Volume 9, Number 1, September 2017
SciFest Ezine
SciFest Where Creativity meets Innovation INSIDE THIS ISSUE SciFest 2017…………….....................2 Choosing the Perfect Project and
SciFest: A Worthwhile Learning Experience for Students Teachers who mentored students for SciFest@College 2017 were asked to complete an online evaluation questionQuestion: Do you think SciFest was a worthwhile
Getting Started................. ……….…..3 SciFest and GAISCE……...……….......4 Smart Futures………………….………...4 SciFest 2017 National Final………....5 Intel ISEF……………………………………5
learning experience for 6 Easy Steps to a Successful Project..
your students? Total valid responses: 145 Yes No
100% 0%
At the end of each SciFest@College 2017 regional STEM fair students were asked to fill out an evaluation questionnaire. Question: Do you think participating in SciFest was a worthwhile learning experience? Total valid responses: 2140 Yes No
97.9% 2.1%
............................................. ……...5 SciFest@College Evaluation... ……...6 Dates for Your Diary…………..……….6 Contact Us……………………….………...6
Be a Part of the Biggest STEM Fair Programme in Ireland
‘Seeing what other schools produce is also a good experience along with the actual hands-on work and
learning from their project’
Teacher’s Comment Online Evaluation SciFest@College 2017
2017 has been another very successful year for the SciFest programme with a further 25% increase in student
participation bringing the total to 10,000. Eighty-seven SciFest STEM fairs took place throughout Ireland: 70 SciFest@School fairs, 16 SciFest@College fairs and 1 SciFest@TCPID for students with intellectual disabilities. The eighty-eighth event of the year, the SciFest National Final, in association with Science Foundation Ireland, will take place in the Marino Conference Centre in Dublin on 10 November. On the international stage the overall winner from the SciFest 2016 national final was awarded a second-place award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2017 in Los Angeles; she received a cash prize and will have an asteroid named after her. This is our eighth major award in our six years participating in Intel ISEF. In the INESPO competition in the Netherlands the SciFest students were awarded a first-place gold medal and will participate in an educational programme in Amsterdam in September. In three years participating in the programme SciFest students have achieved two first places and a second. As well as continuing to expand SciFest continues to explore new avenues for development. Early in 2017 SciFest joined Gaisce - The President's Award as a Challenge Partner, providing further opportunities and recognition for SciFest participants. This year also saw the first SciFest for students with intellectual disabilities in TCD (SciFest@TCPID).
The continued expansion of the programme is a clear indication that it is successfully addressing a need in science education. The almost universally positive responses from teachers and students on evaluation questionnaires provide further evidence for the quality and value of the programme.
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CHOOSING THE PERFECT PROJECT AND GETTING STARTED The main aim of participation in SciFest is to engage students in creative problem solving without the restriction of having the ‘correct answer’. There is no set formula for choosing the perfect project. It can be in any area of science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM). Students should be encouraged to work collaboratively and come up with their own idea for a project. By doing this students learn how to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning, work in teams, become more confident and manage themselves more effectively. Encourage students to:
Coming up with an idea!
Talk to their parents, teachers, and friends
Check out the Internet and the school library
Students need to know is that a STEM
Watch the news, check out a newspaper, a science book or magazine
fair project is different from a school research
Think about interesting topics in science or investigate a hobby
Get a large sheet of paper and brainstorm with the team
Make a shortlist of ‘2 best ideas’
a famous scientist. It is also not about simply
Research and brainstorm further
copying a demonstration from the Internet
Discuss the ideas with teachers, parents and friends
such as adding Mentos to Coke. However,
Make out a list of all the things needed
project on a special topic like earthquakes or
such demonstrations can be used as the basis
Ask students to check if their idea is workable:
of a simple investigation, e.g. determining
Can measurements be taken?
the height of the foam for different numbers
Are they changing only one thing?
of Mentos.
Are they able to keep everything else the same?
Is the equipment available?
A STEM fair project involves carrying out an
Are all the experiments safe and are no harmful chemicals required?
Could the project be completed in time?
investigation to answer a question or solve a
Is there enough information available?
Have they discussed the idea with you or another teacher?
problem or using technology to create an innovative solution to a real-world problem.
Behavioural and Social Sciences Projects
Some social sciences projects may use questionnaires to collect data.
Questionnaires and surveys require careful design.
Students should Interview a number of experts in the area they are about to study to get ideas and to identify themes to include in their questionnaire or survey.
Technology Projects Many students are engaging in activities outside the classroom which involve coding and are experimenting with Raspberry Pi or Intel
A pilot survey or questionnaire should be done.
A representative sample should always be used.
Galileo
To do a good project students will need to go beyond basic statistics,
opportunity to inspire such students to use
therefore they may need to get help from somebody, e.g. a maths
technology to create innovative solutions to
teacher.
real-world problems. By applying their skills in
at home. SciFest creates an ideal
www.scifest.ie computational techniques and writing new
Health, Safety and Ethical Issues
programs even very
Before a project involving potentially dangerous, pathogenic, toxigenic
designing exciting new products. These are the
or allergenic organisms (animals/insects, plants or microorganisms) is
inventors and innovators of the future who
undertaken a competent expert must be consulted to advise on health
will play a vital role in the continued develop-
and safety issues. Where projects involve human participants appropriate permission must be obtained and their wellbeing and privacy must be ensured.
young students are
ment of our economy and in addressing global challenges such as climate change.
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SCIFEST IN TRANSITION YEAR The SciFest programme is particularly suited to TY students because it supports
SMART FUTURES
the more open TY curriculum which encourages students to think for them-
STEM
selves, form their own ideas, investigate topics that they are interested in, work
CAREER TALKS
collaboratively with their peers and attempt to solve real-world problems.
FOR SCHOOLS
Hosting a SciFest@School STEM fair for TY students raises the profile of STEM in the school and gives all TY students the opportunity to showcase their creativity in coming up with innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Smart Futures offers free career talks to all post-
There are lots of resources available on the SciFest website www.scifest.ie
primary schools in Ireland to
including a downloadable ‘Science by Inquiry’ TY module
give guidance counsellors and students the chance to
SciFest encourages TY students to:
ask practical questions
Engage in research and inquiry
about working in STEM.
Further develop 21st century skills
Get actively involved and learn more about STEM and STEM careers
Futures these career talks
Make an educated choice of a STEM subject for Leaving Certificate
have been available for a
In collaboration with Smart
number of years at regional
SciFest science fairs. SciFest is now working closely with Smart Futures to encourage all schools, especially schools hosting a SciFest@School science fair, to register with Smart Futures for free career talks via the ‘Resources’
section of the SciFest website
Click here or Are your students participating in Gaisce?
SciFest is now a Gaisce Award
Challenge Partner TY students participating in a SciFest STEM fair can use their participation as the ‘Personal Skill’ element of their Gaisce Award.
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www.SmartFutures.ie www.scifest.ie
SCIFEST 2017 NATIONAL FINAL
News and
Information
The Science Foundation Ireland Best Project Award winners from the 16 regional SciFest@College 2017 science fairs will participate in a national final competition on
10 November 2017 in Dublin. As in SciFest 2016 a number of the Abbott-runner Best Project Award winners will also be invited to participate in the national final. Following the completion of the regional SciFest@College 2017 science fairs the runners-up were invited to submit their project report books to SciFest Ltd by 29 September. A panel of judges appointed by SciFest will assess the projects, based on the report books, and will select the projects to go forward to participate in the national final. The top prize on the day is the SciFest 2017 Science Foundation Ireland Intel ISEF Award. This consists of a trophy and an all-expenses-paid trip for the winning student(s) (accompanied by their teacher) to represent Ireland at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in May 2018.
Trinity College provide a number of TY science courses for students who have a keen interest in studying science at Trinity College.
These include: Biochemistry and Immunology, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, CRANN (Nanoscience), Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Physics and The Science Gallery.
W: www.tcd.ie/study/othercourses/ty-programmes/
Young Researchers Conference: Energy Efficiency & Biomass 28 February - 2 March W: www.wsed.at/en/programme/ young-energy-researchers.html
A competition for the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award will also take place at the national final. The winner/s of this award will be presented with a trophy and an award to the value of €500.
The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair SciFest is one of the 425 STEM fairs from more than 75 countries, regions and territories that are affiliated to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) which takes place annually in America.
ISEF was
launched in 1950 and has become the largest and oldest science fair in the world. This weeklong event hosts the student finalists as they are given the opportunity
Check Out:
Boston Scientific Award @SciFest PowerPoint W: www.scifest.ie/useful-resources
For the latest in careers and education news W: http://careersnews.ie Transition Year Ireland W: www.tyireland.com
STEM Resources
to showcase their independent research and compete for (on average) more than
Royal Society of Chemistry W: www.rsc.org/resources-tools/
$4 million in prizes, scholarships and awards.
Also attending are nearly 8,000 additional people including volunteer judges, alumni, members of the global science fair community, local school children and their teachers, distinguished guests and members of the media.
6 Easy Steps to a Successful Project 1 2 3 4 SciFest@College 2017 WIT ESERO Ireland Discover Space Award winners
BioPharmaChem Ireland W: www.biopharmachemireland.ie/ Sectors/PCI/PCI.nsf/vPages/ Home~Education?OpenDocument
Science Foundation Ireland W: www.sfi.ie Science & Technology in Action W: www.sta.ie
Websites Promoting Space
ESERO W: European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) Ireland
Blackrock Castle Observatory W: www.bco.ie
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Your Organization
Contact Us e: sheila.porter@scifest.ie e: george.porter@scifest.ie m: 086 379 6143 w: www.scifest.ie Please check the website regularly for updates Closing date for receipt of entries to SciFest@College 2018 is: Friday 9 March 2018
SciFest@Frontiers of Physics (SciFest Exhibition Stand)
23 Sept. 2017
SciFest@ITCarlow
25 April 2018
SciFest@Féilte (SciFest Exhibition Stand)
7 Oct. 2017
SciFest@DCU
1 May 2018
SciFest National Final 2017
10 Nov. 2017
SciFest@GMIT
3 May 2018
SciFest Launch 2018
Jan. 2018
SciFest@IT Tralee
9 May 2018
SciFest@College 2018 —Closing date for entry forms
9 March 2018
SciFest@ITB
9 May 2018
SciFest@AIT
25 April 2018
SciFest@LyIT
TBD
SciFest@IT Sligo
TBD
SciFest@LIT Thurles
TBD
SciFest@DkIT
TBD
SciFest@DIT
TBD
SciFest@CIT
TBD
SciFest@ITT
TBD
SciFest@LIT
TBD
SciFest@NW (Derry)
TBD
SciFest@WIT
TBD
SciFest@College 2017—Evaluation Teachers Question: Do you plan to participate again next year?
Choices
Respondents 141
Yes
97.2%
No
2.8%
Students
Choices
Respondents 2070
Question: Do you plan to participate again next year?
Yes
45.2%
Maybe
41.9%
No
12.9%
is supported by The Institutes of Technology, DCU and St Mary’s College, Derry