On Friday 12th January the first Primary School Science Fair in the North West and Midlands Region was launched in St. Marys National School, Aughnasheelin, co. Leitrim. The event taking place on the 29th February will see mini scientists from primary schools across Leitrim, Longford, Cavan and Roscommon exhibit their work.
Students from junior infants up to 6th class will be spending the next few weeks testing hypothesis and conducting experiments ahead of the big day.
They have over 27 schools registered who together will present over 120 projects. Resulting in over 300 excited students assembling in the Sports complex in February.
Catherine, one of the organisers, said “the response has been overwhelming, we never expected such a response in our first year”.
The ladies pointed out that in a recent study carried out by Science Foundation Ireland our region was found to be one of the lowest scoring areas for science engagement. They believe the uptake in participation in our fair shows that there is a clear appetite for it but possibly the opportunities were not there previously.
We believe this is also a fantastic opportunity to put our region on the map and to showcase our interest in STEM in front of representatives from INTEL, Sligo IT, the EPA, Vistamed and many more who will be present on the day.
The day itself will see students display their projects and they will be questioned on them by our team of twenty judges who come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from Engineering, Technology, Education and Science. However, it won’t be all serious as students will be given opportunities to interact with some fun science demonstrations with stands from the RSA, National Parks and Wildlife Services and other science groups. Scientific Sue will also blow their minds with her amazing science show.
Their Awards ceremony will conclude the day, prizes will be given out in each of the categories, junior, intermediate, and senior, as well as for Best Communicator, Display, Agriculture, Sustainability and much more.
We are also delighted to announce that we have a special guest on the day, Evelyn Cusack, who was former Head of forecasting with MET Eireann. Evelyn will officially open our event that morning as well as presenting the prizes to our winners. We are thrilled to have her on board.
Catherine and Louise wish to thank their sponsors, both local and National, who without the generous support this initiative would not be possible. It is great to see Education and the industry sector work so well together.
The STEM Fair will be open to the public on the 29th February in Ballinamore Sports Complex, we hope to see many faces there to appreciate the students hard work
Students from junior infants up to 6th class will be spending the next few weeks testing hypothesis and conducting experiments ahead of the big day.
They have over 27 schools registered who together will present over 120 projects. Resulting in over 300 excited students assembling in the Sports complex in February.
Catherine, one of the organisers, said “the response has been overwhelming, we never expected such a response in our first year”.
The ladies pointed out that in a recent study carried out by Science Foundation Ireland our region was found to be one of the lowest scoring areas for science engagement. They believe the uptake in participation in our fair shows that there is a clear appetite for it but possibly the opportunities were not there previously.
We believe this is also a fantastic opportunity to put our region on the map and to showcase our interest in STEM in front of representatives from INTEL, Sligo IT, the EPA, Vistamed and many more who will be present on the day.
The day itself will see students display their projects and they will be questioned on them by our team of twenty judges who come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from Engineering, Technology, Education and Science. However, it won’t be all serious as students will be given opportunities to interact with some fun science demonstrations with stands from the RSA, National Parks and Wildlife Services and other science groups. Scientific Sue will also blow their minds with her amazing science show.
Their Awards ceremony will conclude the day, prizes will be given out in each of the categories, junior, intermediate, and senior, as well as for Best Communicator, Display, Agriculture, Sustainability and much more.
We are also delighted to announce that we have a special guest on the day, Evelyn Cusack, who was former Head of forecasting with MET Eireann. Evelyn will officially open our event that morning as well as presenting the prizes to our winners. We are thrilled to have her on board.
Catherine and Louise wish to thank their sponsors, both local and National, who without the generous support this initiative would not be possible. It is great to see Education and the industry sector work so well together.
The STEM Fair will be open to the public on the 29th February in Ballinamore Sports Complex, we hope to see many faces there to appreciate the students hard work