SciFest
www.scifest.ie
Volume 5, Number 3
January 2014
Inside this issue:
Se co nd S ciF e st winn e r se l ect ed to co mp et e in Intel ISE F 2 0 1 4
Massive increase in participation in SciFest@School
2
Minister Sean Sherlock to launch SciFest 2014
3
The SciFest national final in November 2013 was the closest in years, with a number of
SciFest@College 2014
3
really excellent projects vying for the top award. It was eventually decided to present
Why get involve in SciFest?
3
More than 20,000 students have participated in SciFest
4
Third Year Revision Crossword
4
Contact Details
4
the Grand Award, which includes an all-expenses-paid trip to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Los Angeles in May, to Paul Clarke from St Paul’s College in Raheny, Dublin. Paul subsequently also won the BT Young Scientist and Technology top award.
As the standard of the projects in this year’s final was so high Intel decided to consider sending a second SciFest project to this year’s Intel ISEF competition. Conor Foy from Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom, Co. Limerick came a very close second in the national competition and he was invited to the Intel facility in Leixlip where he presented his project to two engineers from the company. The engineers were so impressed with the quality of Conor’s project that he will also compete at Intel ISEF 2014. Conor will now travel to Los Angeles, with his teacher, courtesy of Intel Ireland. We are extremely grateful to Intel Ireland for this, and their ongoing, support for the SciFest project. Paul and Conor will be working hard on developing their projects between now and May. Some 7 million students from all around the world competed in science fairs like SciFest for the opportunity to participate in Intel ISEF. In all, over 1500 students will compete in the event for a top prize of $75,000. They will be judged by a team of over 1200 highly qualified judges. We wish Paul and Conor every success in Los Angeles.
PAGE 2
SCIFEST
EZINE
Massive increase in participation in SciFest@School Since the start of the school year in September a number of schools have hosted SciFest@School science fairs. To date more than 1000 students have exhibited almost 500 projects compared to 370 students and 192 projects this time last year. The first SciFest@School of the New Year took place in St Mary’s Secondary School, Edenderry. Twenty-nine projects were on display and the students spoke with great confidence about their investigations. A former SciFest Best Project Award winner and past pupil of the school, Frank O'Meara-Haslam, was a guest judge. In 2010 Frank was part of a team that won the Intel Best Project Award in Athlone Institute of Technology. Frank is now studying computer games development in IT Carlow. It was inspirational for the students to have him back to the school to help with the judging. Congratulations to science teacher Mary Farrell, coordinator of the event. The first ever SciFest@School in Northern Ireland will take place on 13 March in the Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh, Co. Tyrone.
For further information on SciFest@School please visit the SciFest website www.scifest.ie
Or contact: sheila.porter @scifest.ie
SciFest@College 2010 Athlone Institute of Technology Brendan Cannon, Intel Ireland presents Darragh McConaghy, Graham Regan and Frank O’Meara-Haslam, St Mary’s Secondary School, Edenderry with their award
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 3
PAGE 3
M i n i s t e r S e á n S h e r lo c k to l au n c h SciFest 2014 Seán Sherlock, TD, Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Jobs & Innovation and Department of Education & Skills with responsibility for Research & Innovation will officiate at the launch of SciFest 2014 on 5 February. The launch will take place in Tullamore
“Kid, you’ll move
College, Riverside, Tullamore, Co. Offaly . The attendance is likely to include, in addition
mountains! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss
to the Minister and students from the school, local teachers, representatives of SFI Discover, participating ITs and local industry. The event will include a call for entries into SciFest@College 2014. SciFest would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Edward McEvoy, Principal of Tullamore College and the science teachers, especially Ms Elaine Howlin, for their support in organising this event.
S c i Fe s t@ Co l l e ge 2 0 14 The first SciFest@College will take place in the Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin Street on 28 March 2014. Student and teacher guidelines and useful resources, including ‘A Beginner’s Guide to doing a Project’ and a ‘Science-by-Inquiry module for Transition Year Students’ are all downloadable from the website www.scifest.ie. Exhibition dates and contact details for each of the 15 venues are being posted on the website as they become available. Currently complete details for 13 of the 15 venues are available. Please visit the website regularly to check for updates
W h y ge t in vo lv e d in S c iF e s t? SciFest is open to all second-level students; it is locally based and there is no entry fee, making it highly accessible and inclusive
Closing date for receipt of entries to SciFest @College 2014 is Friday 7 March
encourages students to develop an interest in science through an inquiry-based approach and hands-on activities
helps students to grow in confidence and develop their communication skills by exhibiting their work in a small, local, student-friendly environment
encourages students of all abilities and backgrounds to participate, lowering barriers and bringing the talents of diverse populations into the innovation pipeline
encourages and supports the greater participation of girls in STEM education provides students with an opportunity to engage in activities that link science, maths, engineering and technology to their everyday lives and to society
provides students with an opportunity to visit their local third-level college, view the facilities and learn about the courses available, encouraging them to continue their STEM education into third-level
supports the inquiry-based, problem-solving approach promoted by the science and maths curriculum in second-level schools, thus improving students’ opportunities to achieve academic success
‘More than 20,000 students have participated in
Contact Details: Sheila Porter CEO, SciFest Ltd t: (+353) 86 379 6143 e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie
George Porter Assistant CEO, SciFest Ltd t: (+353) 87 798 7885 e: george.porter@scifest.ie
Promoting excellence in STEM education SciFest 2013 was sponsored by
SciFest since it was first launched’ In just six years the SciFest project has grown to include not only fifteen regional fairs hosted by thirdlevel colleges (SciFest@College) but also local inhouse school fairs (SciFest@School) and a national final. In total more than 20,000 students have participated in SciFest since it was first launched. Teachers are recognising that participation in SciFest offers an innovative way to expose students to, and enhance their understanding of, STEM subjects. Own choice of topic, collaboration, hands-on activities, presentation skills and recognition of work done are all important components of SciFest. This type of active learning with emphasis on realworld problems helps make STEM relevant to all students. A unique feature of the project is that participating students are afforded the opportunity to spend the day in an Institute of Technology, meet some of the academic staff and third-level students and learn about the courses available. CHECK OUT THE SCIFEST WEBSITE TODAY WWW.SCIFEST.IE
Third Year Revision Crossword
Across 3. This liquid is a poor conductor of heat 8. Change velocity 9. What you get when you divide mass by volume 12. An acid used to flavour chips 13. A piece of glass with a curved surface 17. This gas is produced when a metal reacts with an acid 18. This chemical is used to kill bacteria in water 20. The first colour of a rainbow 23. The charge on a proton 24. These animals have a backbone 25. This substance is used to test for the presence of starch Down 1. The discs found between the vertebrae of the spine are made of this substance 2. These scientists study stars 4. Carbon dioxide turns this liquid milky 5. Caused by lack of vitamin C 6. The symbol for sodium 7. This planet is closest to the sun 10. Metals form this type of bond with non-metals 11. The knee is an example of this type of joint 14. This busy organism has six legs
15. The colour of litmus in an alkali solution 16. A group of similar cells with a special function 19. Used to find directions 21. Neon has this number of electrons in its outside shell 22. One of the states of matter