2022 Galway Science & Technology Festival

Secondary School Workshops & Shows for 2022 

Workshops by University of Galway are available, please complete the booking form below.

If your school is interested in taking a stand at the Festival Exhibition on Sunday 13th November at University of Galway, please complete the booking form below.

Mairead will visit your school for three hour workshops learning to code with python.  The workshop will show students how to write programs that: 
  • get users to answer questions
  • calculates dog’s age in human years
  • calculates someone’s wages
  • checks if an email is entered correctly

The workshop can take 20 students who will need laptops and and each student will need access to the internet – an overhead projector is also required. At the beginning of the session each student will have to sign into google, a google tool for writing the code will be used so students will need to login on Google Chrome.

Mairead has over 20 years experience in the IT industry. She loves working in the software industry and she  wants to share her enthusiasm for software with school children of all ages. She believes exploring the fun side of coding can have lasting impacts on how young people view the software industry.  She is a volunteer coding instructor with CoderDojo Galway and has been working with them since 2018. 

This workshop is supported by SAP.

DATE

15th – 25th November

TIME

3 hours

FORMAT

school visit

AGE

Secondary School all ages

To book: Complete the booking form

During “Breed your monster”, students will begin with the basic question “What is genetics?” and from there learn inheritance concept. This lesson covers the concepts of chromosomes, genes, alleles, traits and basic inheritance modes (autosomal dominant/recessive). By the end of this lesson, students will understand that individuals have two copies of (almost) all genes, one copy from each biological parent and that these genes express specific traits. This lesson allows students to investigate the basic modes of inheritance for single-gene traits in a highly engaging interactive game that turns an abstract concept into something truly concrete and easy to comprehend.

DATE

15th – 25th November

TIME

1 hour

FORMAT

school visit

AGE

Secondary School all ages

To book complete the booking form

This workshop is a fun-filled hands-on activity that introduces the students to the world of electrical/electronic and computer engineering through hands-on experience of programming and electronics. The students will have the opportunity to learn all about the electronics involved in building a simple robot and programming the robot using a graphical programming language, Scratch. The students will be provided with an Arduino-based educational robot and the students will program the robot to perform follow a line.

DATE

15th – 25th November

TIME

1.5 hours

FORMAT

Classroom based

AGE

1st – Transition Year

To book complete the booking form

The West of Ireland is actively establishing itself as a centre of excellence in the field of autonomous driving. Companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Valeo, General Motors and Bosch have established strong R&D and manufacturing footprints in the area. This research activity is complimented by the opening of the Future Mobility Campus in Shannon and cutting edge research at NUI Galway and other local universities.

This workshop will introduce students to the science of engineering of autonomous driving, with particular focus on how autonomous cars “sense” the world around them, and how this information is then used to enable autonomous driving.

DATE

15th – 25th November

TIME

1.5 hours

FORMAT

Either visit to University of Galway lab or school visit

AGE

Suitable for all ages

To book complete the booking form

Come be a ‘prospector’ at the ‘Trash to Cash! Lab’ at University of Galway,

Be part of the movement – learn to reduce garbage – transform it to fuel for a new age !

The workshop aims at describing to young people how segregated organic waste can serve as a source of energy, produced through the process of Anaerobic digestion.  Introducing our participants to topics in Environmental microbiology, Renewable energy sources, Anaerobic Digestion and the scientific method. 

3 rounds of activities, experiments, and demonstrations will allow ‘prospectors’ to mine their trash and turn it into renewable energy.

  • Introduction to wastes and associated challenges
  • Activity:  Mixed wastes sorting game
  • Anaerobic Digestion lab experiment
  • Final product (biogas) applications

DATE

15th – 25th November

TIME

1.5 hours

FORMAT

visit to University of Galway lab

AGE

1st – 3rd Year

To book complete the booking form

Europeans spend on average greater than 70% of their time indoors, and therefore plays an important role in human health. Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been renewed emphasis on the importance of adequate ventilation to reduce our exposure to infectious aerosols, and other airborne pollutants. In the workshop we will discuss indoor air pollution (IAP), demonstrate a simple method to measure class room ventilation rates under different ventilation scenarios. 

After a brief introduction to the topic of indoor air quality, pollutant sources and measurement techniques, students will assist in setting up instrumentation in the class room to measure carbon dioxide concentrations. (The instrument used will also be capable of measuring other pollutants such a total volatile organic carbons and carbon monoxide, which will have been covered in the introductory lecture). Different ventilation scenarios will be tested. Results will be compared to international and national standards, and will also be compared to those monitored in the class room ( if there is a CO2 monitor present) Students will create graphical representations of their data and use the contextual information collected in their diaries to interpret and comment on the effectiveness of the ventilation in the room.

DATE

14th – 25th November

FORMAT

In person 

LOCATION

Classroom

DURATION

2 hours (2 workshops per visit)

AGE

1st to Transition Year

CAPACITY PER SHOW

15 students

To book: Complete the booking form

Explore the wonderful world of our senses and the tricks they play on us.  Think you see with your eyes and taste with your tongue?  Ever wondered why you get dizzy when you spin? How many seses do you even have? Prepare to be amazed and confounded by sensory and optical illusions in this demo-packed exploration of your brain as we discover your senses aren’t quite as simple as they seem.

DATE

14th – 18th November

FORMAT

In person event 

LOCATION

School Hall

DURATION

1 hour x 3 shows 

AGE

Junior Secondary School students

To place your booking complete the booking form

Choose a Science Show below and tell us in the Comment Box of the Booking Form which should you would like.

Each show is 60 minutes in length apart fromt the Rocket Show, which is 90 minutes.

Physics Show
Hands-on science show where students participate in activities and demonstrations. Flight, rockets, pressure, waves and sound are among the topics covered in this interactive learning experience. Students are encouraged to get involved in launching rockets, playing songs and making waves.

Rocket Workshop
Houston, we have lift off!  This exciting and challenging workshop simulates a realistic launch experience. Find out about the history and science of rockets, followed by teams of students designing, building and launching their own water rockets.

Space Show
This exciting show will take students on a tour of the solar system from our amazing Earth to the moons of Saturn. We will discover how lucky we are to live on a warm planet with air and water. We will explore what would happen if the Sun was a thousand times its size or if Mars crashed into Earth.

Planet Champion – Climate Change Show
We will look at the problem of climate change by exploring how our activities create excessive greenhouse gases. We will explore the science behind our changing climate by launching hot air balloons and making infrared waves in the audience. The aim of the workshop is to show the solutions to the climate crisis and to make changes for a better future.

DATE

14th – 25th November

FORMAT

In school 

LOCATION

School Hall

DURATION

1 hour or 1.5 hours for the Rocket Show

AGE

Secondary School students

CAPACITY PER SHOW

60 Students per show

To book please complete the booking form

How many legs does a tarantula have? What happens if you get stung by a giant scorpion? Can a python crush your bones? Here you will find the answers to these questions -and many others! Join the NUI Galway Bug Doctor and discover some of his fascinating animals : a golden knee tarantula, a giant Asian forest scorpion, giant African millipedes, spiny-leg stick insects from Papua New Guinea, a large Burmese python and meet Kenge, a Tegu lizard from Argentina, whose bite could cut your fingers in half !

DATE

14th – 25th November

FORMAT

School Visit 

LOCATION

School Classroom or Hall

DURATION

1 hour x 3 

AGE

Secondary School students

To book please complete the booking form below

Corrib Kids Coding will host an hour-long workshop on artificial intelligence, looking at how machines learn and how AI is now widespread in everyday life. Students are encouraged to discuss examples of AI and explore the possibilities for AI in the future. During the workshop, students will work on 4-5 projects which examine the principles of AI and Machine Learning using Posenet and Teachable Machine. 

DATE

8th – 19th November

FORMAT

In school workshop

LOCATION

In the classroom

DURATION

1 hour

AGE

Secondary School students

To book email corribcodingkids@gmail.com

What do Tony Stark, Rey Skywalker, Shuri, and Peter Parker all have in common? Of course, they are all fictional characters, but they have something else in common – they are all innovators and creators who use their technical
backgrounds to craft their futures.

One thing that we can say with certainty is that the future remains to be written, and in technology and science, the possibilities are endless. In this talk, you’ll learn about some of these possibilities and how they could be inspired by the adventures of popular culture characters.

‘Will you ever fly exactly like Tony Stark can in the Iron Man suit?’, ‘Could you ever reach lightspeed like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars?’, and ‘How can you make sure that you build ethical superhero technologies in the future?’ are just some of the questions that will be answered in this talk.

Your future is not set in stone, so it’s time to learn how to create the technological future that you want.

Barry would be delighted to come to your school for the day and give three talks to your students and also answer any questions they may have.  He would also be delighted if students would like to pitch their science ideas to him – students may have projects for the BT Young Scientist or just live in general.

DATE

22nd – 25th November

FORMAT

In school 

LOCATION

School Hall or Classroom

DURATION

1 hour 

AGE

Secondary School students

CAPACITY PER SHOW

Up to 40 students per show

To book please complete the booking form

The first few patients of a new viral disease need to be identified to avoid spread of the virus and a new lockdown! Dr Bourke’s files have the needed information but they are locked away her laboratory while she is at a World Ministry for Health conference in Geneva. You will be part of the team running experiments and solving puzzles to try to find
their identities. By looking for clues, using your brain, solving puzzles and working as a team, you will discover who they are and prevent the next outbreak in the country!

DATE

13th – 25th November

FORMAT

Tues-Fri, start time to be determined with teachers according to school location. 

LOCATION

Classroom

DURATION

10 min introduction & up to 60 mins to escape the room. 

AGE

1st to Transition Year

CAPACITY PER SHOW

24 students per run & each visit can facilitate 2 runs

To book complete the booking form

A science kit (the ‘box’) will be posted out to schools in advance of the session. The kit provides teachers with the resources and materials needed for their pupils to do the experiment in their classrooms. Once the teacher has set up the classroom, two Cell EXPORERS explainers remotely facilitate the session online using Zoom, with the teacher providing on-site support to pupils.
Engaging with real scientists can help broaden children’s perceptions of what it means to be a scientist and promote the idea that science is for everyone.
The sessions will be delivered by both ATU Galway city and University of Galway Cell Explorers teams. 
Cell Explorers is funded by Science Foundation Ireland.

You tube Video describing the workshop: Click here 

DATE

13th – 25th November

FORMAT

Live online 

LOCATION

Classroom

DURATION

1 hour, Tuesday-Friday 9.30am, 11am or 1pm

AGE

1st to 3rd Year

CAPACITY PER SHOW

30 students

To book complete the booking form