Midlands Science Festival goes virtual
The Midlands Science Festival, a week-long immersive digital event, gets underway this Saturday November 7 to November 15.
It forms part of National Science Week and Midlands Science will be offering an interactive, online community events to people of all ages.
This event will take place on November 7 and will feature a wide range of interactive workshops, science fun, creative experiments and more.
In a time of uncertainty, the Midlands Science team is conscious that it is more important than ever to provide activities for our audiences to ensure that they keep learning about science in an accessible way.
Midlands Science is pleased to announce details of two unique digital activities in Westmeath which are part of a collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland for Science Week 2020.
This year’s events are also presented in partnership with the Heritage Office of Westmeath County Council.
Siobhan Pierce, Education and Outreach Officer, Archaeology and Natural History at National Museum of Ireland commented,
‘We are delighted to be bringing a special, online virtual event to a school in the Midlands for Science Week and we are also looking forward to delivering a family workshop to wider communities in Westmeath, which will explore our rich Viking heritage.
"We will host this event live from the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin where we will interact with Athlone primary school pupils so that they can learn about what archaeology can tell us about the arrival of the Vikings to Ireland and their impact on Westmeath.
"It is wonderful to have a strong partnership with Midlands Science and the County Heritage Officers of the Midlands counties so that we can continue to make these events happen during Science Week even if this year, they cannot be delivered in person.
"Our family workshop will be hosted live from the Museum with National Museum of Ireland educator Trisha Ryan and will show Viking material found in Dublin and Viking finds from Ballinderry Crannog, Westmeath, including a sword and gaming board. This event was specially created for children 7-12 years old and we are looking forward to interacting with as many people as possible on the day."
CEO of Midlands Science, Jackie Gorman, said excitement is building for the upcoming family Discovery Day which would usually take place in a large venue but it will be different this year with all activities being experienced online.
"We are confident that this fun and informative event will not only inspire and encourage young minds to think about the many aspects of real-world science in new and different ways but we also hope that it will be a real treat for the whole family."
Dale Treadwell’s Dinosaur Show, Anyone4Science, Superhero Science, the Exploration Dome, The Reptile Zoo and Dr Mindflip’s Ultimate Learning Experience are just some of the wonderful activities lined up for the day.
For more information including the full schedule and how to register, go to www.midlandsscience.ie
The core theme for Science Week 2020, now in its 25th year, is ‘Science Week – Choosing our Future’ focusing on how science can improve our lives in the future and in the present.
This year’s festival offering will enable schools, teachers, parents and people of all ages to get involved virtually and it will deliver engaging talks, interactive workshops and presentations in a whole new and innovative format.