Without doubt the highlight of the year so far was our trip to the Primary Science Fair in the RDS on January 10th.
The BT Young Scientists Exhibition has been a prestigious event in the Secondary School calendar for many years and The Primary Science Fair, its equivalent for National schools, is fast becoming just as important. Places are eagerly sought after and only 120 projects from the whole of Ireland are chosen, so there was huge excitement in Derryclough N.S. when the news came through in November that we had been offered a stand to display our project. The project was entitled ‘How do wind turbines turn wind into electricity, and could we build a working model?’
It was a fascinating project, involving a lot of work and research. Parents and members of the wider school community willingly shared their time, skills and expertise, helping the children to construct two working models of wind-turbines. We want to say a huge thank you to them for their help and support - we couldn't have done it without them! One model lights a bulb, while we can measure the voltage of electricity which the other produces using a multi-meter.
The trip itself was hugely exciting, with an overnight stay in Dublin, as we had to have our stand set up at 9.30am on Saturday January 10th. The day was an amazing experience which was all about the children. They had to explain the project, demonstrate the models and answer many questions from the public and the judges.
The Irish American Partnership, as part of their Primary Schools Science Programme, granted travelling expenses to 32 rural schools to facilitate the trip to the RDS, and Derryclough was delighted to be one of those schools. Derryclough has been very lucky to receive other donations from the Partnership in the past so we were delighted to welcome the Partnership’s representative, Liam Connellan, to our stand.
We also had a visit from the BT Young Scientist of the Year winners with their trophy, and their teacher, Derry O'Donovan, who originally came from just a few miles away from the school. This was very exciting for us indeed!
Overall, it was a memorable occasion, a wonderful experience and opportunity for the children and we will treasure the trophy presented to all participating schools.
The BT Young Scientists Exhibition has been a prestigious event in the Secondary School calendar for many years and The Primary Science Fair, its equivalent for National schools, is fast becoming just as important. Places are eagerly sought after and only 120 projects from the whole of Ireland are chosen, so there was huge excitement in Derryclough N.S. when the news came through in November that we had been offered a stand to display our project. The project was entitled ‘How do wind turbines turn wind into electricity, and could we build a working model?’
It was a fascinating project, involving a lot of work and research. Parents and members of the wider school community willingly shared their time, skills and expertise, helping the children to construct two working models of wind-turbines. We want to say a huge thank you to them for their help and support - we couldn't have done it without them! One model lights a bulb, while we can measure the voltage of electricity which the other produces using a multi-meter.
The trip itself was hugely exciting, with an overnight stay in Dublin, as we had to have our stand set up at 9.30am on Saturday January 10th. The day was an amazing experience which was all about the children. They had to explain the project, demonstrate the models and answer many questions from the public and the judges.
The Irish American Partnership, as part of their Primary Schools Science Programme, granted travelling expenses to 32 rural schools to facilitate the trip to the RDS, and Derryclough was delighted to be one of those schools. Derryclough has been very lucky to receive other donations from the Partnership in the past so we were delighted to welcome the Partnership’s representative, Liam Connellan, to our stand.
We also had a visit from the BT Young Scientist of the Year winners with their trophy, and their teacher, Derry O'Donovan, who originally came from just a few miles away from the school. This was very exciting for us indeed!
Overall, it was a memorable occasion, a wonderful experience and opportunity for the children and we will treasure the trophy presented to all participating schools.