A Life Of Pi

The future looks C40H42N12Na2O10S2

iven the success of this year’s BT Young Scientist Exhibition, the gang down at the Greystones Youth Café cleverly decided to host a tribute night on Friday.

Which makes sense, given that some of the brightest sparks at this year’s RDS shindig were local kids.

Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil

On which note, big shout-out to Grace Cullen, Aisling Doyle and Ava Smith McGarry from Colaiste Chraobh Abhann over in sunny Kilcoole, who won the coveted Display Award in the Biological & Ecological category.

And kudos to Jack Walsh, Oisín O’Brien and Jack Killilea from Greystones Community College for their Do Alpha Particles Behave As Waves? entry, and to St David’s Alannah Lynch, who produced an analysis of beach litter in Wicklow, its environmental effects, and explored potential solutions for a more sustainable future.

Alannah was actually present at Friday’s mini Science Exhibition on Trafalgar Road, along with local politicians Jennifer Whitmore, Simon Harris and Stephen Stokes. Other students, from Dominican College, Greystones Community College and St Mary’s, also popped along.

“It was great to see the community coming together to witness the ideas and inventions these incredible young minds have come up with,” said Greystones Youth Café ringleader Rachel Harper. “And when they got the chance to question our politicians, it was fascinating. We’ll have to organise a night soon just around how teenagers in the town feel about current politics…”

Let them eat NaHCO3 Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2

Cllr Stokes added: “We should be proud of the young people in County Wicklow. One interesting thing that I learned is that the biggest waste on Greystones beaches comes from abandoned coffee cups. It is imperative that we urge people to take their waste, but also that we work to ensure that there is enough bin coverage.”

Controversial as ever. For her part, Whitmore – who put the night together with the Harper lass – said, “All the Wicklow young scientists represented themselves, their schools and their communities with pride, and the Wicklow Scientists Expo is another opportunity to have their achievements and scientific contributions acknowledged and applauded.

“It was also an opportunity for the students to network with each other. Who knows, maybe this connection will lay the foundations for a Wicklow-wide collaborative scientific project in the future…”

Bada-BOOM! And the main message of the evening? Don’t believe a word atoms say. They make up everything.

Open Wednesdays 3pm to 5pm and Fridays 7pm to 9pm for teenagers, as always, everyone is welcome. Including any volunteers who can help the café open more days during the week.

In the meantime, you can find out more by emailing youthcafe@tiglin.ie, follow on Instagram here, and see how it all started right here.