The competition is open to all primary schools in the Republic of Ireland and is linked to the primary school curriculum. Your project can be based on one of four categories:

• Living things
• Materials
• Energy and forces
• Environmental awareness and care

The competition is sponsored by Ericsson in association with the Atlantic Corridor development agency. First prize is a €2,000 voucher for computer or science equipment for your school, plus an opportunity to visit the Ericsson plant in Athlone. The second and third prizes are €1,000 and €4500 vouchers towards computers or science equipment.

The closing date to register for the competition is 23 December 2011. Your projects must be completed and ready by February 2012 for presentation in the regional heats. The final will take place in March in conjunction with the Atlantic Corridor STEM 2012 Conference.

Learn more

Read more about the competition at AtlanticCorridor.ie and download the application form for teachers (PDF, 3.15 MB)

Hydrogen Girl

Primary schools across Ireland are being invited to participate in a science-art competition to celebrate Science Week 2011 and its theme “The Chemistry of Life”.

Each winner will receive an individual prize of a Nintendo 3DS, as well as winning a science show to come to their school for the day.

The competition is designed to introduce children to the general concepts of the elements, and a first introduction to the periodic table through the superhero “League of Extraordinary Elements” with characters such as Hydrogen Girl (pictured here) and Carbon Boy.

Students are asked to design a new costume for the character they like from the table of six element profiles.

Find out how to take part on the ScienceWeek website.

Jackie Gorman from Atlantic Corridor and Michael Gallagher from Ericsson in Ireland with Minahil Sarfraz, a student of St Peter's National School, Athlone, at the launch of the competition

A major new science competition for primary schools in Ireland is being sponsored by leading telecoms company Ericsson in association with the Atlantic Corridor development agency.

The competition is open to all primary schools in the Republic of Ireland and is linked to the primary school curriculum. Through class project work and learning, the competition aims to provide students with an insight into the excitement of science and maths in today’s world.

Class projects should demonstrate the everyday value of understanding science and maths. Your project can be based on one of four categories:

• Living things
• Materials
• Energy and forces
• Environmental awareness and care

Michael Gallagher, Managing Director of Ericsson in Ireland, said: “We are delighted to sponsor this competition again and now to be in a position to take it to a national level. In Ericsson, we are committed to Ireland in the long-term and as a technology leader we feel it appropriate to also help plant some of the seeds of the future of our knowledge economy.”

Jackie Gorman, CEO of Atlantic Corridor, said: “The competition is a wonderful opportunity for primary schools and we are delighted to be running this event in association with our 2012 STEM Conference and a number of other initiatives over the coming months.”

Learn more

Read more on the Atlantic Corridor website, and download the competition’s application form for teachers (PDF, 3.15 MB)

The “Maths – it is rocket science” course will take place at Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork from 4-8 July, and at Armagh Planetarium on 22-26 August.

The objective of the course is to assist participants in using teaching approaches that develop numeracy skills in an integrated way across the curriculum, specifically through science and geography, with an emphasis on the theme of space. The focus will be on enquiry based learning.

Bursaries for teachers

ESERO Ireland is offering a number of bursaries to cover costs for teachers travelling to the course from outside the normal commuter range. Worth up to €250 in total, the bursaries are to cover fuel and accommodation costs for the five days of the course.

The course will begin with hands-on sessions based around the Discover Primary Science and Maths activities, and participants will explore ways to improve their students’ mathematical skills while also gaining a further appreciation of the possibilities that exist in the science and geography curricula.

The Space and Astronomy related themes of the week will be explored in great detail, and the course has been developed using the International Space Station Education Kit from the European Space Agency  and in keeping with the course venues.

Both sites are accredited Discover Primary Science and Maths Centres and offer curriculum relevant programmes for primary schools both on-site and through outreach programmes.

How to apply

For further information on the course, contact the following.

Blackrock Castle Observatory (Cork)

Contact Deirdre O’Dwyer or Clair McSweeney

Phone: 021 435 7917

Email: info[at]bco[dot]ie

Web: BCO.ie

Armagh Planetarium

Contact Colin Johnston

Phone: 048 3752 3689

Email: info[at]armaghplanet[dot]com

Web: ArmaghPlanet.com

Learn more

Visit the ESERO Ireland website

The 'Meathook' galaxy

The Universe is filled with many galaxies that have perfectly uniform shapes.

But the uneven S-shape of the galaxy in this new picture is messy – it’s almost as if a graffiti artist has drawn it by hand.

How did the spiral galaxy end up with this weird shape? Astronomers think that a long time ago, another galaxy tugged at its spiral arms unevenly, making one arm longer than the other.

The longer arm looks like a hook that is used to hang meat, so astronomers have given it a funny nickname: the “Meathook Galaxy”.

Learn more about this and other astronomy and space topics at the UNAWE (Universe Awareness for Young Children) website, and send your astronomy questions by email to news[at]unawe[dot]org

This European Commission initiative is the first pan-European competition of its kind, involving primary and secondary schools across the EU27 as well as several other European countries.

The winners at national level will compete in a regional selection with neighbouring countries, followed by the grand finals at European level – and a trip to the award ceremony in Brussels for the overall winners.

How to take part

The first competition cycle, 2010-11, was launched last September, and in this current round you have until May 2011 to submit your projects. You can submit your entries on the U4energy website, and choose from three categories:

• Category A: Energy efficiency measures at school
• Category B: Best pedagogical actions to raise awareness on efficient energy use
• Category C: Best awareness-raising campaign on energy efficiency

There are plenty of prizes in each category, as well as certificates of participation.

The initiative aims to raise awareness in schools across Europe about responsible energy use, and the U4energy website has plenty of resources including videos, experiments, games, lesson plans and useful links.

U4energy is coordinated and managed by European Schoolnet, and is funded through the Intelligent Energy Europe programme.

Learn more

Visit the U4energy website

You can enter any idea or invention for a new product or procedure, an improvement on an existing product, or any idea that solves a problem or makes life better or easier.

Students will be required to submit a drawing or illustration for their invention, accompanied by a written description.

The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 15 April, 2011.  All entries should be clearly marked “Junior Inventor Competition” and sent to:

The Patents Office
Government Buildings
Hebron Road
Kilkenny

Last year’s overall winner was Kevin Sorohan from Fermoyle National School, Lanesboro, County Longford. Kevin invented a seatbelt clasp light, which is situated in the push button of a seatbelt and will illuminate when the car lights are switched on – to make it easier for passengers to locate seatbelt plugs in the dark.

The competition is organised each year to mark the Patents Office’s contribution to World Intellectual Property Day, which is held annually on 26 April.

Learn more

Check the Patents Office website for more information about how to take part in this year’s contest, the full competition rules, and details of winning entries from previous years.

The site also explains how to apply for a patent for your invention.

The Greenwave.ie website

When the planet is viewed from outer space, you can see a “green wave” that begins in the south of Europe in February. Then as the temperature rises it moves up across Europe, travelling at approximately four miles an hour (similar to the speed at which a human walks).

Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) is encouraging primary school students to track the progress of this green wave of spring across Ireland in the annual Greenwave mass science project.

Students around the country will log sightings of six species that are indicators of spring, such as frogspawn and horse chestnuts, and log the data on the Greenwave.ie website. The schools will also measure temperature on a daily basis, and submit data from rain gauges and anemometers, a device used to measure wind speed.

Is spring arriving earlier?

The results will enable DSE participants to examine spring as it moves across Ireland, answering questions such as whether it moves from north to south or inland from the coast to centre.

The project will also show whether the timing of spring is changing by examining whether swallows are appearing in Ireland earlier in spring due to warmer temperatures earlier in the year.

This year Greenwave is become an international project, with schools in more than 15 countries ranging from Portugal and Greece in southern Europe to Denmark and Sweden in Scandinavia taking part in 2011 for the first time.

The Greenwave project is a practical way to support the teaching of the Plants and Animals Strand of the primary school science curriculum. Students have the opportunity to develop the skills in:

• Observing
• Classifying
• Recognising patterns
• Estimating and measuring
• Recording and communicating
• ICT

Great prizes

Students who participate in the experiment will be in with a chance to win some great prizes – including a digital camera and printer – by submitting photos of their sightings on www.greenwave.ie.

“It is fantastic to see that an Irish educational project is now also being adopted by schools in other European countries as an example of best practice in STEM education.

“Greenwave is one of our most popular initiatives with students as it takes science and maths outside of the classroom and into the great outdoors.

“It teaches children analytical skills in a way they can relate to in their everyday lives.  We would encourage as many schools as possible to get involved this year to help instil an appreciation of science, technology, engineering and maths into young people across Ireland.”

-          DSE’s Programme Director Peter Brabazon, speaking at the launch of Greenwave 2011

All schools taking part in the Greenwave project will earn credit towards the Discover Primary Science Awards of Science and Maths Excellence. The project also caters for Gaelscoileanna, with materials available in Irish on the website.

Learn more

Find out how your school can take part and register online at Greenwave.ie

They will be taking part in workshops, lectures and dramatic presentations at the international Science on Stage teaching festival.

Science on Stage, originally Physics on Stage, has been running since 1999. The European initiative aims to encourage teachers from across Europe to share best practice in science teaching.

But even if you aren’t going to Copenhagen next year there are still plenty of ideas for classroom demonstrations in the resources section of the ScienceOnStage.ie website.

For example, check out the PDF booklets you can download of the best biology, chemistry and physics demonstrations as selected by the Irish teams from previous events.

The initiative is designed to inspire, thrill and engage primary-level students and their parents through hands-on experiences in science.

The first schools to take part last November were in Counties Dublin, Tipperary, Sligo and Longford. This year the expanded programme will include schools in Cavan and Donegal.

Discover Primary Science

Taking part in Abbott Family Science

Abbott is also partnering with Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) to develop a new “At Home” section of our Discover Primary Science website.

It will provide families with easy instructions and examples of fun science experiments to do at home.

DSE’s Programme Director, Peter Brabazon, says: “We are delighted to partner with Abbott to develop this new section of the DPS website, as it will further engage and inspire students, families and teachers in scientific exploration and will help develop fundamental science skills such as observation, problem solving and teamwork.

“These are the skills that we need to foster in young people today, to help support their natural curiosity and to help instil the confidence that children need to become life-long science learners.”

School workshops

More than 500 students and 300 parents have been involved in Abbott Family Science in Ireland to date.

Teams of Abbott volunteers work with teachers in primary schools to lead interactive workshops for the children and their parents, and together the families perform simple activities that explore scientific principles.

“After participating in our programme, almost 90% of parents said that they are likely to discuss what their child is learning in school about science,” says Katharine Jensen, CSR Manager, Abbott.

A survey after the pilot project has also found that:

• The participants are now more than twice as likely to do hands-on science learning activities in their own homes
• 80% of the parents say they are now likely to discuss careers in science and engineering with their children, compared with just 37% of them before the programme

Ireland was the first location outside the US to pilot the programme. Due to its success in Ireland, Abbott is now implementing it in China, Germany, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.

About Abbott

The Abbott Family Science programme is conducted with the support of Abbott’s philanthropic foundation, the Abbott Fund.

In addition, Abbott’s Operation Discovery programme offers secondary school students an opportunity to work with scientists in its onsite labs.

The students undertake hands-on experiments and use tools and procedures routinely employed by Abbott scientists in laboratories around Ireland.

Learn more

Read more about Abbott Family Science and Operation Discovery