Castlerea school wins top award
Students from St. Paul's NS, Castlerea celebrated after being named the overall winning school at STEMtacular.
A Castlerea primary school has emerged as the overall winner of STEMtacular, which attracted over 500 primary school students to a showcase of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in County Leitrim.
The event culminated in an awards ceremony, where students were recognised for their hard work and creativity.
St. Paul’s NS, Castlerea emerged as the overall winning school, earning a trip to the University of Limerick’s Chemistry Department, where they will get to engage in some fun science experiments at one of Ireland's top institutions.
Meanwhile, the AbbVie Special Class 1 and Class 3 awards went to St Michael’s School, Castlerea; the Engineers Ireland ‘Engineering’ Award for How do aeroplanes fly Went to Clonown NS and Ciara O Neill from Clonown NS won the Expleo ‘Best Communicator’ Award.
Ballinamore was transformed into a hub of innovation and excitement for the highly anticipated STEMtacular, powered by Analog Devices.
The event brought together schools from across Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan, Longford, Sligo, Mayo, and Fermanagh.
Students from these regions presented their own STEM projects, tackling a wide range of intriguing questions. Their projects delved into issues such as: Does warming up before sport improve performance? Does living on a farm lead to a healthier lifestyle? Does toast always land butter side down? And, perhaps most controversially, is cracking your fingers bad for you? Each group was eager to explain their findings to a panel of esteemed judges from both industry and education, who engaged with the students, asking insightful questions and offering encouragement.
While the students’ research projects were at the heart of the event, STEMtacular had much more to offer. The Discovery Zone, an interactive area filled with 20 fascinating exhibits, gave the young attendees the chance to engage directly with a variety of STEM fields.
In the Discovery Zone, Analog Devices, the events primary sponsor, set up an engaging series of interactive games that allowed students to explore different aspects of STEM in a fun and hands-on way. These games helped bring the world of technology and innovation to life, sparking curiosity and excitement in the young minds that participated.
Some of the other highlights was Met Éireann, Ireland’s National Meteorological Service, who set up a green screen that allowed students to try their hand at weather presenting, offering a fun and educational experience in broadcasting. Meanwhile, Midlands Reptile Zoo brought an assortment of reptiles, giving the students a rare opportunity to learn about these fascinating creatures. Jaguar Land Rover contributed by bringing the inner rig of their state-of-the-art jeeps, where students explored the technology behind the vehicle's design.
The Marble Arch Caves set up an immersive Virtual Reality experience, enabling students to take a virtual tour of a cave, exploring its wonders without leaving the event. Other exciting exhibits included VEX Robotics, where students got the chance to engage with programmable robots and learn about robotics and engineering.
Armagh Observatory offered a glimpse into the wonders of space with hands-on activities focused on astronomy, while Geological Survey Ireland provided interactive experiences that helped students discover the science behind the Earth’s geological processes.
