SORCHA’S ENTRY CATCHES THE EYE
GREENHILLS STUDENT IS HIGHLY COMMENDED AT YOUNG SCIENTISTS
ART, science and nature meet to form beautiful patterns in the Young Scientist project developed by Sorcha McGeown from Greenhills.
The Our Lady’s College student looked at the patterns of the ‘Hele-Shaw Cell’ which is created by injecting a ‘ low viscous liquid into a high viscous liquid’, according to the local second year student.
Explaining how she came up with the project, which was ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges, Sorcha told the Drogheda Independent: ‘I first thought of this project from a book. I was looking through it and because I love art, when I saw this I thought it looked really nice so I started on it straight away.
‘I started on it back in May and I’ve been researching it and doing experiments since then.’
Sorcha’s experiments involved the use of household liquids and she managed to create a series of beautiful patterns that were proudly displayed at her project stand in the RDS at the Young Scientist Exhibition, last week.
The Drogehda student mixed items like glue and poster paints as well as the unlikely combination of toothpaste and ink to create the Hele-Shaw Cell patterns.
Sorcha explained that these cells can occur in nature and can even result as a by-product of oil fracking.
This was the second year student’s first time entering the Young Scientist competition but she hopes it will not be the last.
She described the Young Scientist experience, saying: ‘It’s amazing, I didn’t expect it to be like this. I was very nervous coming in but to see so many projects here is just amazing.’
Sorcha said she hoped to return to the exhibition in Transition Year once her Junior Certificate is out of the way.
Unsurprisingly, given the nature of her project, the Drogheda student hopes to pursue a career in either art or science, and now knows a way of exploring both fields of endeavour at the same time.
She thanked her school for their support in her participation in the exhibition and particularly her mentor, Ms Fraces O’Regan who is a veteran of the competition and was returning to the RDS this year, for the 40th year running.