Savour Science at Savour Kilkenny Food Festival
Paul and a section of the crowd at the Waterford Savour Science Stand
It was a misty Saturday (29th Oct) mo
rning when we pulled up in front of historic Kilkenny Castle with a van full of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) displays. Sarah, Jess, Martin, Olivia, Michael, Kieran, Paul, Sheila and Eoin started setting up the stand in the drizzle and quickly got ready to entertain the visitors. The weather situation worsened considerably and after a time doing science in the rain we pulled back into the shelter of our tent. A team were dispatched back to Waterford to get some more marquees to shelter the audience. However, by the time they returned the skies had cleared and the sun had appeared.
The rest of the day was very busy displaying science phenomena with apples, nuts, pumpkins and other hallowe'en fare. Robert Boyle appeared from the 17th Century and used his vacuum receiver to create giant marshmallows (unsuccessfully) and boil water (that then froze). He also showed the crowds how he used plant extracts as the first acid-base indicator. Sheila then showed how many food substances could be used as acid-base indicators.
Science busking legend Paul Nugent did amazing physics demos with food. Michael continued his quest for the perfect Coke and Menthos fountain, or in this case several unidentified cola bottles together and rock salt. Most of the crowd escaped the soaking. The young people were also particularly taken with our pumpkin filled with liquid nitrogen!
Looking foward to tomorrow without the rain!
