Irish Junior Science Olympiad
by Mary Hennessy
What is the Irish Junior Science Olympiad?
The Irish Junior Science Olympiad is a science competition held every year for students who are under sixteen. These students are chosen based on their Junior Cert results in Science and Maths. This year it took place on the 5th of November in DCU. The top 6 students go from this competition to The International Junior Science Olympiad which is being held in Durban, South Africa on the 1st of December this year.
Our car pulled up to the entrance of DCU and I was very impressed. I had never been in DCU before and the sheer size was unbelievable. Once Mam parked the car we followed the signs to the nursing building for registration. The building towered high overhead and I was greeted by hundreds of other students as Mam and I walked through the revolving doors. After a short wait, we were directed towards the Terence Larkin Lecture Theatre. This was a round building with lots of seats, which were all facing a large podium. I said goodbye to mam and entered and claimed myself a seat. Each student was given 2 sheets of paper, 1 for the questions and 1 for the answers. As we were being given out our papers, I saw Gillian, the other girl from my year. She was sitting at the other side of the theatre so all I could do was wave. All the questions on the paper were multiple choices and there were 60 questions. We were given 3 hours to complete the exam. I immediately started into the first question which was:
How long does a mirror have to be for you to be able to see your whole body in it?
A: 2 metres
B: Twice your height
C: It depends how far away you stand
D: Half your height
That was the easiest question in the entire exam. The questions were on either biology, chemistry or physics with a few maths ones thrown in. I got out my calculator and got stuck in! I was finished with half an hour to spare. I could see the hall becoming emptier and emptier so after checking my answers for the third time, I left to go and get my lunch. During lunch I got the chance to explore the DCU campus. I discovered that there is a building for every subject. Nursing, I.T, science you name it. After refuelling my tired brain, I made my way back to the Theatre. I got a bit lost on the way but I made it back in plenty of time for the award ceremony. I met up with Gillian to discuss some of the questions we were asked. We both agreed that some of the questions were insanely hard but we had both given them our best shot. During the award ceremony, everyone who took part was given a certificate. The top 3 were awarded gold medals and a place on the team that are going to Durban, the three people that scored the next highest were awarded silver medals and also a place on the team. There were also three bronze medallists and they are going to be the reserves if any of the gold/silver medallists aren`t in a position to travel. Unfortunately neither Gillian nor I got a place on the team. At the end of the day I went home happy. I really enjoyed my experience and got to see the campus in DCU.
By Mary Hennessy, T.Y.