Maynooth University starts a new science outreach programme for schools
Maynooth University starts a new science outreach programme for schools. The departments of Biology and Chemistry at Maynooth University have established a new science outreach programme, Cell EXPLORERS Maynooth University, for primary or post-primary schools located around Maynooth. The first visit of the programme took place at the Presentation Girls National School in Maynooth on Tuesday 16th May with fifth class students.
The programme is free for participating schools and is run in partnership with an existing Cell EXPLORERS programme based in NUI Galway (www.cellexplorers.com) with funding from a Science Foundation Ireland Discover Award. As part of this programme, Dr. Sinead Miggin and Dr. Elisa Fadda, lecturers in the departments of Biology and Chemistry, respectively, will be running the Fantastic DNA School Roadshow around Maynooth during the year and especially in the run up to National Science Week in November.
Dr Miggin explains “Fantastic DNA is a scientific outreach programme that enables primary school children to experience science in a practical and meaningful way in their own classroom. Primary school children have an opportunity to extract DNA from a banana and to build a DNA double helix under the guidance of experienced scientists. We are looking forward to extending the Fantastic DNA Show to additional local schools in the Maynooth area in the coming months”.
Dr Fadda comments: “Together with members of staff of different levels, both of our teams include post-graduate and undergraduate students. Because most of the school children have never met a scientist before our visit, Sinead and I tried to build a team of people of different gender, cultural backgrounds, and age, to inspire every child in the class that he/she can also become a scientist, and to show them that science is and needs diversity. The programme is a big success with the school children, whose enthusiasm during the experiments is contagious. This is incredibly beneficial, inspirational, and educational also for the team members, and especially for the younger ones, who rarely (if ever) have been role models in a scientific context”.
Teachers who like would like their school to participate in the programme should contact cellexplorersnuim@gmail.com for further details.
To find out more about Cell EXPLORERS activities and the ‘Fantastic DNA’ roadshow, visit www.cellexplorers.com or follow Cell EXPLORERS on Facebook or Twitter. Note: we are currently looking for undergraduate volunteers for next semester, September 2017.
Cell EXPLORERS activities in Maynooth University, and the expansion of the programme to other institutions, is funded by by Science Foundation Ireland under its Discover Programme, the NUI Galway School of Natural Sciences and by the NUI Galway Foundation.