Pupils from Gardiner Street primary school gave Minister of State Conor Lenihan a going over at the official launch today of Science Week Ireland 2010.
Mr Lenihan agreed to hold a mini-press conference, where he faced tough questioning including how big his home was, what costume he wore on Halloween and what he wanted this year from Santa.
Mr Lenihan delighted the third and fourth class students, answering their questions as diligently as he would those delivered by the toughest set of hacks at a press event in Government Buildings.
He also managed to bring home to them the value of studying science subjects and maths given they would be working in the smart economy 10 years hence.
The event at the Pearse Street Library was organised by the Government's Discover Science and Engineering (DSE) programme, which organises the annual Science Week Ireland event.
More than 450 science week events are planned between Sunday, November 7th and Sunday November 14th, with talks, displays, exhibitions and shows taking place across the State.
Noted Irish astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell will answer the burning question whether the world will end on December 21st, 2012, as predicted, Dr Caroline Wilkinson from the University of Dundee will explain how forensic anthropologists recreated the face of a bog body discovered in Co Meath in 2003. Author and lecturer Kevin Nolan of IT Tallaght will talk about our "cosmic origins" in a talk illustrated with the latest Hubble telescope images.
Many of the planned events are free and suited to family participation. "Science Week for us is really about the children and their families. It is enthusing children right at the start to take an interest in science and maths," said DSE programme director Peter Brabazon.
A full programme of events for all counties across the entire week is available at www.scienceweek.ie
