This week's Festival of Science at Trinity College Dublin has been a tremendous success - one of the best to date, according to the organisers, the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
The BA typically expects about 35,000 to visit one or more of the dozens of on- and off-campus talks and presentations which make up the annual event. But estimates suggest the figure for the Dublin festival could be as high as 50,000, some 7,000 of them primary and secondary school pupils.
These numbers demonstrate that the subject matter was sufficiently attractive to bring in the curious in high numbers and, more importantly, that there is a definite appetite for science amongst the general public.
However numbers alone do not make a festival of this kind. Although "bums on seats" might be taken as a measure of achievement, it is the lingering impact on those who attend that dictates whether it has facilitated a truly successful engagement with the public.
The incoming chairman of the council of the BA, Prof Patrick Dowling, a Dubliner who has had a distinguished career in engineering and the sciences in Britain, attended the festival the last time it came to Dublin in 1957. Then an undergraduate at University College Dublin, he described how he was thrilled and inspired by the presentations he heard at that time. Will those who attended the 2005 event, especially the thousands of youngsters who visited with school groups, be equally inspired?
The Government will hope that this is so. Our technological world is underpinned by science and engineering. Without fresh talent entering third-level institutions to pursue studies and, hopefully, careers in these subjects, this State will be left at considerable disadvantage as western economies grow increasingly dependent on knowledge advancement to generate wealth in an ever more competitive world.
For this reason it is imperative that Government policy directing investment in science, particularly the next national development plan, lays down clear provisions to create career paths for graduates in the sciences and engineering. Our Science Today columnist, William Reville, is among those who have lamented the fact that far too many young people when considering their futures do not see obvious and promising careers in the sciences.
The public and student response to the festival of science indicates that the interest is there. We must build on this event to ensure it does indeed have a lasting impact on society. On top of that, we must deliver the message that scientific endeavour is as much a part of our culture as are the humanities and can result equally in lifelong rewarding careers.