A walking, talking robot will battle the Taoiseach for top billing this afternoon at the official opening of the Esat BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. The two will be on hand at the RDS to celebrate the event's 40th anniversary and introduce a record number of student entries.
Undoubtedly, both will be waving to the 1,040 students scheduled to take part in the 2004 exhibition, which this year includes 482 carefully assembled research projects. Just to clear up any confusion in advance, Mr Ahern will be the taller of the two, towering over 1.2 metre "Asimo", an advanced robot developed by Honda.
The last of the student contestants are due to arrive at the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin, this morning, preparing their stands for formal judging which gets underway at 2 p.m. Mr Ahern joins Asimo for a 5.30 p.m. launch, and the winning project will be announced by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, on Friday evening.
The exhibition is the single most important science awareness event on the annual calendar, involving as it does students from north and south and the length and breadth of this island. The gradual decline in the numbers of students taking science subjects in the Leaving will hardly be an issue for the young scientists who have put so much into their projects for the 2004 event.
The number of entries has grown steadily since the involvement of Esat BT - so much so that the exhibition's organisers must produce a shortlist of projects from an even larger pool of student hopefuls. As usual, female entries outweigh male entries, with a total of 719 girls and 321 boys involved this year.
All are targeting the €3,000 top prize and the right to be declared the Young Scientist of the Year. The winner will also have the chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
Projects fall into four categories including the chemical, physical and mathematical sciences; the biological and ecological sciences; technology; and the social and behavioural sciences.
Aside from the top and runner-up prizes, dozens of awards and distinctions are given, including subject- and age-related awards.
Asimo will be one of the stars of the exhibition. A humanoid robot developed by Honda, it can walk down stairs, recognise people, objects and gestures, avoid obstacles and distinguish between sounds and spoken words. Asimo gives four performances tomorrow and Saturday, and three on Friday.
The organisers have also created the "Green Space", a thought-provoking exhibit highlighting the problems involved in waste disposal and protecting the environment.
The exhibition opens to the public from Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Admission for adults is €8, students under 18 and senior citizens are €4, and a four-person family ticket costs €20. School tour visits are €3.50 per student, with teachers admitted free of charge.