Lissivigeen National School finished second in the ReelLife Science Video competition that ran alongside Galway Science and Technology Festival’s annual Exhibition Day on the University of Galway campus last week.

Over 20,000 people attended the festival making it the biggest event in Ireland for Science Week

From planets to penicillin and artificial intelligence to vaping, short science videos made by young Irish filmmakers have been celebrated at the 11th Annual ReelLIFE SCIENCE Awards in University of Galway.

The event took place on Sunday November 12 as part of Science Week 2023 and the 26th Galway Science and Technology Festival.

More than 400 short science films were entered into the competition created by 2,600 young science enthusiasts in 131 schools and youth groups taking part across the island of Ireland.

Winning videos were selected by a panel of guest judges including science communicator and engineer Dr Niamh Shaw; RTÉJr TV presenter and scientist Mark ‘The Science Guy’ Langtry; and the 2023 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition winners, Liam Carew and Shane O’Connor.

Runners-up Primary School – Fourth class students from A team of pupils from fourth Class at Lissivigeen National School finished second in the competition after bringing judges on a trip around the solar system in ‘The Science Video’.
Along with their teacher Tommy Buckley, they won € 500 in prize money.

Tommy Buckley, fourth Class teacher in Lissivigeen National School said:
“For the past six weeks, we've been diligently working on a project for the REELlife Science Video Competition.

“Our task was to create a 1-3 minute video focusing on any scientific topic of our choice. After weeks of brainstorming and refining our ideas, we democratically settled on the intriguing subject of space.

“Under my guidance, we crafted a script and even composed a rap song.

“We conducted auditions to fill the 14 speaking roles and recorded both individual and group audio sessions for the song.

“The movie was filmed over three days, and I handled the editing process. We submitted our project, and hoped for the best.

“Two weeks later, we received the exciting announcement that our video had been selected among the top 3 at the primary school level.

“Last Sunday, I, along with 8 pupils, travelled to Galway for the awards ceremony. During the event, we were honored with the second-place prize, which included a trophy, a customised movie poster, and an incredible €500 prize for our school.”