A NASA astronaut, a drug analyst and an "indefatigable" environmentalist are among the participants at the Science and Technology Festival, Galway, which opens on October 31st.
Stephen Robinson will draw on his experience of 4.7 million miles and 284 hours, 27 minutes spent on two NASA shuttle flights to give an inside perspective on life in space. Dr Mary O'Connor, a scientist with the Garda Forensic Science Laboratory, will speak on the science of drug analysis.
Galway is attempting to steal a march for annual science week with its fair, which will be officially launched tomorrow - the Millennium Science Week Ireland, with headquarters in Limerick, is due to run from November 7th to 14th.
The aim is to make science more accessible to the public, and young people in particular.
"We are aware of the decline in the study of physics and chemistry in our second-level schools, and the serious consequences of that for the economy in the future," the festival chairman, Prof Jim Browne, of NUI Galway, said.
Last year more than 16,000 people attended the science and technology festival and it was selected for special commendation in the AIB Better Ireland Awards.
This year, more than 50 exhibition stands, equipped with interactive displays and demonstrations, will represent the computer and technology industry in the west. The work of NUI Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) will also be displayed.
The exhibition in Leisureland, Salthill, will include the Tralee Science Works, an interactive science show for primary schools, and also a computer gym - a mobile computer classroom. Other events include a chemistry workshop presented by Walter Rohr, a retired science teacher from New York, who presented an entertaining workshop for the Irish Science Teachers Association earlier this year; and a guided tour by Coillte of Kilcornan wood.
Lectures will be given by the environmentalist and broadcaster, Eanna ni Lamhna, and the broadcaster Leo Enright.
Mr Enright's will speak on "Mars - the new Bermuda triangle". This programme will take place at various venues - NUI Galway, GMIT and Leisureland - more details are available from the festival office at (091)753 226.
The Galway Science and Technology Festival runs from October 31st to November 7th and is sponsored by Boston Scientific and the Ulster Bank.
