SciFest Ezine, Volume 2, Number 2, December 2010

SciFest Ezine SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: •

V O L U M E

The closing date for receipt of entries to SciFest 2011 is 9 March

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SciFest Science Week 2010 Crossword Competition

2011 •

The dates of the SciFest Science Fairs will be posted on the website www.scifest.ie as they become available

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SciFest 2011 entry forms will be available for download from the website at the end of January

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: ESERO Ireland 2 Sponsor SciFest 2011 Discover Space Award The European Space Agency (ESA)

There was a more than enthusiastic response to the SciFest Science Week 2010 Crossword Competition. 1489 entries were received from schools covering the length and breadth of Ireland. I was delighted with the response and would like to thank all the students and teachers who supported the competition.

The two winning entries were drawn from the hat by Pat Delahunty, Intel Ireland.

SciFest Science Week 2010 Crossword Competition Apple iPod winners ☺ Niamh Shiel St Nathy’s College Ballaghadereen Co. Roscommon ☺ Lauren Dineen Causeway Comprehensive School Causeway Co. Kerry

A busy week for the postman.

SciFest Science week 2010 Crossword Competition entries

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SciFest 2011 – Discover Space Award

My Project 2 SciFest 2010 by Aisling Neary SciFest 2011 Be a part of something big

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SciFest 2010 The pictures

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The European Space Education Resource Office Ireland (ESERO Ireland) is a project co-funded by Discover Science and Engineering and the European Space Agency. The aim of the project is to use space as a theme to support the teaching of science and maths through the provision of resources, inspirational materials and training for teachers.

www.esero.ie

ESERO Ireland is delighted to announce the introduction of a new award at SciFest 2011 – the Discover Space Award.

At each Institute of Technology the judges will be asked to identify the project which best uses Space as a theme in science, technology or maths. Each of

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ESERO Sponsor SciFest 2011 Discover Space Award

M92 Star Cluster

“For my part I

these projects will be awarded €90 in One4All vouchers. The selected projects will then be passed to a SciFest judging panel which will select an overall winner. The winner will be awarded a trophy while the supervising teacher will receive a telescope. The trophy and telescope will be presented at the Celebration of Excellence in Science and Launch of SciFest 2012 to be held in Intel Ireland in October 2011.

know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars

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

The European Space Agency (ESA)

ESA is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

Space science news from ESA http://www.esa.int/esaSC/index.html

makes me

My Project - SciFest 2010 @AIT

dream.”

by Aisling Neary

Vincent van Gogh

Aisling presenting her project at SciFest 2010 @AIT

Watching the 2010 Winter Olympics the sport of speed skating caught my attention. Skaters trying to go faster and faster around an ice track, how could they increase their speeds and beat the record? Ice is almost frictionless, but not quite. I began to wonder if dry ice would have less friction, allowing skaters to go faster. This idea burned in my mind, I couldn’t find any evidence of it being tested before.

The task of putting together a project seemed daunting. Instead of sitting down and writing one big project I broke it into separate tasks for my-

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self, I listed all the topics involved and wrote about each one individually. A project soon started to form, “Skating on Dry Ice”. I also designed experiments to test my theory, looking through science books and the internet I found methods similar to the ones I would be using.

The long-anticipated day finally came.

The day I went to SciFest I had to be confident in my project. I had worked on it for months and knew every miniscule detail. When the judges came I explained my project, they were genuinely interested and gave me some great advice.

At the end of the day the winners of each category were announced. I was ecstatic when my name was called for

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first place in the Intermediate Category Physical Sciences, Best Future Scientist Award, and Mathematics in Science Award.

Ashling Neary December 2010 Third Year Mercy Secondary School Killbeggan Co. Westmeath

Aisling’s project was awarded the overall runner-up ‘Mathematics in Science Award’ by a special SciFest judging panel.

She was presented with a trophy by Minister Conor Lenihan, TD at the ‘Celebration of Excellence in Science and Maths and Launch of SciFest 2011’ which was held in Intel last October.

SciFest 2011 Be a part of something big With the excitement of Christmas all over and a very long term ahead (10 January – 15 April) why not do something different this year and get involved in SciFest.

‘Basic education is not sufficient to create wealth, to address concerns of food, water and energy security, to provide better health

SciFest encourages students of all abilities to: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

participate in a science fair and experience what it is like to be a professional research scientist develop an interest in science through inquiry and activities that link to their everyday lives visit their local Institute of Technology and view the facilities and courses available grow in confidence by exhibiting in a small student-friendly environment develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, presentation, collaboration, etc.

When planning a SciFest investigation students should: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

make a list of the steps they need to follow to carry out their investigation draw a diagram of the apparatus they intend to use carry out a trial investigation, expect the unexpected and be prepared to make the necessary changes design a table or chart on which to record the data they collect analyse the data collected and graph the results where possible.

REMEMBER: LOG ON TO www.scifest.ie

services and better infrastructure. For that, science is required’

Adnan Badran and Moneef Aou’bi UNESCO Science Report 2010

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Season’s Greetings from SciFest

SciFest Sheila Porter SciFest Project Manager IR2-1-T22 Intel Ireland

May the joy and Peace of Christmas be with you now and throughout the New Year Best Wishes Sheila

Tel: 01 606 8949 / 086 3796143 Email: sheilax.m.porter@intel.com

www.scifest.ie Www.scifest.ie

SciFest is jointly funded by Intel Ireland and Discover Science and Engineering as project partners

SciFest 2011 Closing Date for receipt of entries

9 March 2011