Science Week

Science week was celebrated in Gonzaga’s refurbished science building on Tuesday 11th November. Activities of many kinds entertained large numbers of students throughout both Lunch periods.
The Science Staff of the College combined with invited guest speakers to provide a startling array of Science activity in seven different rooms for an action packed eighty minute spell.
One of the most popular attractions was the Van de Graaff generator, which made impressive sparks and was literally “hair-raising” for those who were brave enough to try it. Also hugely popular was the array of chemistry magic that caused regular “controlled explosions”.
A number of very interesting lectures were well attended. These included
'The Science behind weather forecasting' by Michael Clarke (1999)
'Food Science' by Greg Burke (1978)
'Engineering' by Eamonn Lannoye (2005)
'Astronomy' by John Flannery (Astronomical Society)
Elsewhere in the building students watched David Attenborough’s “Life of Mammals' on a big screen.
Those who visited the laboratories marvelled at the spinning egg, the Bernoulli effect, and Lenz’s law in action while others listened to the magic flute, the singing wine glass or the Doppler effect.
Everyone had to dodge the “rocket car” as it careered along the corridor.
Some students were impressed by electrostatic attraction, the principle of the dimmer switch and how easy it is to generate alternating current.
All this and much more was on display in the cause of having fun with Science.
The Science Quiz (prepared and corrected by Carol Flynn) was popular with many students. Prizes of a book about Science were won by
Louis O’Halloran 1A
Mathew Enright 2B
Sam Carthy 3C
A programmable robot kit was awarded to Lorcan Conroy (Fourth Year) for the best response to the Science Day survey.