More than 1,000 students will take part in a new Junior Achievement Ireland science challenge programme, writes Dick Ahlstrom
School pupils become forensic scientists for a day in a new initiative to help build student interest in the sciences. They will be asked to help solve a murder mystery that is fun to play but also involves them in real science.
An expected 1,200 10 to 14 year olds will participate this week and next in "Challenge Science", a new programme put together by Junior Achievement Ireland, explains the organisation's marketing and communications director, Alva O'Sullivan.
"It is really to try and get them to be excited by science and show them it can be a fun subject," she says.
The programme involves separate modules on space, forensic science, food science and biotechnology and the defence against disease. The students who will attend from 30 different schools around the State will cover all of the modules on the day.
Set up in 1995, Junior Achievement Ireland is a non-profit organisation funded through contributions made by the private sector, explains O'Sullivan. It currently has 17 different educational programmes aimed at students aged from five through 18.
"All of the programmes are taught in the classroom by people from the world of work," she says. These "business volunteers"--94 of whom will participate in Challenge Science--come from all sectors of industry. Their involvement helps student participants make the link between the subjects being discussed and careers out in the real world.
"All of our programmes follow the same methodology, the students learn by doing," she says. The business volunteers have no difficulty controlling the class groups, she adds. "The big plus and the reason the methodology works is they are doing something, they are working and they come up with the solution."
The murder mystery component of Challenge Science is a good example of how this works. "Nobel nominated" scientist Prof Franz has been murdered in his laboratory and the students are asked to help solve the crime.
Clues have been left behind and students must carry out chemical experiments to make the link between evidence at the crime scene and three possible suspects.
While the students get caught up in the search for the perpetrator, they also test for acids and bases using litmus paper and confirm the presence in forensic samples of sulphate ions using barium chloride.
Needless to say the crime is solved but the students complete real experiments, says O'Sullivan. "There is a competitive aspect as well," she adds, which helps to keep the students engaged in the activities.
"Of all our programmes, science programmes are the most popular," she says. "We are surprised ourselves at the level of interest."
The four institutes involved, Cork, Waterford, Tallaght and Galway Mayo are central to the programme, providing a venue where students from the various schools will take part.
Support and financial assistance is provided by sponsors Discover Science and Engineering, Wyeth Biopharma and Genzyme.
IT Tallaght was already involved in a number of similar ventures so it was more than ready to participate with Junior Achievement, says the head of Tallaght's department of Applied Science, Dr Ken Carroll.
Last Friday it played host to a "SciFest", a secondary school science exhibition. "We were quite surprised at the level of interest in this," says Carroll. "We expected 10 or 12 projects but got 70. It gives an indication of the level of interest out there in science."
From May 8th to 10th Dublin is the venue for Challenge Science, receiving 100 students a day who will work with the 24 local business volunteers selected for the three days there.
Cork's three day run ends later today and Waterford IT began its three days yesterday. Galway Mayo receives the Challenge Science roadshow from May 10th through 12th.
In the past decade about 200,000 students have been involved in Junior Achievement programmes, says O'Sullivan. The past year's target was set at 50,000 but this now looks like being exceeded by 2,000 she adds.
For more information about Junior Achievement and its student programmes, see www.juniorachievement.ie.