The forthcoming Millennium Science Week Ireland, which officially gets under way next Sunday, offers 150 events, from lectures on the science of science fiction to interactive science exhibitions featuring Ireland's leading scientists. Participants will have the opportunity to watch a meteor shower through high-power telescopes, and there are lectures, debates and presentations planned in all of the Irish universities.
Though Science Week officially runs from November 7th to 14th, events will not be confined to this period. Lectures, nature walks and exhibitions take place throughout Ireland, and there are events for adults and children.
The Leonid meteor storm figures prominently in lectures. Hopefully, the meteors themselves will live up to expectations, unlike last year, when many were disappointed at the display.
Two lectures on the phenomenon are planned for November 8th at 8 p.m. Dr David Asher discusses the hot flying rocks which cause the phenomenon in a talk in the Henry Grattan Building at Dublin City University, while John O'Neill and John Flannery talk about the "vermin of the skies" at Ely House, Ely Place, Dublin. For a £1 donation, observers may catch a view of the meteors by telescope at three locations on November 17th at 10.30 p.m.: the Papal Cross in Phoenix Park, the Westside Shopping Centre in Galway, and the Ballyphehane Community Centre in Cork.
"Science and Enterprise - The Best of Irish Science" comes to the RDS in Dublin on November 5th. Though theatre events are already booked by school groups, the organisers invite second-level students to the exhibition of a diverse range of projects presented by university professors and industry scientists. Subjects on display include an interactive dance floor, the "magic of plastics", and a virtual reality machine shop. The exhibition runs from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
The Irish Science and Technology Journalists' Association and the Guild of Agriculture Journalists are sponsoring a discussion on the timely subject of genetically modified foods. Dr Patrick Wall of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Dr Peter Whittaker, biology professor, among others, debate "GM Foods: What's the story? - the media and their role in the national debate." The public is invited to the reception and debate at 7.30 p.m. on November 3rd at the Writers' Museum, Parnell Square, Dublin.
Other highlights of the Week include a lecture about the Garda forensic laboratory on November 10th at midday in the DIT, Kevin Street, Dublin; a guided tour focusing on the science of conservation for school groups at the National Museum, Collins Barracks, on November 10th at 10 a.m., and "The Physics of Star Trek" on November 6th at 3 p.m., a talk by Prof Lawrence Krauss at the UCC Science Building.
The National History Museum in Merrion Street, Dublin, has organised special gallery walks, entitled "Angry Ducks and Dancing Frogs", to take place on November 14th at 2.15 p.m., 3.15 p.m. and 4.15 p.m. (admission free). AT TCD the public can visit the departments of mathematics and physics, where there will be talks and demonstrations, on November 13th.
The Limerick Science Fair meanwhile takes place on November 7th at the University of Limerick.