‘Science Summer School’ to spark a future in science for young people
Friday 28 October 2022
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is delighted to announce that the prestigious ‘Science Summer School’ project co-founded by Professor Brian Cox will blast into Ballymena on Tuesday 15 November for a fun-filled day full of wacky and wonderful workshops, presentations, fascinating facts and much more for young people across the Borough and beyond!
400 secondary school children with an interest in STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) will descend on The Braid in Ballymena for an enjoyable and challenging daytime programme of activities.
With an itinerary that mixes the best of STEAM through a series of seminars, discussions and workshops including hands-on experiments, the ‘Activate your curiosity, making sense of science’ event aims to inspire young people to become the next generation of scientists and engineers.
The Science Summer School initiative was established in 2012 at St. Paul’s Way Trust School in East London by Professor Brian Cox CBE and Lord Andrew Mawson OBE. The project is now expanding nationally with the aim to make ‘the UK the best place to do science and engineering in the world".
This is the first time this event has been held in Northern Ireland. Keynote speakers include Professor Brian Cox CBE plus a raft of other industry and academic leaders including Andrew Smyth, former GBBO contestant and engineer for Rolls Royce; Dr. Erin Higgins, Astrophysicist at the Armagh Observatory & Planetarium; and Professor Ultan Power, Professor of Molecular Virology, Queen’s University Belfast to name but a few.
There will also be a special evening panel event for students and their parents which will highlight the myriad of career pathways and opportunities available to the future workforce. The event will also draw on the experiences of speakers from the daytime event.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman Noel Williams, said: “Council’s Manufacturing Task Force is delighted to be working with a range of local businesses, schools, universities and partner organisations to bring this exciting opportunity to our Borough.
“It is our hope that the young people attending will be inspired to embark on a fantastic future in science - and maybe even become leaders in that field.”
Managing Director of Ryobi, Marco Emig, said: “Ryobi are delighted to be the main sponsor of this event.
“Science and the desire to learn more about how our world works, and about how we can use that information to improve how we live our lives, has never been more attractive or relevant as a subject area and a potential career path.
“The Science School initiative will activate the curiosities of the young people who take part and hopefully inspire them to great things.”
Professor Cox CBE added: “There has never a better time to launch Science Summer School in Northern Ireland. I am delighted students from across the Borough and further afield will come together and discover that developing their interest in science can help them to achieve an exciting career and fulfilling life.
“The event offers a great mix of interesting people and innovative experiments and is sure to activate the curiosity of all those attending”.
This event is sponsored by Ryobi, Almac, IPC, NRC, Randox, Terumo and Michelin.
For more information, go to our Science Summer School section.
