Young Einsteins ready for science expo

THE final touches are being put in place for hundreds of hopeful students participating in the ESAT BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2006 this week.

The judges will be taking a close look at the work of students from both sides of the Border as they try to choose the winners from more than 500 projects entered in this year’s event at the RDS in Dublin.

Many months of preparation will come to fruition as participants put their work on display, with the doors opening to the public tomorrow.

This evening, however, the event will be officially opened by Today FM DJ and television personality Ray D’Arcy. He will be joined on stage by Rose of Tralee Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, herself a lover of science and a theoretical physicist.

For those not so inclined towards the nitty-gritty of labs and experiments, there should be plenty of entertainment.

The organisers expect more than 35,000 visitors from tomorrow until Saturday and have lined up a host of attractions to keep them entertained.

Among the highlights should be the giant robot, Titan. The eight-foot machine took four years to develop and is expected to keep a watchful eye on the audience over the coming days.

While students were getting their projects ready yesterday afternoon, organisers were preparing a number of other exhibits for the wider public due to attend the event.

The Armagh Planetarium will present ALIENS ... Is There Life Out There? exploring the possibilities of living creatures beyond our own planet and galaxy.

London’s Natural History Museum has brought its Eating Creepy Crawlies exhibit to Dublin for the week, giving an insight into insect-eating as commonly practiced in more than a dozen countries around the world.

On the same theme, school groups from across Ireland will be asked to mingle with tropical insects in a series of Bush Tucker Trials like those from TV’s I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here show.

The serious business of judging gets underway tomorrow and the category winners and overall Young Scientist of the Year will be named on Friday evening.