I'm just home from spending an enjoyable day helping the hardworking and visionary Galway Science & Technology Festival (GSTF) committee and dozens and dozens of volunteers get the University of Galway campus ready for tomorrow's Exhibition Day. With 20,000+ visitors, it represents the largest one day STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) celebration in Ireland and opens a two week festival that this year has the theme of 'Regeneration'. Appropriately then the festival will finish on a high note on June 23rd with the planting of heritage orchards in fields within Terryland Forest Park comprising varieties of fruits that almost disappeared from the Irish landscape where it not for the great efforts of Irish Seed Savers Association.
As always, Sunday's interactive fair will involve all sectors from Galway city and county society including the corporate sector, indigenous companies, primary schools, secondary schools, science education centres such as Galway Atlantaquaria, university research institutes from both universities in Galway, art events such as drawing workshops hosted by artists Margaret Nolan and Richard Chapman, and the ever-present Origami stand workshops with Thomas Cuffe... The list goes on and on!
Galway is internationally renowned not just as a City of Arts but also as a City of Science. Now in its 27 year, the annual GSTF festival has played a key role in earning Galway this accolade.
2024 will represent my 23rd year as an active member of the organising team. Hopefully I will be around for a few more!
Photo shows my lovely wife Cepta with the Origami maestro Tom Cuffe at a previous GSTF Exhibition Day.
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