New Partnership with County Libraries

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Local development company Midlands Science is pleased to announce a new strategic alliance with the county libraries across the region are to jointly promote Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths (STEM) education. This collaboration will include the joint management and roll out of a programme of free, informative and fun workshops and expert speaking events which will take place in libraries in Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath during national Science Week from November 11th to 18th 2018. 
This partnership approach aims not only to encourage an increasing number of schools to engage in Science Week activities but to also provide more venues whereby a vast array of different STEM education activities can take place. This not only makes more logistical sense but will also mean organisers can make the most out of the time and expertise provided by the science communica tors and scientists, performers and talented speakers who take part in the Midlands Science Festival each year.
Jackie Gorman, CEO of Midlands Science said,
“We are delighted to announce this new partnership with local Midlands library services and we are now well on the way to agreeing our schedule of events for this year’s annual Midlands Science Festival. The objective is to provide as many high-quality outreach events as possible during our week-long programme during Science Week in order to achieve our goal of increasing the number of students, teachers and parents in attendance. We want to find and foster the scientists of the future and feel we have made great strides over the past six years in encouraging more and more young people to consider science as a possible third level and career option. This collaborative approach will really help us to expand our interaction with key audiences by letting the libraries take centre stage as a key hosting venue and we are really looking forward to sharing more details with schools and the public very soon.’
The Midlands Science Festival for 2018 is shaping up to even bigger than previous years with over 120  events already planned to take place across the region this November. Visi tors will see the return of some of firm favourites such as the Reptile Zoo, Junior Einsteins’ Science Club, Anyone for Science and Marine Dimensions sealife workshops but there will also be a number of new and exciting events for this year which will focus on subjects such as technology, heritage, nature and ecology.
Martina Needham, Executive Librarian at Offaly County Libraries said,
‘We are really proud to be working with the team at Midlands Science to deliver a vast array of events, performances and exhibitions with a scientific twist.  We are particularly excited about the Science Book Club initiative which will hopefully encourage our readers of all ages to choose a Science themed read as part of the Science Week Celebrations. Why not join us as we shine a light on the many different ways science surrounds us, share ideas and enjoy fascinating seminars, performances and workshops in our local library this November?’