Proving science can be fun for the young at the RDS

If you thought science was a bore for children, then the RDS, Dublin, was the place to be yesterday for Monsters, Maggots and Musical Squares - The Best of Irish Science.

The "oohs" and "aahs" were evident from an early hour as Dr Mike and Wendy Gluyas attached microphones to children's stomachs to hear what the organs sounded like but also giving the children a demonstration on the use of sound in medicine.

There was fun, too, as children and adults attempted to write while looking in a mirror, place their hands in a box and identify the substance inside before seeing it and use colour screening to identify partial colour blindness.

However, while the scientific "tricks" were clearly designed to stir the imagination of the younger generation, there was serious input for adults, too.

The broadcaster Gerry Ryan introduced Mr Ralph White, a deep-sea cameraman who has made several expeditions to the Titanic and whose film was used in the movie. Mr White hosted a question-and-answer session with the children.

"Apart form the rescue ship, the Carpathia, was there a third ship out there that night?" asked a boy.

The California, explained Mr White, did not respond to the distress signals because the angle at which the Titanic was sinking made it appear as if it was sailing away. Distress flares were thought to be part of on-board celebrations.

There were a large number of science projects from institutes of technology and universities, including one from NUI Galway on the use of bio-gas technology which creates energy from animal waste.

Residues can be used for fertiliser while the energy can be sold to the ESB.

The computer department at TCD was running a virtual snowball fight, using a special glove and demonstrating how virtual reality can be used in bomb disposal or micro-surgery.

The Institute of Technology, Sligo, had a demonstration on how Zebra mussels can unbalance and submerge navigation markers as well as block water intake, while Cork Institute of Technology had a demonstration on jet-engine technologies.

Generating much interest was a joint project by TCD and Coillte on the yew tree. The yew, while poisonous to cattle and humans, has been discovered to be base material for a new anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel.