Lots to see at this year's online Cork Science Festival

The Cork Science Festival started today (Sunday) and has lots to interest children including virtual dinosaur shows, the science behind bubbles and finding out how rainbows are made.

The Cork Science Festival is part of Science Week – an event that is celebrating its 25th year – and has, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic moved online.

This year’s Cork Science Festival, which offers a huge selection of free events for all ages, is called “Shaping our Future” and it will run from November 8^th to 15^th .

The week is packed with exciting online events exploring all aspects of the world we live in.

One of the first events is a virtual sound workshop where attendees can find out what makes sound and what makes music. They will be able to create their own noisemakers and discover how to make all sounds louder.

There will be an opportunity too to explore a forensic crime scene as well as a virtual Dinosaur Show over Zoom with TV presenter Dale Treadwell.

During the week, there will free public engagement events, open days, science tours, talks, exhibitions, shows, workshops and school events.

On Tuesday, people are invited to go on a journey to discover where water comes from while another workshop will investigate the science behind bubbles.

There will be an exploration into what rainbows are made of and how we use rainbows in our everyday lives.

‘We are very excited that Cork Science Festival can go ahead with such a fantastic online programme this year,’ said Mervyn Horgan, the festival co-ordinator.

Cork Science Week is one of the highlights of the year for children and adults alike.

The team behind the festival represents Cork’s best in research, education and industry across science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Another highlight will be a live reading from the Johnny Magory series of books by author Emma Jane Leeson. Also on the schedule is a ‘Virtual Climate Hack’, which will provide students with an opportunity to investigate the energy demand in their area and explore potential decarbonization options (moving away from fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions), as well as an opportunity to ask experts about their proposed solutions.

With the workshops delivered online children can discover the amazing world of microbes through Microbe Origami with APC Microbiome Ireland.

There will feature an electricity workshop and a show called “Up in Smoke with Professor Baloney”. This is a virtual science show with an emphasis on showing how much fun experimental science is. A mix of laughter, experiments, and a puppet professor, to bring the material alive.

Fantastic DNA in a Box will encourage kids to work like a molecular biologist and extract DNA from cells in their kitchens with everyday life items such as hand sanitiser.

More information on all Cork Science Festival events available at www.CorkScienceFestival.ie