Dervla wins space race

DERVLA BURKE is set to embark on a bold journey today and hopes to get in a bit of moonwalking. The 11-year-old will fly with her mother Mary to the US to explore the wonders of space.

Dervla, a fifth class pupil at Scoil Naomheoin in Midleton, Co Cork, was one of 10 schoolchildren picked from thousands to take on the FÁS Science challenge at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The children will train to be part of a space mission crew and their week-long programme will include learning how to moonwalk on the zero-gravity wall; what astronauts eat in space and how space robotics work.

The FÁS Science Challenge was developed as part of the Government’s new Discover Science and Engineering programme aimed at increasing awareness among primary school pupils of the importance of science and technology.

As well as answering multiple-choice questions, entrants had to compose an essay on why they would be a good scientist.

Dervla wrote that she wanted to find a cure for AIDS after watching a TV documentary about the disease. She also wanted to develop a drug to keep people younger longer, and said she was inspired by her mother. “My Mam is always going on about how she would like to be younger-looking,” she added.

Dervla said she would like to develop a fat-free food people could eat at the start of the day to give them a boost and make them feel better about themselves.

Mary said the nine-day trip also included other activities, including a visit to Florida’s wildlife preserve.

All of the schoolchildren and their parents will be put up in the plush Marriott Hotel beside Cocoa Beach.

Mary said the parents would be with their children for two of the five days when they are in training. “On the three days they will be away from us they will each have a personal bodyguard and, of course, we will all be there for the graduation ceremony at the end of the week,” she explained.

Mary believes her husband Michael first got their daughter interested in science. “His work is not science-based but he is always on the internet and watching science documentaries and is very tuned in to what is happening on Mars at the moment,” she said.