On Monday the 14^th of November the winners of the ReelLIFE SCIENCE video competition were announced as Gaelscoil Riabhach from Loughrea, Co. Galway at primary school level and Patrician High School, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan at secondary school level. Each school won €1000 for their individual projects. Fourth class students from Gaelscoil Riabhach interviewed NASA astronaut Ron Garan about his experiences aboard the International Space Station in their video about ‘Life in Space’. While Patrician High School Transition Year students John Ubaldo and Colm Lonergan explored ‘How The Sun Works’ in their animated video.

Based in NUI Galway and supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover programme and the CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, ReelLIFE SCIENCE challenges Irish schools to communicate science via engaging and educational short videos. This challenge was met by more than 2000 students in 104 schools around Ireland, producing over 200 short science videos on a range of topics in both English and Irish.

Selecting the best videos to share the €3000 prize fund were University College London neuroscientist and Royal Society Fellow Prof. Eleanor Maguire, BT Young Scientist & Technologists of the Year 2016, Maria Louise Fufezan and Diana Bura from Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan and RTE broadcaster and science enthusiast Rick O’Shea, who said “It was a genuine pleasure to go through all the entries in this year’s competition. Some were of such an incredibly high quality. I just wish the tech and the teaching that obviously goes behind this was around when I was in school!”

Other prizewinners include Coldwood National School from Craughwell, Co. Galway and Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra, Dublin 7 at primary school level and Coláiste Lorcáin, Castledermot, Co. Kildare and Manor House School, Raheny, Dublin 5 at secondary school level. All videos can be viewed at www.reellifescience.com and will be shown to the general public as part of the Galway Science and Technology Exhibition, held in NUI Galway on Sunday, 27 November.

 Since launching in 2013, over 7,000 students in 250 schools around Ireland have taken part in ReelLIFE SCIENCE, while the videos produced have been viewed more than 80,000 times in over 100 countries worldwide. ReelLIFE SCIENCE is organised by Dr Enda O’Connell and a team of science communication enthusiasts, in collaboration with the Cell EXPLORERS outreach programme from the NUI Galway School of Natural Sciences.

Dr Ruth Freeman, Director Strategy and Communications, Science Foundation Ireland, said of the competition, “We are delighted to support this initiative, which cleverly combines science literacy and creativity, while providing a great opportunity for students and teachers to engage with science in a novel way. ReelLIFE SCIENCE encourages young people to connect with the science and technology in their everyday lives, and to bring that knowledge to a wider audience, while promoting current Irish scientific research and development.”

All of the winning videos can be viewed at the following link https://reellifescience.com/2016/11/14/reellife-science-2016-winners-announced/ and will be screened at the Galway Science and Technology Festival on November 27^th.

For more information contact Dr Enda O’Connell, NCBES, NUI Galway, at enda.oconnell@nuigalway.ie or 091 495435.

Gaelscoil Riabhach RLS16 Winners.jpg Fourth class students from Gaelscoil Riabhach, Loughrea, Co. Galway. Photographer Brian Ó Meacháin.

Patrician High School RLS16 Winners.jpg (l-r) Colm Lonergan and John Ubaldo from Patrician High School, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan. Photographer Maeve Reynolds.