Midlands
Public Talk: What's a Wakatobi? Monday, November 10th, 7.30pm, Abbeyleix Heritage House, Ballyroad Road, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois. A new species of colourful bird has been discovered by a group of Irish students on the Wakatobi islands south of Sulawesi in Indonesia, as reported in this supplement. Trinity zoologist Seán Kelly was the lead author of the study, which found that the particular breed of this tiny bird was different to that of the grey-sided flowerpecker. Meet Kelly and learn more about this new species under threat.
The Poetry of Physics, The Physics of Poetry with Iggy McGovern Tuesday, November 11th, 3pm, Luan Gallery, Grace Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath. Local broadcaster Catherine Ivers will be in conversation with Prof Iggy McGovern, who is a poet as well as Fellow Emeritus in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin and has published two collections of poetry with Dedalus Press – The King of Suburbia (2005) and Safe House (2010). He edited the anthology 2012: Twenty Irish Poets Respond to Science in Twelve Lines, published by Dedalus Press in association with Quaternia Press, and co-edited (with Jean-Patrick Connerade) Science Meets Poetry 3, published by Euroscience. His most recent book, A Mystic Dream of 4, is a sonnet sequence based on the life of William Rowan Hamilton, the 19th-century Irish mathematician and poet, published by Quaternia Press (2013). McGovern's life has been a heady mix of religion, science and poetry. The Trinity College lecturer grew up in Coleraine and, as well as studying physics at Queen's University, spent two years as a student seminarian. In 1979 he came to Dublin to take up a lecturing post at TCD and continues to teach science students there today. In 1990 he began writing poetry and in 1996 he won the Hennessy poetry award. Most recently his poems have featured in the Dart Poetry In Motion series.
Alchemist Cafe Tuesday, November 11th, 8pm, Athlone IT, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath. Join Prof Luke O'Neill and Síle Lane of campaigning UK charity Sense about Science for an evening of discussion and debate on topical issues in science and how they affect our lives. Prof O'Neill was a huge hit at last year's festival and has recently been named in the top one per cent of scientists worldwide due to his groundbreaking work in immunology. Síle Lane is passionate about science and encouraging people to ask for the evidence in a world where it is often difficult to distinguish between science and pseudoscience or clever marketing. Join these two inspiring science communicators for an entertaining evening of discovery and discussion. The evening will be chaired by award-winning broadcaster Jonathan McCrea of Newstalk's Futureproof programme.
The Silence of the Tenrecs Wednesday, November 12th, noon, Mountmellick Public Library, O'Moore Street, Mountmellick, Co Laois and Wednesday, November 12th, 4pm, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath. Learn about the science of wildlife research and conservation with zoologist Sive Finlay of TCD, who has a broad range of research interests in evolution, ecology, comparative biology & behavioural ecology. She has been studying tenrecs – small mammals resembling shrews – and recently spent time in Madagascar working with a research team from the Vahatra Association. The purpose of their trip was to conduct a disease transmission study in bats and small terrestrial mammals at Ambohitantely Special Reserve, a protected, upland native forest northwest of Antananarivo.
“Studying and observing living animals is just a tad more exciting than their museum counterparts and I now have enough pictures of tenrecs to last for a lifetime of presentations,” she says.
RoboEireann Robot Soccer Friday, November 14th, 6.30pm, 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm, Maynooth University, Co Kildare. Aimed at families, this demonstration of humanoid robot soccer will explain how it works. This is one of a number of activities during science night on campus. No tickets necessary but capacity is limited to about 150 per session so arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Tales of the Unexpected Thursday, November 13th, 8pm, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co Westmeath. One of the biggest hits of last year's festival, Jonathan McCrea's Science Movie Night has everything from astronomy to zoology in a series of movie and documentary clips which have been specially curated for the festival by this award-winning broadcaster.
Ask for the Evidence Monday, November 10th, 1pm, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, CoWestmeath. Cork native Síle Lane is campaigns manager at Sense About Science, a UK charity that works with scientists, the public and the media to challenge misinformation, whether about the age of the earth, the causes of cancer, wifi radiation or using homeopathy to treat malaria. Sense about Science helps equip the general public to make sense of evidence but, to make a permanent difference, they need more members of the public to be evidence hunters.
Dublin
Celebrate Science Thursday, November 13th, 1pm until Friday November 15th, 8.30pm, CHQ Building, North Wall, Dublin 1. Celebrate Science Festival Dublin and UCD Science Expression present a programme of science-focused film screenings. Over three nights, there will be films, discussions and interactions with researchers across the fields of Materials Science, Sports Analytics and the Irish collaborators working with CERN to mark it's 60th anniversary. Meet the scientists at the Smashing Science exhibition and take part in their demos and displays. Enjoy a drink and a movie, followed by a panel discussion with science experts. See celebratescience.eu for more details.
Smashing Science: Moneyball Friday, November 14th, 5.30-9.15pm, CHQ Building, North Wall, Dublin 1, €8 An evening exploring the functions of data analytics in sport, hosted by the Insight Centre, with displays, demos, discussion and film. From 5.30-6.30pm, meet Insight scientists who will outline the role of "big data" in sporting success. The film Moneyball will be screened 6.30pm, followed by a panel discussion with the experts from 8.40-9.15pm. The critically acclaimed Moneyball is based on the true story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. Booking: eventbrite.ie/e/smashing- science-the-chq-building-tickets- 13387659851
Science Hack Day Dublin Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and 16th, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4 Science Hack Day is a 36-hour hardware and software hackathon, a social event with creativity and love of science at its heart. Coders, designers, scientists, engineers and makers will simply be making interesting things. "Why? For adventure, for playfulness, for science!" sciencehackdaydublin.com
Printfest at the National Print Museum Saturday November 15th, noon-4pm, Garrison Chapel, Beggars Bush Barracks, Haddington Rd, Dublin 4 The development of modern science would not have been possible without the printing press. Its invention led to the spread of scientific ideas across Europe and, by the end of the 16th century, anyone could learn about anatomy, astronomy and physics. Family-friendly Printfest will show Gutenberg's invention in action as volunteer printers and typesetters demonstrate highlights from the Museums' collection.
Irish Ideas and Inventions that Changed the World Science Gallery, Dublin, November 16th, 2.30-4.30pm A two-hour guided tour of Dublin, packed with 400 years of ideas and inventions, including the engine that electrified the world, the Dubliner who invented earthquake science, and the Irish equation that put a man on the Moon. Highlights include a hidden Dublin air-raid shelter. Book at ingeniousireland.ie/walking-tours
Donegal
Earth Festival 2104 Letterkenny Town Park, Tuesday November 11th until Thursday November 13th Artists and scientists will unite to create a series of illuminated sculptures inspired by cutting-edge scientific research accompanied by a programme of workshops, seminars and tours tailored to a secondary school student audience. The park and sculpture trail will be open to the general public and each sculpture will be accompanied by an audio recording of the relevant artist and scientist discussing the inspiration and interpretation behind the piece. This is a collaborative venture between UCD Earth Institute, An Cosán Glas, UCD College of Science, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ealaín na Gealtachta, Donegal County Council and the Earth and Natural Sciences Doctoral Studies Programme and is funded by Science Foundation Ireland through the SFI Discover Programme.
Galway
Galway Science & Technology Festival Exhibition NUI Galway, Sunday November 23rd, 10am-6pm Ireland's largest science exhibition will feature 25 shows and workshops for all ages including Sue McGrath's Chemistry Show, Dr Ken's Scientific Circus, Cell Explorer's DNA workshop and Lego competitions and demonstrations. Over 80 interactive stands by local companies.
Limerick
Celebrate Science Limerick – Crystal Growing Workshop Saturday November 15th, noon -3pm, Hunt Museum, Custom House, Rutland St, Limerick. Grow a crystal, learn about the different types of crystals and what they are used for at this workshop, which will be on a first come, first served basis and will run twice throughout the day, so if you miss out first time hang around and try again. Altitude Workshop Saturday November 15th, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, Hunt Museum, Custom House, Rutland St, Limerick. Science has come to play a large part in helping elite athletes improve their performance. The NATC altitude demo highlights the importance of continued research to inform altitude acclimatisation strategies for both health and high performance sport applications. See Irish seven summits climber Paul Devaney exposed to a simulated altitude (+3,000m) using a "hypoxicator".
Devaney’s acute response to this normobaric hypoxic (low oxygen) stimulus will be continuously monitored and displayed using a wearable Equivital sensor. There will be a short film on terrestrial altitude research implemented on Everest last year by Xtreme Everest researchers.
Science Busking at the Milk Market Saturday, November 15th, 9.30am-1pm, Milk Market, Limerick. Try out a range of fun experiments or "physics tricks".
Some experiments are messy, and some of them are noisy, but all of them are hands-on and made from everyday items. Fun for all ages and no need to book.
Waterford
Lismore Family Fun Day Sunday, November 9th, Heritage Centre. Entertaining hands-on science experiments for families, showing the power of science up close with shows and performances.
Cork
Discover Science Cork City Hall Exhibition: Saturday, November 15th and Sunday November 16th, Admission €3.50pp/€10 (family of four). Exhibits on the senses and on forces, and make your own Science Superhero.
This is Not a Game November 15th, The Insight Centre, UCC is hosting 'This is Not a Game', an introductory session to the US Embassy's competition for young game developers to create a game to increase awareness of marine ecology and how to protect it. Speakers for each event will include a gaming expert and a marine scientist. Coder Dojo will provide a basic coding tutorial.
The best games will be shown at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in January 2015. Information VisoskyCD@state.gov
Flame lab tour November 9th, noon-5.30pm Tour and workshop at the Flame Anatomy and Neuroscience Laboratory, where medical students learn about the human body. Flame is one of the most sophisticated anatomy training facilities in the world, using lifelike models of the human body, with bones, brains and organs, as well as computerised teaching programmes to train students how to identify disease and practice surgical techniques. Book at celebratescience.eu
Mayo
The Mayo Science & Technology Festival Open Day, Sunday November 16th, GMIT, Castlebar. Interactive shows aimed at all ages; all events and parking are free. Tickets provided on a first come, first served basis. Highlights include MadLabs Science Made Simple – try your hand at soldering, find out how electronics work and make a buzzing puzzle from start to finish. Hold snakes and tarantulas at the Reptile Village and don't miss Laura Gilligan, senior scientist in the office of the State Pathologist. mayoscience.ie/openday.
Sligo Sligo IT Sunday November 9th- 16th. It kicks off with the annual Science Fair on Sunday 9th from noon-5pm, featuring a wide range of interactive displays and demonstrations for children. The Institute will host lectures on topics of public interest each evening at 7.30pm. See itsligo.ie/2014/10/08/science-week-is-coming
