SciFest Ezine, SciFest National Final 2016 Special Edition, Volume 8, Number 2, December 2016

SciFest Ezine, SciFest National Final Special Edition, Volume 8, Number 2, December 2016

Kildare student becomes firstever female winner of SciFest national title SciFest 2016 The Facts

Caolann Brady, a sixth year student from St Wolstan’s Community School, Celbridge, Co. Kildare was named the overall winner of SciFest 2016 for her project ‘Hum your way to better health’ – a project which focussed on the natural treatment of asthma through humming and breathing techniques as opposed to using inhalers and nebulisers. She is the first female student to take the overall prize at the SciFest national final.

This year a record number of over 8,000 students exhibited their projects in local and regional science fairs across the country. Of the 56 students regional award winners who exhibited their 31 Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) projects at the national final 62.5% (35) were female.

Caolann’s award includes the coveted SciFest 2016 National Final Science Foundation Ireland Intel ISEF trophy and the opportunity to represent Ireland and SciFest in Los Angeles, California at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2017 next May. Caolann’s teacher Karen O’Callaghan was awarded the Intel Teacher of Excellence Award and will travel to Los Angeles with Caolann.



74 Science Fairs



8084 Students



3519 Projects



263 Schools



29 Counties



397 Teachers

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Caolann’s Award Winning Project

2

Meet the SciFest 2016 Finalists

3

Boston Scientific Grand Award Finalists

4

SEAI INESPO Award Finalists

4

SciFest is now an Official Gaisce Challenge Partner

5

Scifest@School 2016/2017

6

Smart Futures

6

Science and Technology in Action

7

STEM Education Review Group

7

News and Contact Details

8

Richard Bruton, TD Minister for Education and Skills visits SciFest 2016 National Final

Richard Bruton, TD Minister for Education and Skills visited the exhibition in the morning and talked to some of the students about their projects.

Caolann on stage at the SciFest 2016 National Final

SciFest@IT Sligo Finalist Aoife Kearins, Ursuline College , Sligo

L to R: Elaine Boyd, Boston Scientific, George Porter, SciFest, Karen O’Callaghan, Teacher, Caolann Brady, Sheila Porter, SciFest, Dr Ruth Freeman, Science Foundation Ireland, Sarah Sexton, Intel and Prof Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and Chair of the board of SciFest Ltd

‘SciFest offers a crucial opportunity for students to participate in STEM outside the classroom, to take what they’ve learned

Caolann’s Award Winning Project Caolann was born with asthma and has suffered many asthma attacks which were

and apply it to a real life situa-

treated by nebulisers.

tion while developing skills of

interest in the area and led to her award

teamwork, innovation and col-

winning project ‘Hum your way to better

laboration. What they have learned throughout this process

health’. ventilation

This sparked her

Research has shown that the of

the

paranasal

sinuses

(inhaling and exhaling) increases greatly

will stand to them in future

when a person practised specifically defined humming techniques. Caolann set

years whatever walk of life they

about exploring whether this was true or not. Conducting experiments with 175

choose to pursue. This process is,

participants, she asked them to hum into a paper bag at a precise pitch for a

in effect, giving our students the

specified length of time, 45 seconds, which yielded significant post, peak expiratory flow readings. Test result analysis from this project has shown that the pre-

skills and experience to contrib-

scribed humming technique improves lung function across the range of ages,

ute to the betterment of our soci-

genders and breathing capabilities by an average of 10% with 99.9% statistical

ety in a real and meaningful

confidence. This positive impact on the respiratory system also lasts on average

way.’

for 45 minutes.

Richard Bruton, TD

Humming combined with nasal breathing improves the general lung function of

Minister for Education and Skills

sufferers and non-sufferers alike, providing an alternative solution to commercial, pharma-intervention treatments for breathing disorders.

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SciFest 2016 National Final—Meet the Finalists The overall winners from each of the 16 regional SciFest science fairs and 6 of the top runners-up exhibited their projects at the SciFest 2016 National Final and competed for a number of awards, including the SciFest 2016 Science Foundation Ireland Grand Award, the Berlin Long Night of Science Award, the Spirit of SciFest Award, the THEA Award and the ISTA Award.

Each student was presented with a SciFest 2016 Science Foundation Ireland Excellence in STEM plaque by Dr Ruth Freeman, Science Foundation Ireland in recognition of their success at regional level.

L to R: Will Dennigan, Lanesboro CC, Co. Longford / Marie Keogh, Grace Hanneffy and Roisin McEvoy, Mountrath CS, Co. Laois / Omar Salem, Sutton Park School, Dublin 13 / Katie Kinane and Ali Ryan, St Anne’s SS, Tipperary / Maghnus Hartigan, Mary Immaculate SS, Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare

L to R: Alison McDonnell and Simone Clerkin, St Louis SS, Monaghan / Harold Ibarlin, Filip Gajda and Elvis Nzekwe, North Monastery SS, Cork / Katie Byrne, Loreto SS, Navan, Co. Meath / Stephen Emerson and Sean Martin, St Killian’s College, Carnlough, Co. Antrim / Kalin Foy and Ciara Coyle, Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Co. Limerick

L to R: Heather Murphy and Naoise Tobin, Sutton Park School, Dublin 13 / Seán Byrne, Avondale CC, Co. Wicklow / Caolann Brady, St Wolstan’s CS, Celbridge, Co. Kildare / Dylan Mc Bride and Conor Bradley, Mulroy College, Milford, Co. Donegal / Aoife Kearins, Ursuline College, Finisklin, Sligo

L to R: Natasha Myers, Killorglin CC, Co. Kerry / Cora Twomey, Davis College, Mallow, Co. Cork / David Fleming and Conor Windsor, Avondale CC, Co. Wicklow / Mathilde Lyons and Isabel Browne, St Louis High School, Rathmines, D6 / Aisling Ní Dhonnabháin, Meadhbh Ní Cheallacháin and Aoife Nic an Tuile, Scoil Chaitríona, Glasnaíon, Baile Áth Cliath 9

‘We in Science Foundation Ireland are delighted to support SciFest every year. It is crucial to encourage young people to develop an interest in STEM, particularly outside the classroom. The inherent advantage of SciFest is that it combines enjoyment with a sense of mission – to answer previously unanswered questions, to experiment and test new ideas and to compete among the best young scientific minds of your generation.’

Dr Ruth Freeman

Clodagh Hegarty and Aoife Parsons, Davitt College, Castlebar, Co. Mayo / Alice Carew and Evgenia Melnikova, Mountrath CS, Co. Laois

Director of Strategy and Communications, Science Foundation Ireland

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SciFest 2016 Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award Finalists Following the completion of the 16 regional SciFest@College 2016 science fairs the winners of the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award at each fair were requested to forward their project report books to SciFest Ltd. A panel of judges representing SciFest and Boston Scientific assessed the projects, based on the report books, and five projects were selected to go forward to compete for the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award at the National Final. Each student was presented with a SciFest 2016 Boston Scientific Excellence in STEM plaque by Elaine Boyd, Boston Scientific in recognition of their success at regional level. The overall winners Lucy Leonard and Michele Mann, Tullamore College, Co. Offaly were presented with an engraved trophy and a cheque for €500.

L to R: Nicole Marinos, Christ King Girls SS, South Douglas Road, Cork / Tiernan Walsh and Seán Gallagher, St Gerald’s College, Castlebar, Co. Mayo / Lucy Leonard and Michele Mann, Tullamore College, Co. Offaly / Stephen Emerson and Sean Martin, St Killian’s College, Carnlough, Co. Antrim / Caoímhe Woods and Aoibhín Foley, Presentation SS, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary

As an employer of over 4,000 Irish workers we believe STEM education is a top priority for our business, for our patients and for our communities. We are delighted therefore to see such talent coming to events like SciFest. We know that as these motivated and passionate young people go on to pursue their education in STEM-related fields of study they will build a brighter future for everyone.

Elaine Boyd, Director, Human Resources, Boston Scientific, Galway

SciFest 2016 SEAI INESPO Award Finalists The winners of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Award at each of the 16 SciFest@College regional fairs were also requested to forward their project report books to SciFest Ltd. A panel of judges representing SciFest and SEAI assessed the projects, based on the report books, and five projects were selected to go forward to compete for the SEAI INESPO Award at the National Final. Each student was presented with a SciFest 2016 SEAI Excellence in STEM plaque by Aoife Cannon, SEAI in recognition of their success at regional level. The overall winners were Ciara Mac Carthy and Claire Lemass, Our Lady's Bower, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Claire and Ciara’s award consisted of an engraved trophy and an all-expenses-paid trip to represent Ireland at the International Environment and Sustainability Project Olympiad (INESPO) in the Netherlands in June 2017. Included in the photograph is Jean-Paul Renaud from INESPO.

James Kerr, Sean McRory and Tristan Kelly, Omagh CBS, Co. Tyrone / Ciara Mac Carthy and Claire Lemass, Our Lady's Bower, Athlone, Co. Westmeath / Liam Mulcahy and Neil Heffernan, Ardscoil Rís, North Circular Rd, Limerick / Lisa O`Rourke and Cora Sharkey, Castlerea CS, Co. Roscommon / Tom Armstrong, The Kings Hospital, Palmerstown, D20

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SciFest is now an Official Gaisce Challenge Partner — Supporting The President’s Award Good News for Second and Third Level Students Young people participating in SciFest (at local, regional, national or international level) can now use their participation to count towards Gaisce - The President's Award at any level – Bronze, Silver or Gold – providing it meets the relevant time requirements and an appropriate record sheet is maintained and signed off on.

‘We are delighted to welcome SciFest as a Gaisce Challenge Partner. The Gaisce vision for Ireland is to have a country where young people can dream big and fulfill their potential , something SciFest plays a key role in through their encouragement Sheila Porter , CEO SciFest with Yvonne McKenna, CEO Gaisce

of Irish students to develop an interest in STEM.’ Yvonne McKenna, CEO Gaisce

How Does this Work?

Second level students preparing and presenting a project at a SciFest science fair can use their participation as their ‘Personal Skill’ element.

Second and third level students involved in organising SciFest events can use their activities to meet the ‘Community Involvement’ element of their Gaisce award. In order to meet the criteria, participants may need to increase the number of weeks they are involved in organising and promoting the event. This may be particularly appealing to college students involved in supporting a regional coordinator of a SciFest@College science fair.

(Regardless of the number of hours a young person is involved in SciFest, a maximum of one hour per week will contribute towards their Gaisce Award).

Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland Sole Patron of SciFest SciFest is greatly honoured to have President Michael D Higgins as the project’s sole Patron and is looking forward to supporting young people to take up the President’s Challenge and get active, learn a new skill and make a difference in their community.

The President’s patronage of SciFest is recognition of the hard work and dedication of the teachers who support and encourage their students to develop and exhibit their STEM projects and to those teachers who also organise their own in-house SciFest@School fairs. It is also recognition of the work of the staffs of the third level colleges who give freely of their time and expertise to organise the 16 SciFest@College events, to act as judges at these events and to ensure that the students who participate in the events have the best possible experience on the day.

‘We believe that science fairs are an important element in promoting a student-centred, inquiry-based approach to skill development. Students are motivated to develop their own scientific investigations, develop models, collect, analyse and interpret data, draw inferences, display, communicate and defend their findings at a science fair and receive feedback on their investigation. SciFest creates important opportunities for students to work on exciting and innovative projects and through participation at SciFest events students develop a wide range of valuable skills.’

Sarah Sexton, Communications Manager, Intel Ireland

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SciFest@School 2016/2017

L to R: SciFest@School—CBS Roscommon, Co. Roscommon, Loreto St Michael’s, Navan, Co. Meath and Lanesboro Community College, Co. Longford

L to R: SciFest@School—Skerries CC, Skerries Co. Dublin, St David's Holy Faith, Greystones, Co. Wicklow and St Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill, Co. Cavan

SciFest@School was introduced in 2011 and there has

Note. SciFest@School science fairs can be held at any

been strong demand from schools to participate - 57

time during the school year. However, you should hold

schools participated in 2015/2016.

your fair before 10 March if you wish to select projects to

SciFest@School is where a second-level school hosts their

go forward to SciFest@College 2017.

own in-house SciFest science fair. Resource materials to

Complete

support the organisation of a SciFest@School event are

SciFest@School

the

STEM

available in the SciFest STEM fairs toolkit that is part of

students; register now with Smart Futures for free

the resources section of the SciFest website. In addition to

career talks:

with

experience

a

careers

talk

at

your

for

the

the materials in the toolkit support from SciFest is also available in the form of advice on the organisation of a SciFest@School science fair, certificates for participating students, a number of prizes for winning projects, 'freebies'

and

support

on

the

day

of

the

http://scifest.ie/free-stemtalks-for-schools-0

event.

www.scifest.ie: contact us for details.

WATCH SciFest 2016 National Final on RTÉ NEWS2DAY https://www.rte.ie/news/player/news2day/2016/1111/

LISTEN TO SciFest 2016 National final on Drivetime RTÉ 1 https://www.rte.ie/radio1/drivetime/highlights/2016/1114/831658science-week/

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It Said in the Papers The Irish Times Mon, Nov 28, 2016 Ask Brian: ‘How do I keep students engaged with science?’

Answer: ‘You should advise your science teachers to encourage students to get involved in science projects like SciFest (www.scifest.ie) and CanSAT (www.esero.ie) or host a club like Coderdojo (www.coderdojo.com).’

Brian Mooney, Guidance Counsellor and Assistant Principal, Oatlands College, Mount Merrion, Dublin

Science and Technology in Action The launch of the 12th Edition of Science & Technology in Action took place on 23 November in the Department of Education and Skills, The Clock Tower, Marlborough Street.

Importance of SciFest Recognised in Report from ‘The STEM Education Review Group’ On 24 November the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, launched an expert report on education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Irish schools, and set out a programme to deliver on the ambition presented in the report of making Ireland a world-leader at providing STEM education.

Science and Technology in Action (STA) is designed to support the teaching and learning of science and related subjects. Each annual edition contains a set of lessons that are industry led to be used by all teachers in second level schools.

These lessons are available on the STA website—www.sta.ie—and can be downloaded in a pdf format along with their supporting materials.

A hard copy is usually sent out for free to all second level schools each school year.

These actions form part of the Action Plan for Education, published by Minister Bruton in September, which has the overall aim of making Ireland the best education and training service in Europe within a decade.

The STEM Education Review Group (STEMERG), which produced the report, was led by Professor Brian MacCraith of DCU, and included experts in STEM education as well as industry figures from world-leading companies including Intel and IBM.

SciFest 2016 National Final Berlin Long Night of Science Award winners Heather Murphy and Naoise

SciFest 2016 National Final Spirit of SciFest Award winners Marie Keogh, Grace Hanneffy and Roisin

Tobin, Sutton Park School, Dublin 13 with Sheila Porter, CEO SciFest

McEvoy, Mountrath CS, Co. Laois with Dr Jennifer Cleary

SciFest 2016 National Final ISTA Award winner Cora Twomey, Davis College, Mallow, Co. Cork with Rory

SciFest 2016 National Final THEA Award winner Seán Byrne, Avondale CC, Co. Wicklow with Gearoid

Geoghegan, ISTA

Hodgins, THEA

The Report of the STEM Education Review Group is available at http://www.education.ie/en/ Publications/Education-Reports/ STEM-Education-in-the-IrishSchool-System.pdf

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SciFest Alumni in the News Congratulations to

SciFest Elle Loughran (SciFest@DkIT), 2016 Naughton Scholar Sinead Reidy (SciFest@AIT), Intel Women in Technology Scholar 2016

Aoife Kearins (Scifest@IT Sligo), Offer from Imperial College London to study Pure Maths

Familiar faces at the SciFest 2016 National Final

Where Innovation Meets Creativity Contact Us e: info@scifest.ie e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie e: george.porter@scifest.ie

Louis Madden SciFest@SFI Discover 2015 Grand Award winner.

Winner of 2 special awards at Intel ISEF 2016

Lúc deBarra SciFest@SFI Discover 2015

Dr Arlene O’Neill Physics Department, Trinity College,

SEAI INESPO Award winner.

2nd Place Silver Medal Award

Dublin

winner at INESPO 2016

m: 086 379 6143 w: www.scifest.ie WE SINCERELY

Please check the website regularly for updates

Thank You for your Support

Closing date for receipt of entries to SciFest@College 2017 is:

DURING THE PAST YEAR AND WISH YOU EVERY HAPPINESS FOR CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR

Friday 10 March 2017 (except in the case of SciFest@NorthWest in St Mary's College, Derry, where the entry date

SciFest is supported by The Institutes of Technology, DCU and St Mary’s College,

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