SciFest@School - St Nathy’s

George and Sheila Porter, SciFest Ltd, Carol Farrell, SFI, Gretta Collins, Boston Scientific and Pádraig Ó Murchú, Intel at the launch of SciFest 2015 SciFest@School, St Nathy’s College

The faculty of science at St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon held a SciFest@School Science Fair on 30 January 2015. One hundred and forty first and second year students competed in the competition, with a total of 58 projects. They arrived into the large Sport Complex hall at 9am amid an air of excitement and anticipation. They earnestly set about setting up their posters and displays. Project titles were varied, many reflecting the interests and life experiences of this group of 12 – 14 year olds. Titles included “Nasty Nicotine”, “How to prevent injuries from Football Boots”, “The effects of video games on Children”, “Does wearing Foundation give you spots?”, ”How Social Media affects our lives”, Ill-discipline”, “Computer radiation”, “Should Energy Drinks be banned from Schools?” and “Which Gender has better Concentration?”. Topical issues such as “How can we make the Farm a Safer Place?” and “What causes people to drink alcohol?” were addressed as were more technical questions such as “Could we live without Polymers?” and “How do Crystals form?” Despite the diversity of the problems that these students set out to solve they shared a common enthusiasm to share their ideas and findings with anyone who would listen! Bring on the Judges!

Well done to all the students who entered projects in this competition. The prize winners will have the opportunity to continue their research and to present their projects in the next round of SciFest, to be held in April in Sligo IT. SciFest provides a wonderful opportunity for students of all abilities to work as part of a team and to research and develop their ideas in an area that interests them. The strength of this competition is its inclusiveness. The competiveness of the more able students spurs them on to perform and present work of a very high standard while the less academic students are exposed to and engage in science in a new way. They are only too delighted to speak to anyone who asks them about what they have done and what they have found out in their research. For the day they are listened to. They are just as important as everyone else. They are proud of their work! Maybe science isn’t too bad after all! Watch the video and see for yourself.

By Dr Oonagh Redmond, Science Teacher, St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon