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Clonaslee College a buzz with science, biodiversity and building for the future

The BBC's Science Bloke, Marty Jopson is at Clonaslee College this Tuesday for Science Week.

They don’t hang around in Clonaslee College.

This is Science Week and Clonaslee is a buzz of activity and excitement as they have lined up one of the most interesting events taking place anywhere in the country.

The famed BBC’s resident scientist, Marty Jopson is coming to town, or to Clonaslee College to be precise to explore and experiment with lots of interesting science stuff.

Being the sort they are the good people at Clonaslee College are not keeping the science wizard, because he does look like a wizard, all to themselves, but are generously sharing the experience with hundreds of primary school pupils from all around their neighbourhood.

Apart from the students in Clonaslee College and the local primary school who will benefit from this scientific endeavour there will be over 350 pupils welcomed from Killeigh, The Rock, Mucklagh, Castlecuffe and nearby Rosenallis. What a fantastic science project that it.

So what’s in store for all the students who will explore the science show in Clonaslee this Tuesday, November 12?

They will take a journey from everyday life, down into the realm of microscopical wonders with Marty Jopson, the BBC One Show’s resident scientist.

The adventure begins with things you can almost see but soon you will find yourself in a world totally invisible to the unaided eye. Marty will take them from the very beginnings of microscopy, through hugely magnified insects, bacteria and plants to the most up to date fluorescent techniques demonstrated live on the stage. A show not just full of stunning images, but interactive demonstrations and samples harvested from the audience as well. You have been warned!

“I am thrilled to be partaking in this year’s Midlands Science Festival and am really looking forward to visiting Co. Laois. It’s easy to forget how important science is in our everyday lives, which is why I like to present not just the facts of science but the stories behind them as well. I want to enthuse everyone, school kids, adults and parents alike to ask more questions and draw their own conclusions because science can really help us understand the world around us.

“So, whether you are attending my own event or not, I hope everyone gets a chance to play around with some science this November during Science Week 2019 across the Midlands. Science really is all around us in everything we do,” Marty Jopson said at the weekend in advance of his visit to Clonaslee.

All the experiments and excitement at Clonaslee College commence for the second level students at 10am and thereafter from 11.15am for the visiting primary school pupils next door in the Community Centre.

But Clonaslee College is not resting on its laurels as Principal, Suzanne Mc Mahon and her team are busy planning and plotting a pathway to the future for the highly progressive school.

After their Science Week escapades there are numerous other projects in the pipeline.

Work on designing and developing a new Courtyard Garden at the heart of the school are well underway as the TY Students collaborate with their art teacher Amanda Harkin and landscape architect and sculptor, Maeve O’ Neill in exploring their options for the spring. More on that anon as the College does its bit for biodiversity.

Clonaslee College has also just applied for planning permission to build two more classrooms and a state-of-the-art science lab and prep room. The design is regarded as cutting edge and devised as a learning hub and a move away from traditional classroom styles.

Head of Met Éireann, Evelyn Cusack is pictured with Clonaslee College Principal, Suzanne Mc Mahon and students David Mc Kane and Roisín O Donovan.

That’s a half a million euro project with Clonaslee certainly building for the future. The plan is to have meteorologist, Evelyn Cusack who of course has strong Clonaslee links back to the school to officially open the new science lab when it comes on stream. A familiar face from our TV screens and the weather forecast each evening Evelyn gave a talk on the science of meteorology earlier this year in Clonaslee.

But for this week, it’s all about science bloke Marty Jopson, exciting!!

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