‘Let’s Talk’ festival fun in the ‘mun

BALLYMUN’S first ever science festival brought a bit of colour and excitement to the area recently.

The Let’s Talk Science Festival held late last month was organised by The Rediscovery Centre and Global Action Plan Ireland and it featured lots of interactive workshops for all the family.

The events from May 21-24 had the support of Science Foundation Ireland and were held in association with Dublin City Council.

The aim of Let’s Talk Science was to celebrate and promote the contributions that science makes to society – past, present and future – and to encourage and inspire public perceptions of science and technology.

The festival also aims to make science more accessible for the local community and the general public through fun and interactive workshops.

Vanessa Moore, CEO, Global Action Plan Ireland said:

“Both the Rediscovery Centre and Global Action Plan Ireland have been actively involved in environmental education in Ballymun and the wider community for the past ten years.

“We were very excited about the festival and hope that it will further encourage engagement with science throughout the entire community.

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Dr Sarah Miller, CEO, Rediscovery Centre, said the festival brought together complementary skills from GAP Ireland and the Rediscovery Centre for the benefit of the community.

“It was a great opportunity for even more people to engage with science and we were delighted to have the support of Dublin City Council and funding from the Science Foundation of Ireland to make it happen,

? she added.

Workshops that took place on Thursday, May 21, with local secondary schools included Timber Tech, Evolution of Revolution (science of cycling) and Biomimicry which were delivered by education teams from the Rediscovery Centre and GAP Ireland.

On Friday May 22, it was the turn of the local primary schools, with workshops on all aspects of science and technology including electricity, engineering, chemistry, water and nature delivered by the festival team in Axis Ballymun.

Highlight of the festival for many was the family fun day on Saturday May 23 at Ballymun Plaza, Ballymun Civic Centre and Axis, Ballymun.

All activities were free and led by experienced science facilitators demonstrating the range of ways science is present in our lives.

Activities included experiments and explosions, creating parachutes and wind turbines, investigating earthquakes and skyscrapers, exploring bugs and insects, giant bubble making and much more.

There was also a showcase of Rediscover Fashion’s new collection for the festival,

‘Scientific Threads’, in the Civic Centre atrium as well as interactive exhibits and demonstrations from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Alimentary Adventures, Presentation Ecology, Bolt Sustainability, Recreate, Makeshop and Dundalk Institute of Technology.

On Sunday, May 24, Global Action Plan and the Rediscovery Centre provided workshops and activities based in the Virgin Mary Community Garden, Ballymun.