A visit to the What If... exhibition in the Science Gallery at Trinity College has been sparking the imagination of TY students

WHAT IF you mixed a pig with a cow, clouds rained ice cream, and machines could read our emotions? These were some of the many questions facing two different groups of secondary schools students at the Science Gallery’s What If . . . exhibition, an imaginative interpretation of the future from designers and scientists.

The first group included students from second-level schools around Dublin’s inner city. They spent the week experiencing science and technology on the Bridge to College programme, run by educational development organisation Suas in partnership with Trinity College.

Shannon Kane (16) and Derek Rice (15), fifth year students at Ardscoil Eanna on the Crumlin Road, left the programme with a very different outlook on science. On their first day away from the usual school environment, they were paired into groups with students from Mercy School in Goldenbridge. Then, they went on a tour of the Trinity College campus and used computer software to make a film about their first day.

One of the key planks of this programme was the students’ visit to the Science Gallery’s What If . . . exhibition. “I normally think of science being all about test tubes and experiments, so it was weird to see these exhibitions with examples of science in real life,” says Shannon. “They had one installation on what would happen if domestic robots could get their energy from eating houseflies, and others on animals being used as life support machines or for replacement organs.”

Drawing on their visit to the Science Gallery, the group was challenged to respond to What If . . . with their own contribution. Shannon’s group developed the idea of a computerised wardrobe that could predict the weather and advise what clothes to wear.

Derek’s team took a different approach. “We wondered what if you crossed a cow and a pig,” he says. “Would it be stable? So, we designed a pig-cow hybrid on the computer and called it a pow,” says Derek. “It says ‘moink’.”

The students then devised their own marketing campaign to sell their ideas, teasing out the strengths and weaknesses of the product.

A SECOND GROUP, comprising 48 Transition Year students from schools across Ireland, took part in Trinity College’s TYPE (Transition Year Physics Experience). Their week included a visit to a nano-research laboratory, mentorship from Trinity physics students, a field trip to the Armagh Observatory, and -workshops at the Science Gallery.

“We took a tour of the Science Gallery and checked out their labs,” says Rory, a TY student at Clonkeen College in south Co Dublin. “The What If . . . exhibition was very interesting: very odd, very abstract and very funny all at once. There was a lot about future genetics and animal hybrids. We also got to make our own robots – it was fun because nobody had any idea what we were doing. The week has changed my approach to science, and I think its something I would like to pursue. It was good to see the practical side and the real-time applications of physics.”

Since opening its doors in 2008, the Science Gallery has set out to challenge traditional ideas about education, supporting creativity and innovation rather than rote learning, and independent thinking rather than replication. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the Science Gallery has gravitated towards partnership with Transition Year students, where this creativity and independent thinking can be nurtured for a brief year.

Now, it’s ready to step it up a gear. In January, the Science Gallery will launch a new programme offering TY students the chance to play an active role in future exhibitions. The gallery also aims to have at least two ambassadors in every school by 2012, to tie in with Dublin’s hosting of the European City of Science.

Lynn Scarff, Education and Outreach Manager at the Science Gallery, says that they want to identify young, creative, and flexible thinkers. “Science is incredibly pervasive, touching on everything we do in our life, from crossing the road to eating our dinner to listening to music. We want to give people a chance to see what’s happening at the frontiers of science.”

What if . . . at the Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, is open until December 13th, Tuesday- Friday Noon-8pm and weekends Noon-6pm. Admission is free but donations are invited.