Science on Stage 2

Science on Stage 2 was held at the Europole Congress Centre in Grenoble, France, 2 - 6 April 2007.

European website: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Science_on_Stage/

Science on Stage 1 & 2 combined book with demonstrations and teaching ideas (pdf, 4.7 Mb).

Irish Delegation

Science on Stage 2 Report

Going to Grenoble

The Science on Stage 2 Festival took place from 2-6 April 2007 in Grenoble, France. Grenoble is the leading centre for research in France outside the Paris area. 20% of its active population is involved in research, higher education and advanced technology. Grenoble hosts nine national research organisations, two major international facilities and three European laboratories, four universities and sixteen engineering schools. During the festival the Irish delegation got the opportunity to visit the three research centres of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) which specialises in neutron science and technology, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) which produces extremely powerful X-ray beams and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

A team of eleven science teachers and educators were selected in November 2006 to represent Ireland at the week-long festival. The festival offers teachers a unique opportunity to exchange teaching materials and ideas, through the combination of a science teaching fair, on-stage activities and parallel sessions and workshops. The teaching fair provides an array of vibrant and stimulating displays from thirty countries across Europe with a multitude of languages and enthusiastic participants taking every opportunity to explain their projects.

Ireland's presentation: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

At SOS2 the Irish delegation were commended for their week long fair presentation entitled Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - A selection of demonstrations to show innovative approaches to teaching science using recycled and reusable materials and promoting environmentally friendly solutions. Examples included wind generators, solar energy, bionic plungers, density of air, colour mixing, smelly balloons, electrolysis, wave motion using reclaimed components from household appliances, air rockets, energy conservation and much more... The Irish team also presented a workshop on the Effective use of technology in Science Education, showing how data loggers, sensors, computers and virtual learning environments have been used with our curriculum to improve student understanding.

Other highlights

Other highlights of the festival included the on-stage performances; examples include: Molecular Gastronomy, The secrets of sea depth, Experiments between magic and science, and Top ten myths, where lots of science questions were raised, e.g. "What is the Coriolis effect and does it have anything to do with plugholes in Australia?", "Can science help us go ghostbusting?", "Can mobile phones cook an egg - or your brains?", and "What do glowing gherkins have to do with astronomy?".

The festival programme also included for the first time a Round Table discussion about European Science Education in the age of the knowledge Society - Strengthening Science Education in Europe, chaired by the European Commissioner for Science and Research.

The complete programme for the festival can be found from: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Science_on_Stage/.

Science on Stage 2 Teaching Fair at the Europole Congress Centre in Grenoble.

Photo of the Irish delegation at the Ireland stand at SOS2.

Back row: (l-r) Brendan Duane, John Hennessy, Rory Geoghegan, Kevin Murphy, Paul Nugent, Joe Nugent, Brian Masterson, Noel Cunningham. Front row: (l-r) Rachel Linney, Eilish McLoughlin, Damienne Letmon.