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FREE events in UCC this Friday with Cork Discovers
On Friday 27th September, Cork will be joining 24 other cities across Europe in celebrating European Researchers' night. The aim of ‘Cork Discovers’ is to bring researchers closer to the public and to increase awareness of the impact of research on daily life.
From Boole Library to Blackrock Castle, organisers promise something for everyone - all of the events are designed for fun and the family with:
- 30+ experiments and activities
- 15 hands-on workshops
- 14 events for the grown-ups
- 6 live performances
Among the events in UCC are:
The Discovery Hall at UCC Student Centre where nearly 30 stands will demonstrate culture, technology, food and sustainability. Curious Cork families are invited to use an interactive spectrogram to see sound in full colour, watch a 3D printer making cool shapes with soft cheeses and learn about making more sustainable energy choices.
The ‘Change the World’ Workshop will be open to teenagers and young adults who yearn to create positive change, in the world or in their locality, encouraging them to find if they have what it takes become Ireland’s next social entrepreneur. And last year's hugely popular 'Chemistry Has All the Solutions' Workshop will invite students to perform forensic tests on a crime scene and participate in a mini-magic show.
The CORK TALKS Speaker Series, hosted by Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, will invite adults to:
- TheSustainability and Climate Change Panel including talks about the extinction of birds by Tom Reed, the future of dairy-free diets by Laurence Shalloo and a beginner’s guide to beekeeping by Archie Laffin.
- The Future of Us Panel will offer insights from Dirk Pesch and Kenneth Brown about the ‘Smart City’. In Cork City, there are almost 250,000 cars on our streets every day creating harmful emissions. Pesch and Brown will discuss how data analytics can help us to consolidate these journeys and encourage new ways of transport. They will be joined by Eleanor Doyle who will be explaining cryptocurrencies and Joseph Whelan who will speak about Universal Basic Income.
- The Psychology of Crime Panel will include talks from Orla Lynch on the psychology of terrorism, Robert Bolton on why we commit violent crime and Kevin Doyle will speak about the prevailing popularity of Crime Fiction.
Street lamps, illuminated signs, car headlamps and well-lit offices, homes – lights at night improve safety and make cities more safe and attractive, but also have a negative impact on humans, animals and plants. The Star Spotting Experiment will be asking even our youngest to contribute to light pollution research and giving them the tools and training required to count the stars and contribute to this Europe-wide citizens' experiment.
And the Live Performances are sure to attract a crowd with media partners 96FM at the UCC Amphitheatre. There’ll be acrobatics from Ireland’s Got Talent finalists, Rebel Acro. Professor Griff Rollefson and Cork artist/educator GMC will present a group of young musicians from Knocknaheeny’s Kabin Studio. Cork Migrant Centre Dance Group will give a hip-hop performance and Centre Stage School will be showing off their Dance Company Performers and Elite Competition Team.
Other topics to celebrate and places to visit on the vast Cork Discovers programme include:
- Play & Sustainability at Nano Nagle Place
- Archaeology at Cork Public Museum
- Astronomy at Cork City Hall and CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory
- Comedy at An Spalpin Fanach with the Bright Club
- Cycle Tours from Douglas Street
Cork Discovers is an opportunity to learn about the valuable research being carried out directly from those who work to create a positive impact on our past, present and future. The full programme can be viewed at corkdiscovers.org and we appreciate your support on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Cork Discovers is brought to you by UCC, UCC Academy, Teagasc and Cork City Council. This project from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.