest co-ordinator Dr Julie Dunne said; “It is hugely encouraging to see such high quality entries for this year’s SciFest @ DIT. Dublin’s post-primary students are displaying a real interest in the sciences and you only need to take a look at the variety of projects and experiments on show to see that they have taken SciFest very seriously. It bodes well for the future of Institutes of Technology that there is such a high standard being set and today shows the value of SciFest as an outlet for students to explore science in ways that interest them”
Sheila Porter, SciFest CEO, said; “SciFest is a fun and exciting way to encourage an interest in science at school level, providing not only an occasion to celebrate achievement and a job well done but also an opportunity to encourage active and collaborative learning. The rapid increase in participation in the competition is a clear indication of the interest and enthusiasm among students and teachers in the investigative approach to teaching and learning science.”
Commenting on SciFest@DIT 2013, Prof Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) said: “SFI is pleased to support SciFest as it is vital that we engage and encourage our young people to increase their knowledge of science and engineering. It is these skills that are required to drive sustainable economic recovery in Ireland. This is the first of 14 regional fairs and the standard of projects has been very high. We are pleased that SciFest and related competitions support SFI’s new strategy, Agenda 2020, as they are helping ‘to have an engaged and scientifically informed public.’ Activities such as SciFest play a key role in encouraging young people to study STEM subjects.”
Dr Pádraig Ó Murchú, Education and Research Manager, Intel Ireland, remarked that; “SciFest allows students pursue their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths using an inquiry based approach, working individually or in groups and present their results to a wider audience”.
In 2012, almost 3,400 students from 227 schools exhibited close to 1,500 projects at SciFest events at third level colleges across the country. An additional 900 students exhibited 400 projects at their own SciFest in-school events.
Please see www.scifest.ie for further information.
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For further information contact:
Luke McDonnell, Drury
01 260 5000 / 085 7127243
Notes to editor
SciFest is a series of one day science fairs, funded primarily by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)/Discover Science & Engineering and Intel. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations.
Dates and venues for SciFest@College 2013
Institute of Technology/Venue / Exhibition Date / Institute of Technology/Venue / Exhibition Date / Institute of Technology/Venue / Exhibition DateDublin / 22 March / Waterford / 1 May / Dundalk / 8 may
Tralee / 12 April / LIT Tipperary / 2 May / Letterkenny / 10 May
Cork / 19 April / Carlow / 2 May / Blanchardstown / 14 May
Athlone / 1 May / Sligo / 3 May / Galway-Mayo / 16 May
Limerick / 1 May / Tallaght / 8 May / SciFest North-West, University of Ulster-Magee Campus / 11 June