Primary School Science Fair in the North West and Midlands Region launched in St Mary’s NS, Aughnasheelin

On Friday, January 12, the first Primary School Science Fair in the North West and Midlands Region was launched in St Mary’s National School, Aughnasheelin.

The event, taking place on February 29, 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 hypotheses and conducting experiments ahead of the big day.

Organisers Catherine O’Beirne and Louise Gallagher are both teachers who saw the absence of opportunity in the area for primary school students to engage with science so they came up with this initiative.

Pictured: Bobby McGirl, Emmet McNulty, Chloe Wilson and Tadgh Domican experimenting in the classroom

Catherine, who has years of experience judging the primary school debating competition, knows firsthand the value of developing students’ confidence and communication skills through initiatives like this.

Louise, who won the Biological Science Educator of the Year at the BT Young Scientist for her years of work mentoring students in completing science projects, is passionate about fostering a love of science in students from a young age and sees this as an excellent opportunity to do so.

They have over 27 schools registered who together will present over 80 projects resulting in over 300 excited students assembling in Ballinamore Sports Complex in February.

Catherine 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 this region was found to be one of the lowest scoring areas for science engagement.

They believe the uptake in participation in their 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, ATU Sligo, the EPA, Vistamed and many more who will be present on the day,” they said.

The day itself will see students display their projects and they will be questioned on them by their 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.

Laoise Domican, Nicole Costello and Emmet McNulty

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,” they said.

Catherine and Louise wish to thank their sponsors, both local and national, who without their generous support this initiative would not be possible. It is great to see education and the industry sector work so well together, she said.

The STEM Fair will be open to the public on February 29 in Ballinamore Sports Complex and they hope to see many faces there to appreciate the students hard work.