The South East Science Festival is back from November 8 to 16 and this year’s extensive programme of free and ticketed events across Waterford city and county, the Suir Valley and Carlow includes even more fascinating daytime and evening events in colleges, libraries, theatres and pubs.
All the events across all three counties are engaging, all fun and all showcase how relevant all things science are in our everyday lives. Novel events this year include the science of wine tasting and pairing, coastal change, fossils, and copper mining.
Recent approval of the capital programme supporting the Veterinary Places Activation Programme (VPAP) and the creation a new veterinary school at SETU is a massive boost to the south east as a STEM cluster. Such investment is expected to spur even greater interest in this year’s Festival programme of 90 plus events which is supported by Research Ireland.
This year, Science Week celebrates its 30th anniversary with the theme Then. Today. Tomorrow. Managed by Research Ireland, Science Week 2025 marks thirty years of harnessing the power of curiosity and collaboration to advance science in Ireland.
Engaging and fun presenters, Mark Langtry, Ken Farhuhar and Cas Kramer are back by popular demand on this year’s South East Science Festival programme. And libraries have opened their doors, and their teams are coordinating and marketing events across venues such as Ardkeen, Clonmel, Cappoquin, Lismore, Dungarvan, Carlow town and Tallow.
This year’s Festival theme, Then. Today. Tomorrow” is central to the extensive programme of traditionally popular as well as new events on this year’s South East Science Festival programme across Waterford, Tipperary and Carlow, Dr Sheila Donegan, Co-Founder and Co-Director of CALMAST, the South East Technological University’s STEM engagement centre, said.
“We’re really looking forward to engaging with all sections of the community, from primary school children right up to adult-only audiences for this year’s South East Science Festival programme. It’s fun, it’s engaging, it’s entertaining and educational. We’re delighted to work with Research Ireland and with our partners and sponsors, key among them the local authorities, SETU, key STEM employers in the region.
“We now invite members of the public to peruse the schedule of events running across libraries, theatres, pubs, educational hubs, museums and so much more and to book their place. We will be exploring the science behind wine tasting and pairing. We will also mix comedy and science and will be looking at why copper was mined in Waterford and if it could be again. We’re examining fossils in the city, will host a coastal change workshop and walk and much more. Many events booked out within hours last year and we expect the very same for 2025,” Dr Donegan said.
Among the South East Science Festival partners this year are internationally renowned street art festival specialists Spraoi. TV Honan, Spraoi Director, said: “Spraoi performances are a mix of art, engineering, and technology. Human creativity is the common link, and we love working with SETU colleagues making imaginative connections between art and science.”
For more on the South East Science Festival programme 2025 log on to https://www.calmast.ie/stem_engagement/se-science-festival/
