Each year, we invite the BT Young Scientist of the Year to join us at the START Competition awards ceremony. They present their winning project to the children, sharing what inspired them and how their journey began. It’s a brilliant way to spark curiosity and show what’s possible when you follow your ideas!

Each year, the START Competition award ceremony begins on a high note – quite literally – with a lively karaoke session.

This cheerful tradition sets the tone for the day, bringing children, teachers, and volunteers together in song and celebration before the workshops begin. With plenty of clapping, dancing and laughter, it’s the perfect icebreaker to energise everyone for a day full of curiosity, creativity, and science.

The “Get Fit and Stay Fit” workshop raises awareness of the importance of physical activity in young children for a healthy lifestyle and reducing long-term illness risks. The workshop explains how the heart, lungs, and muscles respond to exercise and why staying active keeps these systems healthy.

Participants listen to their heartbeat, measure their blood pressure, and observe how these change after brief exercises like skipping or jumping jacks. They also measure recovery time, grip strength, and jumping ability to assess fitness, strength, and endurance. In this workshop the importance of participating in regular physical activity is highlighted. To find out more about exercise physiology, visit Dr Ananya Gupta website https://express.adobe.com/page/Kqp0lxsRjKr63/

Kitchen Chemistry demonstrate captivating science experiments to the START Competition award ceremony’s attendees. These colourful concoctions and bubbling reactions are created from everyday household ingredients; to showcase that chemistry isn’t confined to laboratories – it can be found all around us! Near the end of the ceremony, we break out some of our lab equipment to bring you indoor thunderclouds, home-made fire extinguishers,  and giant streams of toothpaste! To find out more about Kitchen Chemistry,

visit https://www.universityofgalway.ie/science-engineering/schoolofbiologicalandchemicalsciences/undergraduatepathways/chemistry/kitchenchemistry/

Cell Explorers offer a hands-on workshop, where participants explore the fascinating world of DNA by extracting it from a banana. Using simple materials, students learn about the structure and function of DNA while conducting their own exciting experiment.

Galway Neuroscience Centre runs a fun workshop, where young scientists get to look at brain cells under a microscope, discover the magic of Benham’s disc, and explore tricky optical illusions. They also take part in a quick hand dominance test and leave with simple brain-related activities to try at home. GNC participation in START Awards 2024 (universityofgalway.ie)

The Statistics workshop aims to explain to children how different studies work. Some studies randomly put people into different groups to test something (experimental), while others just observe what happens naturally without changing or assigning anything randomly. Children will also learn how to collect real data and make sense of it by creating cool graphics, just like real scientists!

One of the big hits at the START awards is the Giant Buzz Game, where children have to guide a wand along a wire frame without setting off the buzzer!

It’s all about concentration, coordination, and a bit of fun competition – and it has everyone cheering each other on!

The Animal Roadshow brings science to life, quite literally! This hands-on workshop gives children the chance to meet and learn about a wide variety of animals, from soft bunnies and curious owls to slithery snakes and more.

Full of excitement and learning, the Animal Roadshow always leaves children smiling, and a little bit braver too.