Science Week packed events guide in the Midlands

Science Week takes places this November and it includes a wide range of activities facilitated by Midlands Science in Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath.

Activities start in the midlands with a family fun day with everything from astronomy to zoology on November 10.

Over one week, there’s a range of events for schools and groups and for adults exploring everything from cold water swimming to cats and all events are free of charge.

Jackie Gorman, CEO of Midlands Science explained: "This year we are delighted as part of our science week programming to bring a range of activities to schools, groups and communities. It’s great to welcome back Ice Swimming Guinness World Record Holder Nuala Moore and new speakers such as Gerry Creighton of the tv series The Zoo and Dr Clare Meade of The Cat Hospital.

"Science is important for our economy but it’s also an important part of our lives. It’s in everything from how we understand health and lifestyle decisions to understanding our pets.”

Events in Westmeath include a special event with the National Museum of Ireland exploring the world of swifts, those amazing aerial acrobats who have been recorded in high numbers recently in Mullingar.

The event will also include prizes for primary school drawings and local community groups who are involved in biodiversity actions which benefits swifts and other wildlife.

Events in Offaly this year include a special event with Gerry Creighton of the tv series The Zoo and Dr Clare Meade of the tv series The Cat Hospital as they explore the science of cats, big and small!

Both of these speakers have experience in dealing with cats over many years, everything from tigers to tabby cats. You’ll never look at the little lion in your living room the same way again as you realise how much they have in common with their cousins who roam the Serengeti.

Events in Longford this year include a series of workshops with explorer and space enthusiast Dr Niamh Shaw with secondary school students.

From Antarctica to NASA, Niamh’s boundless enthusiasm for all things scientific make her a powerful advocate for the curiosity which lies at the heart of science. Dr Niamh Shaw has undertaken a wide range of science outreach activities in the midlands over the past number of years.

Events in Laois this year include a special free music concert with string quartet Bohemian Strings, who have played with the Beach Boys and Richard Clayderman.

The concert will show through tunes from AC/DC to Vivaldi how music involves everything from physics to psychology. You’ll be tapping your feet and singing up for science.

A special science map of the midlands is being produced by Midlands Science with Dr Claire O’Connell and will include places and people of interest from each county related to science. The map will be available across the region and is free of charge.

Pop-up activities such as events exploring optical illusions will also take place in local shopping centres. Events are all free of charge but must be booked in advance and all details are available on www.midlandsscience.ie

Recently, Midlands Science completed a science outreach project exploring the science of food waste. The project was supported by the Coca Cola Thank You Fund in association with the Irish Youth Foundation.

Through a series of workshops and self-paced learning, the project explored the science of food waste with groups of young people. It is literally a huge issue, every year more than 25% of the food produced in the world is wasted. In Ireland best estimates say we waste about 750,000 tonnes of food every year.

Growing, processing and transporting food takes a huge amount of resources such as land, water, energy and fertiliser. Wasting food means wasting these resources too.

Through a series of workshops young people learnt about food production and food waste and discussed together actions they could take. Evaluation showed after the workshops young people had more awareness of food waste and its link to climate change.

They also indicated they had more confidence now about discussing the issues related to food waste.

Everyone learnt that one way to reduce food waste is to change how you see food. Something that can be seen as waste or not valuable can actually have a big flavour or nutritional benefit.

Think before you throw it out, for example, carrot tops are great in a tabbouleh salad or pesto and coriander stems are great for giving curries a bit of a punch!

Jackie Gorman, CEO of Midlands Science said: “We are grateful to the Coca Cola Food and the Irish Youth Foundation for their support for this project exploring the science of food waste.

"It’s a great example of how science is part of everyday life and how becoming more informed about the science involved in any area of life, can help us make more informed choices.”