Photo: Liam Burke/Press 22
THE RDS Primary Science Fair will be held in Limerick as well as Dublin next year, as Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan this week launched the expansion of the event.
Complementing the RDS Primary Science Fair Dublin that happens alongside the BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition each January, the RDS Primary Science Fair Limerick will take place next January 15 and 16 in Mary Immaculate College.
Launching the expansion on Monday, Minister O’Sullivan said: “The RDS Primary Science Fair is a fantastic initiative. It nurtures young students’ natural curiosity and sense of wonder and provides them with a great stage to show off their endeavours. The Primary Science Fair has gone from strength to strength and today’s announcement is a very visible sign of that success.
“Enhancing science and maths at primary level is an important goal. This year we’ve seen very strong evidence that the Government numeracy strategy is really making a difference among primary school students. The RDS Primary Science Fair complements that success and having the event here in Limerick will be a great boost for our youngest scientists in Limerick and throughout the region.”
Veteran of four RDS Primary Science Fairs in Dublin, teacher Clare Farrell of St Patrick’s GNS, Limerick, said: “The RDS Primary Science Fair is one of the highlights of the year for my class. Each September we start looking around for suitable projects and have great fun in working through them.
“It’s also a unique way for my class to learn and each year they always respond really well to the creativity and thinking challenges involved. It’ll be great to have RDS Primary Science Fair Limerick on our doorstep at Mary Immaculate College next year.”
Professor Michael A Hayes, President of MIC said the college was “very excited to be hosting and supporting the RDS Primary Science Fair here in Limerick”.
The Fair is part of the RDS Science and Technology programme, which aims to encourage the development of science and mathematical skills in primary school children.
Though almost 3,000 primary school children participated in 2015, the success of the RDS Primary Science Fair has meant that is greatly oversubscribed.
The expansion to Mary Immaculate College means that thousands more students will be able to participate, and in many instances with much shorter travel times.
The Fair encourages primary school teachers to focus on developing students’ core scientific skills by investigating a question or problem by ‘working scientifically’ and ‘designing and making’ as per the primary science curriculum.
