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Spectacular Cork Carnival of Science has Families in their ‘Element’

More than 26,000 people attended the highly anticipated Cork Carnival of Science the weekend of June 8th & 9th in Fitzgerald Park, which is worth an estimated €250,000 to the local economy.  The theme for this year’s event, which is supported by Cork City Council and Science Foundation Ireland, focused on the science of the natural world.

This free family science festival was opened by An Tánaiste Michéal Martin and Lord Mayor Cllr Kieran McCarthy who were given a guided tour of the park and took time to meet scientists, researchers and families at Ireland’s largest outdoor science engagement event.

Over the 2 days of the Carnival of Science, the public revelled in the chance to explore, investigate, experiment, and discover the wonders of science on this STEMtastic day out which blended education with entertainment in equal measure.

Here are some at a glance statistics from the 2024 Cork Carnival of Science

  • Families got a unique chance to get up close with real science projects resulting in 10,000 maths puzzles solved, 1500 batteries made, 2000 DNA samples taken as researchers from leading institutes of education and industry hosted interactive stands and workshops.
  • 200+ researchers and performers got involved in live science shows, walk about performances and interactive science activities.
  • 50 volunteers assisted with the running of the event
  • ·44 seated live-shows over 2 days
  • 45 pop up science activities at stalls and stands along the main exploration routes
  • 12 local food trucks to keep people fuelled.
  • 9 drinking water stations to provide fresh drinking water and reduce single use plastics
  • 200+ bed nights directly involved with the event
  • An estimated economic boost of €250,000 to the city over the weekend

Commenting on the success of the 2024 Cork Carnival of Science,  Ellen Murphy Executive Scientist at Cork City Council said, “The goal with Cork Carnival of Science is to create a STEM wonderland, packed with fun and exciting ways to enjoy science and inspire a love of scientific endeavour in future generations. Cork City Council was delighted to be a driving force behind this free event as it gives families a wonderful way to make science education fun for children and fits well into our ongoing STEM promotion efforts and wider festival programme.” She continued “Many visitors remarked that they attended both days and are already looking forward to next year’s festival so that is proof that the Cork Carnival of Science formula works!”

Cork City Council have been promoting and supporting STEM activities through the Lifetime Labs at the Old Cork Waterworks Experience for over 20 years.  Cork Carnival of Science is different from all other science engagement events in that it takes real life scientists out of the lab and into the outdoors. Families get to make their own scientific discoveries and learn from researchers and science educators in a fun and interactive way. Cork City Council are very grateful to all who attended and got involved in making this year a huge success and to  Science Foundation Ireland for their continued support.

Cork Carnival of Science is a Cork City Council event, supported by Science Foundation Ireland with media partners The Irish Examiner and Cork’s Red FM.

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