Introduction: The annual BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition gets under way tomorrow at the RDS in Dublin, the 42nd since the competition began in 1965.
Each January the event brings together hundreds of students aged 12 to 18 who have worked hard to complete research projects that will now go forward for scrutiny by academic experts.
Formal judging begins on Wednesday afternoon and the top prize of Young Scientist of the Year will be announced on Friday evening. The top three entries will share a prize fund of €5,000 this year.
President Mary McAleese will officiate at the formal opening of the exhibition on Wednesday and Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin will be on hand on Friday evening to hand out the awards. There will also be a steady stream of Ministers and TDs visiting over the course of the exhibition.
The competition is truly a national event with student entries coming from right across Ireland, North and South, with all but three counties being represented.
There are 500 projects on display in the 2006 event, the highest number yet, but 1,152 projects - involving more than 2,500 students - were entered before preliminary judging shortlisted those who will be taking part this year.
In a sense the exhibition is a victim of its own success. In 2000 there were 606 entries to the competition. The 1,152 projects entered this year represents an increase of about 90 per cent.
The atmosphere at the exhibition is always electric, with so many students pouring their considerable energies into explaining their projects to the judges and indeed anyone who expresses an interest. The enthusiasm they feel for their accomplishments is always infectious.
Projects are clustered into four categories including chemical, physical and mathematical sciences (108 entries); biological and ecological sciences (146 entries); technology projects (65 entries); and social and behavioural sciences (201 entries).
The exhibition isn't all about project work however. Considerable effort is put into assembling entertainments and displays that have a scientific edge. Details are provided in a separate article on this page.
These in turn help to boost wider public engagement with the exhibition. More than 35,000 people attended last year over the three days it is open to the public. It is always thronged, including Saturday when the number of student visitors drops but the general public swell the numbers at the RDS.
"We are delighted that the 2006 exhibition is almost upon us," said chief executive officer of BT Ireland, Mike Maloney.
"Over the past number of months we have worked closely with teachers, students and parents to continue to evolve this fantastic competition which grows in popularity each year and really captures the imagination of the students.
"Everyone involved at BT is very excited and we are really looking forward to welcoming everyone throughout the week."