Next time you visit the National Botanic Gardens don't be surprised to see some fancy gadgetry winking amid the foliage. It is part of the Eco-Sensor Network for Science Education Project, a new, web-based initiative launched next week which aims to spark children's interest in science and the environment, writes Dr Claire O'Connell.
Devised by the National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR) at Dublin City University, the project has put eight unobtrusive eco-sensors into three different greenhouses at the Gardens. These mini-weather stations capture information about the ambient environment and relay the data to a website. Primary schoolchildren can then visit the website to examine the data and find out about experiments they can do themselves.
"The overall aim of the project is to create an excitement in children about science," says Emma O'Brien, who is education and outreach manager of the biomedical diagnostics institute at the NCSR. "And the context is monitoring environmental conditions in fantastic greenhouses in the Botanic Gardens."
Anyone who has walked through the three linked greenhouses used in the project will already be aware of the environmental changes between the arid cactus house, the humid palm house and the fresher orchid house. But the eco-sensors take a more scientific approach.
Each one contains a small platform called a "mote" that houses sensors that capture data about light intensity, humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels, explains O'Brien. The battery-operated eco-sensors, which are encased in protective boxes, then wirelessly hop the data back to a base station that feeds live information into a website.
This means that people anywhere can log on and look at variations in the greenhouses over time, says Professor Brian MacCraith, who has been principal investigator on the three-year project to develop the sensor technology.
"There's a whole focus worldwide on developing miniaturised sensor systems," he says, adding that the project will continue to update the technology in the Gardens, including adding carbon dioxide sensors to help monitor photosynthesis.
The eco-sensor project, which was funded by the Higher Education Authority, links into the primary science curriculum and is aimed at "the pipeline of future scientists and engineers", according to MacCraith. And the NCSR recently teamed up with the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative (DLLI) to pilot the eco-sensor network science education programme in three primary schools in Dublin's Liberties district.
Karen Jordan, who teaches eight to 11-year-olds at St Catherine's National School, says the children lapped up the eco-sensor education programme. It first introduced fun practical activities like measuring who has the warmest hands, or doing a scavenger hunt around the school to find the hottest and coldest spots, including the staff-room freezer.
Then they looked at information coming from the Gardens, graphing the data and setting up their own experiments. The children also visited the Gardens to see the sensors in situ, and the school hopes to set up a small garden to recreate the conditions in the greenhouses.
The NCSR aims to introduce the project to more schools and the new website will now allow children from all over the State to access the programme, says MacCraith. The site provides a wealth of additional information about plants and sensors, brings students on a virtual tour of the Gardens and outlines simple experiments that children can carry out at school or at home.
And the director of the Botanic Gardens, Dr Peter Wyse Jackson, is happy to be on board. "We are delighted to be a partner in this important and innovative educational project, bringing accessible environmental sensor technology to schools throughout Ireland via the Internet," he says.
The Eco-Sensor Project will be officially launched by Rose of Tralee Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin at the National Botanic Gardens next Monday morning. You can access the project's website at www.ecosensorweb.dcu.ie.