BT Young Scientists- 5 Qualifiers from MCS

The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is an Irish annual school students' science competition that has been held in the RDS, Dublin every January. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, the competition will be held entirely online this year. However, the young scientists will still get to experience the beneficial outcomes of participating. Not only do young people get the opportunity to expand their scientific knowledge but they are also in with a chance of winning many prizes. The school also enters the John Hooper Schools’ Medal, a competition run by the CSO which enables students to do research and apply statistical analysis while building teamwork and communication skills. The school has had great success also in this competition. 

MCS had a great year last year in BT with two groups winning a highly commended award, one group being awarded third place in their category and one group achieving second place in their section and also winning the Teagasc Special Award. 

This year eight groups entered this popular competition, with five qualifying for the finals in the RDS. The others will continue research for entry in the John Hooper. ‘Do you ever think how much a ‘thumbs up’ costs’ investigates the environmental cost behind our virtual lives, and its creators are Katie Morley, Molly Morley, Amy Hickey and their teacher Ms. O’Donoghue. Chloe Bailey, Brianna Gallahue, Murphy and Sarah O’Keeffe are completing a project called ‘Carbon Sequestration in Soils’ with the help of their teacher Ms. Lyons. Another BT group including Sarah Morris Murray, Cara Brophy, Katie Linehan and their teacher Ms. O’Donoghue are doing a project titled ‘Can we save our planet and our money, one giant redwood at a time’. An agricultural project this year is titled ‘Is Ireland’s eradication programme for bovine TB effective?’ and its creators are Katie O’Sullivan and Ellie McSweeney along with their teacher Mr. Lyons. A project that many could benefit from is called ‘One language or two: which is better for you?’ and it is being completed by Anna Moynihan, Cathy Byrnes, Alex Ducey and their teacher Ms. O’Donoghue.  

Three groups will now continue their research for the John Hooper Schools’ Medal. ‘Do fishermen live longer and if so, why don’t more people fish?’ researched by Conor Casey, Jason Carroll and their teacher, Mr. Guerin. Esfir Connolly, Emma Lehane and Ola Pepkowska are working on a very topical and interesting project with their teacher Ms. English titled ‘Do face masks effect school students and the environment?’ Claire Lyons is completing her project about ‘The factors that influence parents of children with Down syndrome in choosing schools in Munster’ and her teacher is Ms. English. 

 Congratulations to the eight groups on their work and research- we wish all of the groups the very best of luck with their projects! 

Article written by Katie O’Sullivan