Offaly Discovery Day draws the crowds during Science Week

Science Week in the Midlands was back in person this year with the Midlands Science Festival, funded by Science Foundation Ireland.
A wide range of activities took place including a family Discovery Day in Tullamore  attended by over 1,200 people and supported by Integra.
The National Museum of Ireland continued its partnership with Midlands Science and this year the school and family workshops and public event focussed on items in the national collection in Co Offaly and the Vikings in the Midlands.  Participants got the chance to get up close and personal with a wolf skill, viking hack silver and amber among many other things.
A swim in Lough Ree this year in association with Swim Ireland was also part of the activities  and the swim was followed by food and drinks in the Lough Ree Inn with a talk by author of the acclaimed book “Blue Spaces” Dr Catherine Kelly.

Other events included exploring the science of golf in Athlone Golf Club, the science of stress and resilience with psychologist Dr Andrew Magee, the science of cats and dogs with Pete the Vet and a unique hands-on event looking at the science of sustainable living.  Every participant at  this event made some soap, shampoo bar and a wax wrap and seed bomb to take home after the event.
An event looking at the science of cosmetics, Beauty and the Chemistry Beasts, took place in Mullingar in association with the Royal Society of Chemistry and this was filmed and will be circulated online and to schools later next week.
Forensic Science Ireland and UCD took part in The Usual Suspects in Portlaoise looking at the role of science in solving crimes including cold cases and this event included some well-known Irish crimes.
Participants in the festival also looked up to the night’s sky to ponder the wonders of the universe in Lough Boora Parklands with Midlands Astronomy Club. Dead Centre Brewing was the location for Hop to It !! – a unique event looking at the science of beer with Prof John Morrisey, a fermentation expert from UCC. Participants at this event also tried a Dead Centre Beer and a new product from Bia Sol, the circular economy enterprise that makes products from spent fermented grains.

A wide range of activities also took place in schools across the region during the week with the Exploration Dome, Superhero Science and many others and a number of workshops exploring careers in science took place.
Online activities included a series of videos looking at the science of climate action, including a programme that Midlands Science undertook with youth club participants from the Monsignor McCarthy Complex in Athlone.
Those interested in car racing were also part of the festival with an online event with driver Paul O’Connell taking apart what it takes to be a Formula 1 Driver and this event included the opportunity to win a family day in the pit with him and his team on a race day in Mondello Park.Book  Clubs across the region were also encouraged to take part in Science Week by reading a popular science book from a list curated by Midlands Science.

Midlands Science runs science outreach all year around to schools through its outreach programme and also runs a number of special projects such as Quiet Science, Innovate for Climate Action and Everyday Science.
It reaches an average of 16,000 people per year and is supported by the Ireland Funds Private Donor Network, the Medtronic Foundation and a variety of private, public and philanthropic funders for different projects and activities. More information can be found on www.midlandsscience.ie