Four Laois projects feature in the BT Young Scientists Exhibition, opening today

The exhibition opens today, Wednesday January 11, and runs until Saturday January 14.

Two teams from Heywood Community School in Ballinakill were chosen.  

Sarah McMahon, Jessica Barrett and Florianna Mezzapelle will show what factors influence speed most, in their project 'Striding for Speed', in the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences intermediate category.

Ruth Bergin and Maeve Weston studied the effect of positive and negative feedback on schoolchildren’s academic performances, in 'A Quantification of the Effect of Praise And Criticism on the Standard of Academic Performance', in the Social and Behavioural Sciences intermediate category.

A study by three TY students from St Mary's CBS in Portlaoise, examined students' knowledge of the possible dangers of vaping.

Alan Bowe, Killian McGannon and Ben Conroy found a concerning lack of knowledge among senior students about eCigarettes, and how easy it is for students to buy the over 18s products. They will show their results under the Social and Behavioural Sciences Group

Portlaoise College second years Emma Lynch, Ben O'Rourke and Saorch Lawlor under the guidance of Ms Sweeney and Ms Kinsella, will show their test results of mains water in Laois versus three bottled waters, in the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences Junior category.

Hundreds of Laois students will be among the 50,000 visitors heading to Dublin to view the 550 exhibits at the prestigious exhibition, as well as the RDS Primary Science Fair which runs alongside it. There were a record 5,000 entries this year to the exhibition.

In the past five years, Laois has won 9 awards.