On Thursday 20th February over 550 mini scientists from schools across Roscommon, Leitrim, Cavan and Longford came to Ballinamore in co. Leitrim to present their scientific findings at the first STEMtacular Fair. Walking into the room there was clearly a buzz of excitement among the students who were busy setting up 120 projects.
There was a huge range of projects present, one group of students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel NS in Rooskey looked at whether handwriting is hereditary, they surveyed over 20 different families and looked at similarities in their writing. Another group of students from the Gaelscoil Liatroim in Carrick on Shannon investigated the various bedding options for chickens. Scoil Mhuire in Carrigallen asked the question whether pink and white marshmallows taste the same.
A young engineer from Drumlease NS built a Trebuchet with their parents. Using this apparatus, they launched different sized marbles to see which would travel the furthest
Junior Infants Nicola Ciecka, Wikoria Szlembarska, Davidas Christauskas, Lucy Murphy, Bernie Lawrence from Scoil Eimear in Longford were awarded a highly commended after investigating which homemade playdought was best.
A team of STEM experts questioned each group about their projects, they later mentioned how impressed they were by the high standard of projects and the enthusiasm of each student. There is no doubt this is due to the hard work and dedication of the teachers in each school.
In the exhibition area students learned how MET Eireann record the weather, the Irish Parks and Wildlife service had a display of Irelands native Irish species and the RSA had some interesting 3d goggles to try out. A speed Lego competition also brought out the competitive streak in the future young engineer’s.
After the morning it was time for the judge’s difficult discussions to begin. One of the most sought-after prizes was the award for Best School, this was sponsored by the University of Limerick and the winning school would be treated to a paid trip to the University for a day of fun filled hands on science activities in their state-of-the-art labs.
After an hour of difficult deliberations, the judges came to the following decisions
The overall best Project went to the project, Spike Forces Sensors which was completed by Aoibheann, Owen, Ryan and Natalia from Drumlease NS in Dromahair. Their project looked at flight simulation for randomised and planned plane journeys. When landing, planes need to look out for lights on the runway (red light) and not crash into other objects. The students created a four-metre squared area for a robotic aeroplane, which they built. They set up two motion sensors to detect red lights and to avoid hitting the wall. They then programmed a code to test out the simulation.
Best School went to Drumlea NS
STEMtacular would like to thank their main sponsors Vistamed, Intel, Leitrim Enterprise Boards and Mc Grath Group who made this day possible.
There was a huge range of projects present, one group of students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel NS in Rooskey looked at whether handwriting is hereditary, they surveyed over 20 different families and looked at similarities in their writing. Another group of students from the Gaelscoil Liatroim in Carrick on Shannon investigated the various bedding options for chickens. Scoil Mhuire in Carrigallen asked the question whether pink and white marshmallows taste the same.
A young engineer from Drumlease NS built a Trebuchet with their parents. Using this apparatus, they launched different sized marbles to see which would travel the furthest
Junior Infants Nicola Ciecka, Wikoria Szlembarska, Davidas Christauskas, Lucy Murphy, Bernie Lawrence from Scoil Eimear in Longford were awarded a highly commended after investigating which homemade playdought was best.
A team of STEM experts questioned each group about their projects, they later mentioned how impressed they were by the high standard of projects and the enthusiasm of each student. There is no doubt this is due to the hard work and dedication of the teachers in each school.
In the exhibition area students learned how MET Eireann record the weather, the Irish Parks and Wildlife service had a display of Irelands native Irish species and the RSA had some interesting 3d goggles to try out. A speed Lego competition also brought out the competitive streak in the future young engineer’s.
After the morning it was time for the judge’s difficult discussions to begin. One of the most sought-after prizes was the award for Best School, this was sponsored by the University of Limerick and the winning school would be treated to a paid trip to the University for a day of fun filled hands on science activities in their state-of-the-art labs.
After an hour of difficult deliberations, the judges came to the following decisions
The overall best Project went to the project, Spike Forces Sensors which was completed by Aoibheann, Owen, Ryan and Natalia from Drumlease NS in Dromahair. Their project looked at flight simulation for randomised and planned plane journeys. When landing, planes need to look out for lights on the runway (red light) and not crash into other objects. The students created a four-metre squared area for a robotic aeroplane, which they built. They set up two motion sensors to detect red lights and to avoid hitting the wall. They then programmed a code to test out the simulation.
Best School went to Drumlea NS
STEMtacular would like to thank their main sponsors Vistamed, Intel, Leitrim Enterprise Boards and Mc Grath Group who made this day possible.