NI Science Festival goes ‘Global’ with unique experiment

TAKE a dash of inspiration, a measure of ingenuity and add the backing of a famous astronaut – and you have the perfect formula for Northern Ireland’s role in an out-of-this world global science experiment.

The Northern Ireland Science Festival (NISF) is this week inviting schools, community groups, clubs and families to be among the first to take a starring role in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Global Experiment on Tuesday (February 23), which includes a special tutorial for local young people from Tim Peake, who is currently orbiting earth aboard the International Space Station.

It’s not the first time that the Northern Ireland Science Festival has connected young people across the world.

In 2015 in its inaugural year, NISF broke a Guinness World Record with 1,339 individuals taking part in the Largest Practical Science Lesson at the Odyssey in Belfast, which can be seen below.

And this year the Festival is going even further into the stratosphere, showing how technology is unleashing increasing collaboration opportunities and helping put our children in Northern Ireland at the very centre of the global STEM community.

Returning for a second year from February 18 -28 in venues all over the country, the festival provides a showcase for the wonders of STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The experiment will see thousands of students from around the world participating and collaborating on how to stop UV light from harming astronauts like Tim, who is proving an inspiration to keen star-spotters as he details his important missions via social media.

There’s no need for a lab or specialist equipment – young people are being encouraged to conduct the experiment at home or in the classroom, then post data and add a picture to a worldwide evolving database to see how results compare to others around the world.

And of course, the budding scientists are also encouraged to report their progress via social media, just like Tim!

One of the main missions of the festival is to encourage young people to consider STEM careers and the organisers believe that the easy-to-follow experiment will help inspire Northern Ireland’s future scientists and astronauts.

NI Science Festival Director Chris McCreery said: “This year we are going global, with an opportunity for schools, community groups, clubs and families in Northern Ireland to be among thousands of students from around the world collaborating in the 2016 Royal Society of Chemistry’s Global Experiment.

“Contributing and engaging on an international level on this scale is a hugely exciting and valuable thing to do, and we’re all proud to be part of it.”

NI Science Festival Chair Dr Liz Conlon added: “The Science Festival is about entertaining but it is also about celebrating our unique heritage in Northern Ireland. One of our aims is to promote knowledge and understanding of STEM to a wider audience and also to encourage young people to explore the fantastic opportunities arising through STEM careers.”

The experiment is called ‘Mission:Starlight’ and will explore how to prevent the sun’s Ultraviolet light from damaging the astronauts in the International Space Station by looking at what materials could be used in spacesuits, visors and event spacecraft.

The Global Experiment is organised by Royal Society of Chemistry and takes place on Tuesday February 23 from 9am – 6pm.