Gadget Master

Here on Gadget Master we are happy to promote, for our Irish readers, the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, now in its 48th year.

For the 2012 event approaching in January (in Dublin), BT has announced that it has received a record number of entries, with 1,743 ideas entered by 3,842 students from 32 counties...
 
At the exhibition there will be 550 places up for grabs for students and schools to demonstrate their projects.

Highlights of the entrants so far include the following (with the fact that girls are out-competing boys grabbing attention online):

• 1,743 entries received spanning 32 counties
• 354 schools represented
• 1,354 entries are from groups and 389 entries are from individuals
• Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences has received 326 entries; Biological & Ecological Sciences 509 entries; Social & Behavioural Sciences 618 entries and Technology 290 entries
• There are 2,235 girls and 1,608 boys represented in the entries
  

Entry details >>

The event attracts over 40,000 people, making it one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, say the organisers.

They write:

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is much more than a competition; it is an unforgettable experience of a lifetime for the students who take part. The exhibition itself is the final stage in the competition which is open to all second level students from Ireland, both North and South.

As well as the 500+ student projects on display, there will also be four exhibition halls filled with science and technology based exhibits and entertainment, aimed at general visitors.

A bit of historical background...

In 1963 two UCD physics researchers, Rev. Dr. Tom Burke and Dr. Tony Scott, came across the concept of 'Science Fairs'' while conducting research in New Mexico, America. These local school science exhibitions culminated in State Fairs and ultimately a national competition. The pair decided that this type of hands-on science was something that Irish students could benefit from, by taking science outside the four walls of the classroom and showing that it is all around.

And so the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition was born. The first competition was held in 1965 in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin and attracted 230 entries and the first ever winner, John Monaghan, has recently retired as Chief Executive Officer of Avigen, a US Biotech company. The success of the first year was such that the exhibition moved to the much larger venue of the RDS in year two and it has remained there ever since.

The 2012 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from January 11th - 14th.

Find out the full details >>