November 2016 Ireland’s Schools Make Big Bang in Science Video Competition

Schools from Galway and Monaghan each win €1,000 with videos about ‘Life in Space’ and ‘How the Sun Works’

The winners of the ReelLIFE SCIENCE video competition were announced today as Gaelscoil Riabhach from Loughrea, Co. Galway at primary school level and Patrician High School, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan at secondary school level, with each school winning €1,000.

For their video about ‘Life in Space’, fourth class students from Gaelscoil Riabhach interviewed NASA astronaut Ron Garan about his experiences aboard the International Space Station, while Patrician High School Transition Year students John Ubaldo and Colm Lonergan explored ‘How The Sun Works’ in their animated video. 

Based in NUI Galway and supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover programme and the CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, ReelLIFE SCIENCE challenges Irish schools to communicate science via engaging and educational short videos. This challenge was met by more than 2,000 students in 104 schools around Ireland, producing over 200 short science videos on a range of topics in both English and Irish.

Selecting the best videos to share the €3,000 prize fund were: University College London neuroscientist and Royal Society Fellow, Professor Eleanor Maguire;, BT Young Scientist & Technologists of the Year 2016, Maria Louise Fufezan and Diana Bura from Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan; and RTÉ broadcaster and science enthusiast Rick O’Shea.

Rick O’Shea said: “It was a genuine pleasure to go through all the entries in this year’s competition. Some were of such an incredibly high quality. I just wish the tech and the teaching that obviously goes behind this was around when I was in school!”

Other prize-winners include Coldwood National School from Craughwell, Co. Galway and Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra, Dublin 7 at primary school level, and Coláiste Lorcáin, Castledermot, Co. Kildare and Manor House School, Raheny, Dublin 5 at secondary school level.

All videos can be viewed at www.reellifescience.com and will be shown to the general public as part of the Galway Science and Technology Exhibition, held in NUI Galway on Sunday, 27 November.

Since launching in 2013, over 7,000 students in 250 schools around Ireland have taken part in ReelLIFE SCIENCE, while the videos produced have been viewed more than 80,000 times in over 100 countries worldwide. ReelLIFE SCIENCE is organised by NUI Galway’s Dr Enda O’Connell and a team of science communication enthusiasts, in collaboration with the Cell EXPLORERS outreach programme from the NUI Galway School of Natural Sciences.

Dr Ruth Freeman, Director Strategy and Communications, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “We are delighted to support this initiative, which cleverly combines science literacy and creativity, while providing a great opportunity for students and teachers to engage with science in a novel way. ReelLIFE SCIENCE encourages young people to connect with the science and technology in their everyday lives, and to bring that knowledge to a wider audience, while promoting current Irish scientific research and development.”

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