Hen raising Laois students chosen for BT Young Scientist exhibition
St Mary's CBS Portlaoise team hope for a cracking win in the RDS in Dublin
Two Laois students who have hatched out an interesting scientific plan on poultry, are now exhibiting and hoping for prizes at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition underway at the RDS in Dublin.
Rhys Kelly and Aaron Keane are both in 5th year at St Mary's CBS in Portlaoise. Their project has the interesting title of Hen vs Machine.
It focused on their Research question - What is the effect of natural vs assisted incubation on the rate of growth in chicks and their ability to resist disease (avian influenza)?.
Rhys explained why they chose the project, one of the few to make it to the prestigious exhibition viewed by thousands of visitors including the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President of Ireland Michael D Higgins.
"I raise chickens and I wanted to research a topic that would benefit my sale of poultry. We've always wondered which conditions lead to a faster rate of growth: incubated or hen hatched chicks," he told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.
Gathering their findings was not easy.
"We found the topic very interesting and carrying out the whole project was a good experience, however, taking the measurements weekly for 30 chicks was time consuming. There was a lot of work involved in completing this project but by working away at it steadily made it doable," Aaron said.
Ahead of the exhibition opening on Thursday, January 11, the lads said "We're excited, well prepared, and energetic. Looking forward to the week, meeting other students and presenting our work."
Their Teacher is Ms Emily Barrett.
"The lads have worked so hard for the last few months. They show a real interest in their topic and enthusiasm for their project. I'm so proud of what they have achieved. Getting accepted into BTYSTE is a huge accomplishment. They know their project inside and out and can talk confidently about it. I know they'll impress the judges," she said.
The CBS project is one of five Laois entries chosen this year.
The BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition runs from January 11 to 13 in the RDS in Dublin.