3 minute read
Award
HEATHER, NAOISE, CATHERINE TATTERSALL (TEACHER) AND NIGEL CLARK, FIRST SECRETARY, (HEAD OF EU AFFAIRS AND GERMAN FOREIGN & SECURITY POLICY) EMBASSY OF IRELAND, BERLIN
To say we were honoured to be awarded with a trip of a lifetime in the SciFest 2016 National final would be an understatement. As the summer holidays came closer, we were preparing for our trip to Berlin, to visit their National Long Night of Science in one of the largest technology universities in Europe.
We travelled to Berlin in the early hours to start off our packed weekend of tours and visits. From visits to local restaurants and parks to the museum island with 5 UNESCO world heritage sites and the government Reichstag Buildings, we were completely submerged in German culture. A first for both of us as we have never travelled to Germany before.
One of the meetings the Berlin Embassy and SciFest had organized for us was a meeting with a Science Professor. When we arrived in the Technik Universität Berlin, we were directed towards the Department of Nanoscience to meet
with Professor Axel Hoffman. The staff in the university were very helpful and we shortly found his office in the large campus. The professor was interested in our project and had fluent English. He was very interested in our thoughts surrounding the future of science amongst young people, and told us his own story of how he got to where he is today. He praised our initiative to take it upon ourselves to enter a project in SciFest. We then proceeded to tour the various laboratories he was responsible for. With millions of euros of equipment in each of the two labs, we were shocked at the openness and helpfulness of the students working in them. We were shown the different parts to the laser microscopes and given detailed explanations of the experiments they were conducting. With both of us having an interest in science and engineering, this was a truly fascinating experience being surrounded by people who loved what they did.
As a part of our trip, we were invited to the Irish Embassy and treated like VIPs. It was a great experience to see all of the behind the scenes work of the embassy and also the sheer amount of Irish students and citizens living in Germany. The embassy staff were very much interested in our project and we had great discussion over lunch. Visiting the embassy was a great experience to have included in our trip and we were honoured to be their guests.
The following night was the main one as we attended the Long Night of Science itself. The Technik Universtate of Berlin
opened its doors to the public and put on shows, demonstrations, displays and games to entertain and educate all ages. Although we thought that we would be slightly lost with the German language, we were pleasantly surprised to see many stands in English and most students and professors spoke fluent English. It was a brilliant night as we gained insight into the running of this magnificent university filled with knowledge. From chemical explosions in labs, to the physics in engineering and live dissections we were eager to stay and learn more but unfortunately our Berlin trip couldn’t last forever.
On flying back to Dublin, some four days later we had gained so much experience, knowledge and inspiration, not just from our trip to Berlin but from the day we started out in SciFest DCU. The skills we learned along the way have come into practice day after day and our trip to Berlin was a huge success and treat. And for all of that we can’t thank our school Science department, everyone from SciFest and the Berlin Embassy enough for the incredible opportunities we have been lucky enough to experience.
Berlin Long Night of Science Award
by Heather Murphy and Naoise Tobin, Sutton Park School, Dublin
