Science Fun in Laois this November
The Midlands Science Festival will be taking place across the region for people of all ages from November 12th – 19th and promises a packed programme with over 130 innovative and fun hands-on events. Science Week, which is managed by ‘SFI Discover’ the education and public engagement programme of Science Foundation Ireland, has been in existence since the mid-1990s and has grown to around 800 events per year. The festival will take science out of the lab giving people a variety of fun ways to explore and open up a multitude of ideas for a potential future career in science, technology, engineering and maths.
This is the fifth year that a dedicated programme of free Science Week events is being rolled out in the counties of Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford. It will bring together a large number of interested participants including science communica tors, performers and researchers, science and technology speakers, science and TY students, mini scientists and the general public from all over the Midlands and beyond.
Midlands Science Festival Direc tor, Jackie Gorman said, ‘We are delighted to be heading in to our fifth year with the festival and in planning the year’s programme, we have secured some really new and different events and activities as well as bringing back some of the most popular ones from previous years. We have partnered with a number of schools and organisations including Laois County Council and the Heritage Council to create opportunities which aim to excite students about science across Laois. The festival is a real celebration of science and features something for everyone to enjoy. Among a rich programme of events for this year in Laois we have interactive workshops with the Junior Einsteins Science Club, an ‘Under the Microscope’ project and an exciting ‘Science Circus’ where an experienced presented uses juggling, plate spinning, peacock feathers and all sorts of fantastic circus tricks to demonstrate the laws of physics.’
Other Laois events for 2017 include an engaging dinosaur show, science career talks and workshops from the Geological Survey of Ireland.
Catherine Casey, Heritage Officer at Laois County Council.
‘We were delighted to be supporting and participating in this year’s Midlands Science Festival. Science surrounds us in so many ways in day to day life and we need to ensure that young people understand its significance from an early age. These events which takes place as part of national Science Week are a fantastic opportunity to promote science education to Laois pupils and especially to reach young children with the more fun and hands-on workshops which will hopefully igniting in them a future love for science subjects. We look forward to making elephant toothpaste and following the journey of our drinking water from ‘droplet to drain’ this November during Science Week.’
Join us from November 12th-19th in celebrating science in Laois!