STUDENTS from Ballymun primary schools celebrated Science Week recently by attending a new primary science workshop organised by local environmental group, Global Action Plan (GAP).
The
‘All About Science’ workshop was an initiative of Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Discover Science and Engineering Programme.
The aim of Science week is to promote the relevance of science, technology, engineering and maths in our everyday lives. This year the SFI called on individuals to go
‘behind the scenes’ of everyday life and explore the extraordinary processes taking place in front of our own eyes.
GAP’s workshop took place on Monday, November 11, in Ballymun library and was coordinated by GAP’s newly appointed education officer, Dr Sophie Nicol and members of the GAP Ireland team.
The event saw groups of enthusiastic 11-12 year old boys from Virgin Mary Boys’ and Holy Spirit Boys’ schools experience a day of hands-on science activity.
The idea was to explore different areas of science, such as sound, light, forces and materials. For example, an all about forces workshop, explored how the design of a bridge can help make it stronger.
“We used various paper shapes and structures and tested them using coins,
? explained Dr Nicol.
“Some structures could hold only three coins and others could hold up to 43!
“Science Week is a fantastic event as it highlights to children how relevant Science is in our daily lives. Our aim is to introduce children to simple, fun science experiments that can be done with everyday items in their classrooms or homes.
“This is the first time GAP has hosted an event for Science Week, and we are really pleased to have been able to offer these fun hands-on science workshops to local schools in Ballymun.
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The project was funded by Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL).