This weekend will see the 17th Galway Science and Technology Festival host its free final day exhibition at NUI Galway. The event, which features shows, workshops, and more than 80 interactive stands showcasing the work and research of Galway’s leading science and technology organisations, is expected to attract in the region of 20,000 visitors.
The exhibition will take place this Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
The shows and workshops are free and can be booked on arrival at the Bailey Allen Hall from 10am on Sunday. While there has been enormous demand already for tickets there are still places available.
Celebrating the ‘power of science’ and funded by main sponsor Medtronic, over the past two weeks the festival has hosted free shows to 35,000 primary and secondary school students in more than 180 schools across Galway city and county.
The festival exhibition will feature 80 interactive exhibit stands and 25 free family shows and workshops representing areas in research, education, industry, and the environment.
The main exhibit areas will be based in the Bailey Allen Hall, the Orbsen Building, the IT building, the Arts and Science Concourse, Áras Uí Chathail, the Bank of Ireland Theatre, and the Aula Maxima at NUI Galway.
State-of-the-art interactive exhibit stands from many of the leading science and technology organisations based in Galway will offer an insight into the cutting edge products they develop and manufacture. Exhibitors include the festival’s main sponsor Medtronic, NUI Galway, GMIT, Boston Scientific, Cisco, Fidelity, Avaya, and the Marine Institute.
Several schools in Galway city and county have also created colourful exhibits based on health, life science, and technology projects.
The line-up of exciting shows at the Bailey Allen Hall includes Amazing Model Making and Drawing Workshops by GMIT (age seven and up ), simulations of Life Support Skills at the Hospital Ward and Teddy Bear Hospital (all ages ), Killaloe Exploration Dome (all ages ) asks could we one day be part of a galactic community, or is Earth the only planet with life? K’nex Workshop (age six to 10 ) is a colourful, fun, workshop with prizes focusing on spatial building systems; and children can get up close to giant snails, snakes, lizards, and tarantulas at the Bug Doctor.
Take a 3D Tour of the Universe (age seven-plus ) at the Bank of Ireland Theatre; launch rockets, make music, and fly helicopters at True Physics with Declan Holmes at Áras Uí Chathail; or visit The Amazing Brain Workshop at the Aula Maxima, which looks at brain tissue through a microscope.
The Orbsen Building will feature the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland and looks at Galway’s historical connections in the development of computers and global communications, or check out the ReelLife Science ‘cinema’ and watch a special screening of the best short videos from the 2014 ReelLife Science schools video competition, where primary and secondary school students from all across Ireland produced entertaining and educational three-minute movies.
Shows taking place in the IT Building include Dr Ken’s Science Circus; James Soper’s Bend It Like Beckham; mad antics from the Mad Scientist; the Science of Sound; the Great Balloon Race Toodlelou Workshop; Kitchen Chemistry; Jumping Clay; and Lego Education LearnIt.
At the Arts and Science Concourse enjoy Sue McGrath’s Chemistry Show where cups and balloons will be filled with gases to find out which makes the loudest bangs; learn how to design a heart scaffold and act as tissue engineers to mend ‘damaged’ heart-shaped cookies in How to Mend A Broken Heart; build a 3D cell jigsaw and extract DNA and build DNA models at The Cell Explorer’s Show; and learn the basics of brain biology and the different cells which make up the brain tissue and their roles in The Brain Explorer’s Show.
To help plan your exhibition day download the Galway Science Exhibition Android app developed by Hewlett-Packard, available on Google Play.
For further information on Galway Science and Technology Festival visit www.galwayscience.ie
