Exploring the art of science

Anybody who thinks science can’t be fun hasn’t visited the innovative, interactive exhibition Sea Science at Galway City Museum, which throws a light on everything from electricity to the wealth contained in our oceans.

It has user-friendly machines that you crank up to produce electricity; a device that demonstrates how magnets work, and a ‘submarine’ where people can learn how sound waves carry both under and over the sea, and how whales and dolphins communicate.There are opportunities to tour Galway Bay, above and below water, and to learn about its flora and fauna.

The exhibition also has a computer game, devised by science students at NUIG, showing the impact of pollution on marine life. And a box-like space allows people to witness a Glow Show, featuring plankton from the ocean. It’s magical.

Sea Science is a collaboration between the Ryan Institute at NUIG, Galway Museum and the Galway Education Centre and was part of this year’s Baboró Children’s Arts Festival.  It has been steered by Sarah Knight, Education and Outreach Officer with the Ryan Institute, and the good news is that, while Baboró is over, this exhibition will be running for the next couple of years.

During Baboró, the attendance at Sea Science was 4,500, and the crowds are still coming. On a rainy Friday, kids and parents are turning knobs, pressing dials and moving metal pieces. One user-friendly machine allows people to create electricity by turning a lever. Moving the lever is hard work and it’s a shock to realise that for just one hour of television, you’d have to turn it for a solid week!

Sea Science is full of that kind of information, but it’s also fun, and that’s the aim, according to Sarah. Given the response of children, it’s fulfilling that remit.