Fish arriving at Athenry Boys School

After squeezing the van in as close to the school as possible to avoid the rain and unloading all the equipment I set about getting Athenry Boys School's fish tank set up.

The boys from 2nd Class did a fantastic job of welcoming their fish to the school.

The class broke up into smaller group and took turns to come out and help me with the tanks set up. They also learning about a different aspect of the tanks maintenance and care so that they could report back to the rest of the class.

There was a feeding group, cleaning group, oxygen group, health / death group! And finally the animal group.

Well done to all the boys for their help and all the brilliant questions you asked while we were stocking the tank.

Good luck with your seashore animals,
Dr. Noirin

Explorers East meets Explorers West :-)

It was a busy week for the Explorers programme this week. I had the pleasure of travelling to Sealife aquarium in Bray on Wednesday to sit in on a meeting of the Explorers programme on the East coast. I got to meet Pat and Lorraine from the aquarium who will be setting up the tanks in the schools on behalf of the programme and Tomás Ó Briain from the Blackrock Education Centre who will be visiting all the schools. It was fantastic to see the programme reaching more and more schools around our coast, with everyone working to promote a love for the marine environment to the students they meet.

I was also travelling along the west coast stocking tanks and carrying out science experiments in Co. Clare, in the beautiful locations of Liscannor, Lahinch and Ballyvaughan. More photos will follow soon!

Liscannor National School

Our newest lesson plan went live on the Explorers website, a maths extension for the rockets science experiment, and more maths extensions will follow shortly.  

Materials for Rockets:
Film Canister + Water + Effervescent Tablets = Fun, Fun, Fun
Just remember to mark a launch site and stand back!

Film Canister Rocket in Preparation

 For full instructions on investigating how temperature effects rocket launch time with your students in the classroom click: http://oar.marine.ie/handle/10793/845

Bye for now, Dr. Noirin