Limerick Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD has warmly congratulated the students from 25 primary schools across Limerick for their success in the Science Foundation Ireland Curious Minds Awards, which recognises the STEM work happening in primary schools across the country.
Kilbehenny National School received the top award for their work and was one of only 26 schools in Ireland to achieve the “Platinum Curious Minds Award” – the highest level of the Award.
Minister Patrick O’Donovan and Dr Ciarán Seoighe, Deputy Director Science Foundation visited Kilbehenny National School to meet the pupils, Principal Mark O’Connell and the staff.
“It’s a great day for Limerick schools, for the students, their teachers and their parents”, said Minister O’Donovan.
“Many future STEM career students are currently in our primary schools – from scientists to engineers and astronauts.
These students are the future of Limerick, they will grow, learn and work in jobs we haven’t even heard of yet.
The sky’s the limit to their creativity – and I am proud to see that creativity being recognised on a national level, in particular the fantastic achievement of Kilbehenny winning the prestigious platinum award for Curious Minds”.
In the 20 years that the Awards have been running, Kilbehenny National School has achieved 17 Awards.
Curious Minds originated as Discover Primary Science and Maths (DPSM) in 2003 with the goal of introducing primary school students to science in a practical, hands-on, enjoyable and interactive way.
The programme is run in partnership with the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) Ireland which uses space to inspire and engage young people in science and technology in the world around them.
One of the major initiatives of the Curious Minds programme is the Science Foundation Ireland Curious Minds Awards, which recognises the STEM work happening in primary schools across the country. Year after year teachers tell SFI that these awards are a great way of involving everyone in science in the school. The SFI Curious Minds Awards give schools the chance to not only develop STEM learning and engagement, but also receive recognition for their amazing work.
Each year, Science Foundation Ireland organises a virtual award ceremony celebrating the recipients of the SFI Curious Minds Awards.  This year 419 schools achieved a Curious Minds Award and 81,537 primary school learners participated in the Awards. Schools in every county participated in the Awards this year.
The Curious Minds programme also supports teachers through professional development courses, classroom resources, and its network of independent Discover Centres that provide non-formal STEM education experiences for learners outside a classroom setting.