‘Perfectly Paced’ was this year’s big winner at the Intel Mini Scientist Exhibition at Timahoe NS.
The annual showcase took place at the end of October and was another resounding success as the young scientists of Timahoe showcased their experiments, investigations and research.
The event is a huge part of the Timahoe NS Calendar due to the enormous success enjoyed by the school in years gone by.
This years’ local winners, Tomás Ramsbottom and Emma Burke from 5th class, will now go on to represent the school at regional and hopefully All Ireland level.
Their project looked at a proposal to power a wireless pacemaker through kinetic energy, meaning Tomás and other people who wear pacemakers will not have to undergo surgeries to replace the batteries.
Runners up Seán Farmer and Sarah Jane Weafer did a project about the Mars rovers which were motorised robots that were sent to Mars to study the planet.
They created a model rover that was programmed through coding to move around and avoid objects. The design was very clever and included some very interesting aspects of engineering.
The standard of science project on view was incredibly high and reflected the enthusiasm for science that exists within the school.
It was also clearly evident that these children have benefitted from exposure to the exhibition over a number of years as the quality of visual presentation, oral delivery and all-round ingenuity was exceptional.
The projects completed by 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes covered a broad range of topics including agriculture, food science, energy, forces, health and hygiene, space, technology and engineering.
There were a host of other category prize winners including:
Engineering Award – Muireann Brown for ‘Moo-tastic Monitor’.
Health & Hygiene Award – Mia McGrath, Róisín Hogan-O’Donnell & Karina Berezynets for ‘Dirty Mouth’.
Environmental Science Award – Harry Mc Evoy, Megan Ryan, Ryan McEvoy for ‘Dispose of food waste right, save the world a fight’.
Display Exhibition Award – Anna Clancy, Lucy Scully, Niamh Ramsbottom for ‘Sustainability to put Co2 to History’.
Scientific Research Award – ‘Going down in Ash’ by Darragh O Connor & Lucy Sage.
Presentation Skills Award – ‘Dental Dilemma’ by Emilia McEvoy
Ag Science Award – ‘A New Era of Spuds ’ by Daniel Tynan
Data Collection Award – ‘Electrical Vehicles but at what cost?’ by Grace Kavanagh
But the prize winners were only part of the story as all the children produced amazing work.
3rd class, exhibiting as a whole class in preparation for next year, completed a brilliant project on Climate Change that was visually stunning.
The judges were impressed with the teamwork involved in their presentation and their lively presentation through song.
Intel judges Ann Tilson and Norma O’Hanlon were left with a major task as they somehow had to pick a winner from what they described as “an exceptional standard of work”.
They praised the children for their projects that were “so polished, so diverse and so interesting”.
They also noted how encouraging it was to see so many girls excited about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths).
Principal, Michael McEvoy was delighted with the exhibition and praised the children for their efforts and commitment to the competition.
He also thanked the parents for supporting the children’s learning throughout the process and the teachers for their coordination of the event.
All roads now lead to the regional finals later in the year as Tomás and Emma go on to represent the school in the regional finals.
SEE ALSO – Laois farmers among first to graduate from Tirlán & Baileys Sustainable Farming Academy