In celebration of Science Week 2009, which runs from 8-15 November, Blog Digest donned its lab coat and tested Ireland’s top science blogs. Conor Lenihan TD, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, says we should celebrate the achievements of mathematicians and scientists in the same way that sports stars and popstars are lauded. I say they don’t need this razzle dazzle and that Science Week works because it is all about inspiring and enthusing kids with the magic of science.
Does science get enough coverage by the mainstream media? Arguably not near as much as it should, but in an age of citizen journalism and weblogs there is plenty of reading material out there.
MyScience.ie from Discover Science & Engineering is a case in point. It’s a portal for science news and discussion, with plenty of updates on science and technology-related events happening around the country.
Science Spinning is the blog of Dublin-based science writer Sean Duke, who co-founded Science Spin, Ireland’s first dedicated science magazine.
He is an outstanding figure in science communications here – as much as we talk about innovation, research and economic development through science and technology we don’t seem to do much talking about the breakthroughs themselves, but Duke does, and has been for many years now.
From seismology to astronaut training, he has it covered.
What’s this smart economy all about then? Essentially it boils down to building up a healthy economy on the fruits of third-level R&D in science, technology and engineering.
Enterprise Ireland (EI) knows that research commercialisation is key to this, but not when locked up in a silo – this EI blog encourages discussion and debate by posting weekly topics such as Big Ideas Showcase 2009 and the Government’s report, Delivering the Smart Economy.
St Columba’s College in Dublin is a secondary school with a science blog that has been shortlisted for a 2009 Eircom Golden Spider award, and although this is just a standard free Blogger.com template you can see why it has been nominated.
This well-written blog updates regularly and has lots of images and some podcasts to come as well. There is a sense of enthusiasm and a spirit of learning that is applicable to any age group reading it. Enjoy!
By Marie Boran
Photo: MyScience.ie’s blog.
