SciFest Ezine, Volume 7, Number 3, February 2016

SCIFEST EZINE February 2016

Volume 7, Number 3

“I am delighted to be here at the launch of SciFest 2016. As Ireland’s largest science competition for second level students, SciFest plays a vital role in encouraging and developing an interest in STEM among Irish students. Skills in science, technology, maths and engineering will be crucial in the future if Ireland wants to remain competitive and at the cutting edge of scientific development. I am

sure

that

participants

in

SciFest 2016 will go on to make impressive contributions to STEM, both in Ireland and abroad.”

Launch of SciFest 2016

Jan O’Sullivan TD, Minister for Education and Skills

SciFest announces a massive increase in numbers

SciFest 2016 Launch

and a new online entry facility for 2016 In This Issue

Pg

ence, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects at a series of one day

Why Get Involved in SciFest?

2

science fairs. SciFest science fairs are held locally in schools, regionally in the 14

Scifest 2016—Online Entry

3

What the Students are Saying

3

Students: Is SciFest 2016 for You?

4

tion and Skills by Jan O’Sullivan, TD, Minister for Education and Skills. Present at

Special Awards

4

the launch were students from Fingal Community College, Swords, Co. Dublin

Resources

5

What the Teachers are Saying

5

SciFest@College 2016 Dates and Venues

6

Now in its ninth year as a national project, SciFest is an all-inclusive, free-toenter, all-island science competition where second-level students showcase sci-

Institutes of Technology, DCU and St Mary’s College, Derry. SciFest is funded primarily by Science Foundation Ireland, Intel and Boston Scientific. The winners from each regional science fair go on to compete at a national final in November.

SciFest 2016 was officially launched with a photocall in the Department of Educa-

and their science teacher Claire Scanlon.

More than 7200 students exhibited projects at SciFest 2015. The closing date for receipt of entry forms to SciFest@College 2016 is 11 March.

Speaking at the launch of the 2016 competition at the Department of Education and Skills, Marlborough Street, Dublin Sheila Porter, SciFest CEO said: “2015 was a hugely successful year for SciFest with a record number of students taking part.

In total 7,200 students exhibited their projects in local and/or regional science fairs across the country. This year we intend to build on that success and have another record year.

SciFest gives students an excellent opportunity to develop their interest in

STEM

and

inquiry-based

ap-

proaches to learning, while developing

Why get involved in SciFest?

their

creative

and

problem-

solving skills and learning to work in a team.”

SciFest aims to create a science fair experience that is inclusive, accessible and inspires excellence SciFest science fairs are open to all second-level students; they are locally based and there is no entry fee SciFest gives students of all abilities the opportunity to develop research skills and associated skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, presentation skills and teamwork

SciFest provides students with an opportunity to study the STEM subjects in an interesting, innovative and hands-on way SciFest helps students to grow in confidence and develop their communication skills by exhibiting their work in a small, local, student-friendly environment SciFest operates at 4 different levels 

SciFest@School— local in-school science fairs



SciFest@College—16 regional science fairs hosted by the IoTs, DCU and St Mary’s College, Derry



SciFest@SFI Discover— National final held in Dublin each year



SciFest International—SciFest@Intel ISEF, SciFest@INESPO and SciFest@Berlin

SciFest@School science fairs raise the profile of science in a school and give all students an opportunity to present their STEM project to independent judges SciFest@College regional science fairs give students an opportunity to visit a third-level college, meet lecturers, and view the facilities and courses available SciFest is partnered with SFI’s Smart Futures programme which promotes STEM careers to second-level students SciFest facilitates a community of educators with similar goals and ideals SciFest supports the teaching of the STEM subjects in the second-level curriculum and provides online support for teachers at www.scifest.ie 2

NEW for 2016

SciFest is not just about winning but about encouragement and building confidence in the student and belief in their ability to do STEM What the students are saying: ‘The judging was interesting and helped to build on my communication and presentation skills.’

‘I really enjoyed the judging as I got to share my experiences throughout the project and explain the benefits of what I did. I also enjoyed getting feedback from the judges on my project both good and not so good.’

Students can now enter SciFest@College Online Entry to SciFest@College 2016 is now open.

Students can enter online or download a paper entry form.

Online entry Teacher Registration 

Teachers must register before students can enter projects.



This is a once-off process; it does not have to be repeated each year.



Please check the entry form before the student submits it; once submitted it cannot be recalled.

• Entry forms will not be forwarded to the relevant

‘It was so fun and the talks were really cool and just getting a chance to be there was great.’

regional venue until the teacher has logged on

‘What I like best about SciFest is working as a team with my friends and carrying out the actual experiment and finding out the results for our own interest as I was curious about our experiment and couldn't wait to find out what the results were.’

• The teacher can download a list of the projects

to his/her teacher portal and signed off on the project.

submitted from his/her school at any stage.

‘My project was a chemistry project, I learned so much chemistry in such a short period of time, and it was leaving -cert chemistry, it was a fun way of learning. I feel I got so much out of it and my knowledge of chemistry has rapidly increased and I didn’t even see it as a chore, more enjoyable, because of SciFest this year I’ve found a new love for a subject I would of never even considered before and I will be now taking chemistry for my Leaving Cert.‘ Taken from the Independent Evaluation of the SciFest Programme carried out by Sinéad Begley and Associates in 2015

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Students: Is SciFest 2016 for You? Students: Is SciFest 2016 for You?

Yes

No

Are you interested in space, chemistry, medical devices, maths, technology, biology, physics, …………….. and solving real world problems?





Are you a good communicator?





Have you an interesting hobby?





Are you concerned about global warming?





Have you an idea for an invention?





Do you like working in a team?





Do you like finding out things for yourself?





Would you like an opportunity to learn more about careers in STEM?





Would you like to spend a day in a third-level college?





If you have answered yes to any of the above

questions check out the SciFest website and reach for the stars.

Special Awards

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Resources

SciFest is not just about winning but about encouragement and building confidence in the student and belief in their ability to do STEM What the teachers are saying: ‘It has allowed me to foster a better relationship with my students through mentoring them on projects which in turn translates into a better teaching environment with more engaged students.’

‘SciFest has opened my mind to the other side of the student and their potential.’

‘Every skill the students need to master at school are dealt with during a science project - time management and deadline meeting being one of the most important ones which is transferable across all. It massively increases a student’s ability to critically evaluate a situation/ experiment or try to find logic in a curiosity.’

‘Job satisfaction = more motivation = motivate students to inquire.’

‘At the moment the science curriculum is very defined in what needs doing/ learned and completed. SciFest is a much more open scope approach to learning science. I hope that the new curriculum will allow students to perhaps submit some of the investigations they complete for SciFest as part of their assessment grade. That would be the best use of the change - to encourage and reward good investigation practice.’

Taken from the independent evaluation of the SciFest Programme carried out by Sinéad Begley and Associates in 2015

There are lots of downloadable support materials on the SciFest website, see SciFest STEM Fairs Toolkit Resources include:  A ‘Science by Inquiry’ module suitable for Junior Category projects  ‘A Science by Inquiry’ module suitable for Transition Year  Project Ideas  Start small—10 steps to a successful SciFest@School science fair  Choosing an idea and getting started  Impressing the judges  Tips for exhibiting at SciFest  Report book and presentation  Sample rubrics  SciFest@College—Teacher and Student Guidelines  Student activities—crosswords, etc.  PowerPoint presentations  Videos  Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award presentation  SciFest@College 2016 entry forms and guidelines  SciFest@School registration form

The website is also linked to the SciFest YouTube channel, SciFest Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

It is important to check the SciFest website regularly for updates.

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Discover Space Awards

Contact Us

At each of the 16 regional SciFest@College 2016 venues a

e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie

Discover Space Award will be presented to the project which

e: george.porter@scifest.ie

best uses Space as a theme in science, technology, engineering or maths. The award is sponsored by the European Space

m: 086 379 6143

Education Resource Office Ireland (ESERO Ireland).

w: www.scifest.ie

Resources for the Discover Space Award

Please check the website

Space education information and resources are available from www.esero.ie

regularly for updates

Sample project ideas with a space theme may be found on the SciFest website here Additional ideas may be found on the Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) website

Closing date for receipt of

SciFest is currently collaborating with BCO to produce additional space project examples.

entries to

A list of some of the best astronomy and space sites may be found here

SciFest@College 2016 is:

Resources for the PharmaChemical Ireland

Friday 11 March 2016

Chemistry Award and the RSC School Award Sample project ideas with a chemistry theme may be found on the SciFest website here There are also lots of ideas on the PharmaChemical Ireland and

Outlining the commitment from

the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) websites

Science Foundation Ireland to its continuing support of

REMEMBER TO CHECK THE SCIFEST WEBSITE REGULARLY FOR UPDATES

SciFest, Prof. Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foun-

Dates and venues for SciFest@College 2016

dation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government

DIT

21-Apr

IT Blanchardstown

04-May

Cork IT

22-Apr

IT Tralee

05-May

Limerick IT

27 Apr

DCU

06-May

Waterford IT

27-Apr

IT Tallaght

10-May

Athlone IT

27-Apr

IT Sligo

TBC

IT Carlow

28-Apr

Galway-Mayo IT

12 May

LIT Thurles

TBC

Letterkenny IT

TBC

Dundalk IT

04-May

SciFest@NorthWest (NI)

TBC

Institutes of Technology, DCU and St Mary’s College, Derry

said:

“Science Foundation Ireland is happy to support initiatives like SciFest as science fairs can be one of the best learning experiences a student can get. Not only do they promote inquirybased learning, they also help to develop a good base level of science literacy in all who participate. Better understanding and skills in this area make the fruit of a career in STEM more obvious to students which will benefit Ireland in terms of skills in the years to come. Investment in SciFest is a ‘win win.”

January 2016

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