SciFest Ezine, Volume 7, Number 1, September 2015

SCIFEST EZINE September 2015

SciFest Ezine, Volume 7, Number 1

GET READY FOR SCIFEST Welcome to the 2015/2016 SciFest science fair programme. We hope you had a good summer and we look forward to working with you throughout the current school year.

“SciFest has given us many great experiences and an opportunity to delve into the world of science. We would

What is SciFest?

strongly encourage students to

The SciFest programme was launched nationwide in 2008. It was set up to promote a love of STEM and to give all students an equal opportunity to experience the ex-

take part in SciFest to develop

citement of participating in a science fair. Entry to SciFest is free and the fairs take

their skills and fulfil their true

place at local (SciFest@School), regional (SciFest@College) and national

potential.”

(SciFest@SFI Discover) level. Winners from the national final go on to compete at international fairs, including Intel ISEF in America and INESPO in the Netherlands.

Ellen Fitzgerald, Aoife Dolan and Niamh Nyhan, Sacred Heart Secondary School,

Over 32,000 students have participated since 2008.

Clonakilty, Co. Cork SEAI INESPO Award winners

SciFest 2015 was the biggest and best ever with: 7,200 Students

:

3050 Projects

56 SciFest science fairs nationwide

: :

426 Teachers

:

SciFest 2014

258 Schools

SciFest national award winners all went

on to win top awards at Intel ISEF in America and INESPO in Amsterdam.

In This Issue Page  SciFest@School 2015/2016 SciFest@College 2016, DCU  The SciFest 2015 STEM Superstars INESPO and Boston Scientific Awards  International Acclaim for SciFest Winners Amsterdam 5. SciFest Winners Visit Berlin  TY EXPO and Frontiers of Physics  Let’s Investigate 8. Contacts, Sponsors and Activities SFI Discover Best Project Award winner Sophie Sheehan, SciFest@College ITB

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DCU to host a regional SciFest@College science fair in 2016 The inaugural SciFest@College science fair was held in t he Institute of Technology, Tallaght in 2006. It was such a resounding success that the programme was launched nationwide in SciFest@School 2015, Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, Kilcole, Co. Wicklow

SciFest@School 2015/16 Let this year be the year to organize a SciFest@School science fair in your school SciFest@School was introduced in 2011 and there has been strong demand from schools to participate - 40 schools participated in 2014/2015.

SciFest@School is where a second-level school hosts their own in-house SciFest science fair. Resource materials to support the organisation of a SciFest@School event are available in the SciFest STEM

2008 with the support of Discover Science and Engineering and Intel Ireland.

Participation in SciFest has grown at a phenomenal rate over the years, with more than 7,000 second-level students participating in 2015. Traditionally there have been three venues in Dublin: ITT, DIT and ITB. To cater for the ever-growing demand DCU has agreed to run a SciFest@College in 2016.

fairs toolkit that is part of the resources section of the SciFest website. In

We are delighted to welcome

addition to the materials in the toolkit support from SciFest is also availa-

DCU on board and look forward

ble in the form of advice on the organisation of a SciFest@School sci-

to their FIRST EVER SCIFEST.

ence fair, certificates for participating students, a number of prizes for winning projects, 'freebies' and support on the day of the event - contact us for details.

Note. SciFest@School science fairs can be held at any time during the school year. We support SciFest@School science fairs of all sizes from one class group to a number of year groups. No fair is too small. You should hold your fair before 11 March if you wish to select projects to go forward to a SciFest@College 2016 science fair.

Inaugural SciFest@College, ITT 2006

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INESPO

The SciFest 2015 STEM Superstars

Award 2015

The overall winner/s from each of the 15 SciFest@College 2015 regional science fairs

Winners of the SEAI

have been invited to exhibit at a national final, SciFest@SFI Discover 2015, in the Ma-

award at each of the

rino Conference Centre on 6 November. The projects will be evaluated by an expert

SciFest@College 2015

panel of judges from academia, enterprise and government. Each of the exhibitors will

science fairs have been

be presented with an Excellence in STEM award in recognition of their success at the

invited to submit their pro-

regional fairs and the overall winner/s will receive an all-expenses-paid trip along with

ject report books to

their teacher to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering

SciFest by 2 Oct. A panel

Exhibition (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in May.

of judges representing SciFest and SEAI will as-

Venue

School

Teacher

Student/s

Project Title

AIT

Lanesboro Community College, Co. Longford

Michael Lyons

Mark Lyons

The price of profit - a statistical analysis of the effects of the GMS charge

CIT

Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál, Blarney, Co.Cork

Sean Foley Sarah Sweeney

Maths behind music

DIT

Scoil Chaitriona, Glasnevin, Dublin 9

Brian Gallagher

Oran O’Donnabháin

Cost effective sound localisation sensor arrays for autonomous mobile platforms

DkIT

Saint Macartan's College, Co. Monaghan

Raymond Mc Hugh

Louis Madden

The possibilities of home genomics for phylogenetics research

GMIT

Yeats College Galway, Corinna College Road, Galway Mahoney

Conall McCabe

Research into the Fundamental Principles of Chaos Theory and its Extent of Application in the Physical Sciences

Award 2015

ITB

Skerries CC, Co. Dublin

Dr. Kate Corbett

Sophie Sheahan Adam Mc Grane

Exploring the use of Halophytes as Carbon Sinks

Winners of the Boston Sci-

ITC

St. Leos, Dublin Road, Carlow

Julie Egan

Eve McGlinchey

Voice controlled home automation system utilising the Raspberry Pi

ITS

Drumshanbo VS, Co. Leitrim,

Pauline McBarron

Anna Corcoran Niamh McNamara Decibels of DVS Áine Kelly

ITT

Sutton Park School Sutton, D13

Catherine Tattersall

Claire Nichols

Correlation or coincidence: solar flares, lunar phases, and stock market activity

John the Baptist CS, Hospital, Co. Limerick

Michelle Buckley

Liam Passmore

A statistical analysis of whether segregating males and females in PE will increase participation and physical activity levels

Coláiste Charáin, Croom, Co. Limerick

Edel Farrell

Eoin Hayes Adam Burke

The handy guide to sign language

Breege Masterson

Isabel Dwyer Clodagh Howe Ciara Burke

Is Your Phone a Danger to You?

sess the projects, based on the report books, and will select the projects to go forward to compete for the INESPO Award at the national final.

Boston Scientific

entific Medical Devices award at each of the SciFest@College 2015 science fairs have been invited to submit their project report books to

IT Tral

SciFest by 2 Oct. A panel of judges representing SciFest and Boston Scientific will assess the projects, based on the report books, and will select the

LIT

Scoil Chríost Rí, LIT Portlaoise, Thurles Co. Laois

LyIT

Crana College, Buncrana, Co. Donegal

Philip Mc Guinness

WIT

CBS Kilkenny

Lisa Cosgrove

NW Derry

St Mary's College, Derry,

Ann Blanking

projects to go forward to compete for the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award at the national final.

Hannah Dominguez McLaughlin Conor Gildea Claire Barron Conor Cantwell Conor Flynn

Classroom or Class doom - an in depth analysis of the effects of using google classroom Functional movement training in young GAA players

Laura McLaughlin Investigating the ability of egg-shell Áine Gillespie membrane to absorb carbon dioxide

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International Acclaim for SciFest Winners What started out as an idea, developed into a worldwide success for West Cork students Ellen Fitzgerald, Aoife Dolan and Niamh Nyhan from the Sacred Heart Secondary School, Clonakilty, Co. Cork. Their project entitled 'Non-Integrated LED Bulb' involved an LED bulb which they designed to integrate into existing street lamp fittings without affecting the performance with regard to lux levels and uniformity. They estimated that their innovative solution would provide an 80% saving on cost per annum and up to a 50% reduction in Ireland’s annual carbon footprint.

Ellen Aoife and Niamh tell their story: ‘Our project was first presented to SciFest judges in CIT, April 2014 at one of the fifteen regional SciFest@College science fairs. We were awarded first place in the Technology category and also the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Award. In October we were selected to compete at the SciFest 2014 National Final (SciFest@SFI Discover) which took place in Dublin in November. Our winning streak continued and we were delighted to come away with the SEAI INESPO award. This granted us and our teacher, Ms Holland, an opportunity to represent Ireland in Amsterdam at the International Environment and Sustainability Project Olympiad (INESPO) in June 2015.

We received a warm welcome at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. A reception committee presented us with tulips and muffins. The following morning we set up our project. We presented our project to a total of 13 judges at the Olympiad, and competed with over 300 students from 47 countries. After two rigorous days of judging, we had a two-day break. Day trips were organised by INESPO and we visited The Hague and toured around Amsterdam. We visited the Dutch parliament, the Rijskmuseum and Zaanse Schans. We were also lucky enough to go on a boat tour through Amsterdam. After spending five days in the beautiful city, we were all invited to the awards ceremony in Het Koninklijk Concertgebouw. It was here where we won first prize representing Ireland for our project. We received a trophy, a gold medal each and award money for our hard work and dedication. The following day included talking to Irish radio stations and national newspapers reporters while spending the award money in the shops of Amsterdam.

‘The experience was life changing and rewarding.

Our months of hard work had paid off as we represented our country and won. Without the constant support and help from those at Garrabridge, CAPPA, SEAI, CIT and SciFest, our trip would not have been a success. We came away from our week in Amsterdam with not only pride and a sense of accomplishment, but with life long memories and friends from all around the world.

SciFest has given us many great experiences and an opportunity to delve into the world of science. We would strongly encourage students to take part in SciFest to develop their skills and fulfil their true potenAoife, Ellen and Niamh celebrate their success in Amsterdam

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‘Overall it was an amazing experience and one I feel quite lucky to have been given the opportunity to go on.

We got to see the city of Berlin and also all of the science that is currently going on in Berlin. It was a fantastic and very enjoyable trip and I really appreciate SciFest for giving me the opportunity and also Julie Deering-Kraft, DFA for being so kind and facilitating to us during our visit. I would also like to thank Mr and Mrs White, the Irish embassy staff for looking after us during our stay in Berlin and the Department of Foreign Affairs for sponsoring the award. ‘ Rachel Ní Dhonnachadha June 2015

Rachel and Ciara at the Long Night of Science in Berlin

SciFest Winners Visit Berlin Rachel and Shannon Ní Dhonnachadha from St Vincent’s Secondary School, Dundalk won the Runner-up Best Project Award at the SciFest National Final (SciFest@SFI Discover 2014) last November. Their prize was an all-expenses-paid trip for them and their teacher, John White, to attend the Berlin Long Night of Science 2015 in May. Unfortunately Shannon couldn’t travel as she was sitting her Leaving Certificate but Ciara McLoughlin, a SciFest@College DkIT 2015 award winner and a student at St Vincent’s travelled with Rachael. The travel award is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

A report by Rachel: We arrived in Berlin on Thursday the 11th of June. It was around 6.30pm by the time we reached our hotel so we spent the remainder of the evening just walking around Berlin and soaking up the atmosphere.

On Day 2 we had quite a busy day. At 10:30 we met with Prof. Axel Hoffmann, Academic Director, Institute of Solid State Physics, Technische Universität. He told us about his interest in Physics and his career. He showed us around the University pointing out the many different pieces of equipment which are used in the making of LEDs. After that we went to the Irish Embassy building in Berlin and met with Julie Deering-Kraft who showed us around the building before we went off for lunch with Julie and her colleague Sarah Callanan. The conversation turned to my project and SciFest which both of them took quite an interest in. Afterwards it was time for shopping. We included a tour of the TV Tower which was amazing. At each point around the TV tower it had how many degrees you were facing in the direction towards a certain city.

On Day 3 we had a visit to the German parliament (Reichstag building). It was a breath-taking sight. The architecture was incredible. Afterwards we walked around the city and saw famous sights like the Brandenburg gates. We were both quite excited as then we were going to the Long Night of Science. Julie kindly offered to be our translator for the VIP tour and after listening to a number of very interesting talks we walked around the university and saw many different devices such as the Bionic Robot Arm. This was modelled as an elephants trunk and could feel your

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SciFest Winners Visit Berlin Continued from page 5 touch and also detect where your hand was to drop an apple into it.

Next we looked at Using Eye Movement to Control Computers which was quite a simple prototype at the moment but nonetheless it still worked and was an incredible experience and then you got to choose what chocolate bar you wanted for completing the test.

On Day 4 it was the day to return home to Ireland but we managed to squeeze in some time to see the technology museum and also the Science centre spectrum.

Both were incredible and well worth going to. I found the sci-

SciFest@TY EXPO 2015 The TY EXPO was held in the Hub, Kilkenny on 16/ 17 September. With over 100 exhibition stands and nearly 7000 students passing through, SciFest had a very busy couple of days.

ence centre quite enjoyable as it had quite a lot of interactive devices. In the technology museum it focused on the developments in the transport industry and the technology sector. We then got onto the train to the airport and flew home. Overall it was an amazing experience and one I feel quite lucky to have been given the opportunity to go on. We got to see the city of Berlin and also all of the science that is currently going on in Berlin. It was a fantastic and very enjoyable trip and I really appreciate SciFest for giving me the opportunity. I would also like to thank, Julie DeeringKraft DFA, Mr and Mrs White and the Department of Foreign Affairs for sponsoring the award.

SciFest@Frontiers of Physics 2015 The IOPI’s Frontiers of Physics Teachers Conference was held in NUI Galway on 19 September. The conference takes place each year and is a must for all physics teachers.

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Let’s Investigate: A simple investigation your students can carry out to help them understand the idea of a hypothesis, research, fair test, data collection, conclusions and recommendations Hypothesis An object that is streamlined will move faster through water than an object that is not streamlined.

Materials

Blu-Tack, Tall measuring cylinder, Stopwatch

Student instructions 

Use the above materials to test the hypothesis.



Before you begin discuss the hypothesis with the other members of your team.



Draw up an experimental plan.



Design a chart on which to record the data you collect.



Remember you may have to modify your plan.



Write an account of your experiment into your copybook, explaining your method and describing your results and conclusions.



If you require any other materials or equipment please ask.

Fair Test:

Have you carried out a fair test?

Independent Variable

Shape

Dependent Variable

Time taken to travel distance/speed

Controlled or Fixed Variables

1. Mass of object 2. Distance/Height of water 3. Height of drop

Replicates (Number of times each of the levels of the Independent Variable was tested)

Three

Sample chart of results:

Sample Shapes

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

Distance

Speed

Time (s)

Time (s)

Time (s)

Time (s)

mm

mm/s

1 2 3

Questions 1.

Some fish have fusiform (streamlined) bodies, e.g., salmon, while others are laterally compressed (flattened from side to side), e.g., sole. The shape of the fish’s body tells us a lot about its lifestyle. Comment on this statement.

2.

In what way might the results be useful if you were designing swimwear?

3.

What problems did you come across in your experiment and how did you overcome them?

A wide range of resources may be found on the SciFest website

Contact Us

These include:

e: george.porter@scifest.ie

A SciFest STEM Fairs Toolkit to support teachers and students in developing projects and to support schools in organising a SciFest@School science fair

m: 086 379 6143

2 student modules:

e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie

w: www.scifest.ie

‘A Beginner’s Guide to doing a SciFest Project’ and a

Please check the website

‘Transition Year module - Science by Inquiry’

regularly for updates Closing date for receipt of

SciFest - Why Get Involved

entries to SciFest@College

SciFest Support Panel

2016 is:

SciFest Testimonials

Friday 11 March 2016

SciFest National Finals 2011 2014 project abstracts Science Fairs in Ireland - Information for Teachers - all you need to know about participating in a science fair in Ireland

Other Activities There is a wide range of STEM activities and competitions available guaranteed to excite students.

These include: ICI Chemistry Newsletter Competition 2015—2016 IUCr Crystal growing competition Boole2School Lesson plans and interactive classroom resources One Good Idea An opportunity to inspire people to make small lifestyle changes that will use energy more efficiently and help tackle climate change Apps4Gaps: all-Ireland competition aimed at encouraging young people to provide concepts and create applications utilising Open Data freely available Visit the ISTA website for a list of events and competitions.

SciFest is supported by

Institutes of Technology St Mary’s College, Derry

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