Stars and STEM Stories
GLOBE Puts the "A" in STEAM for this Award-Winning Irish School
Coláiste Íosagáin, Portarlington Co Offaly, the GLOBE Ireland 22/23 ‘Best Artistic Project’ winner, were recognized at the 2024 GLOBE Europe and Eurasia Virtual Student Conference on 6 March 2024, receiving the award in the “Song” category.
After being introduced to The GLOBE Program, students thought about ways the climate impacted their local area: cloud cover and surface temperature, waterways and geography, using "green" energy. Picking different sites around their school, these students looked at ground cover (tarmac, grass, and bare soil), walled areas and their direction towards the sun, and the weather. They created a site inventory of their school, taking note of areas that they felt happiest being in and what ways the school was utilizing renewable energy. Taking measurements over several days, the students also discovered how different areas experienced higher and cooler temperatures.
From there, the students put together a "'Cool' Schools Solution Plan" with ideas such as:
- Using rain barrels to collect and reuse water
- Planting gardens to help capture water runoff
- Removing some of the paved areas in favor for more green areas
- Planting more native plants
The students plan to use their findings to inform their school and local community of better ways to help the environment. One of those ways is through music.
Coláiste Íosagáin students received a 400 EUR travel grant for their outstanding project—showcasing how scientific data and GLOBE project work can be shared through song. The science class students undertook the research and wrote lyrics of the song, and then enlisted their school’s music students to play and sing the song in the recording.
The students were part of the first GLOBE Ireland ‘How Cool is Your School’? March 2023 Investigating land cover, surface temperature, and exploring heat-related climate risks and opportunities for resilience.
The students were awarded a stipend of 400 EUR per team to be used to attend the 2024 GLOBE Student Conference in Melnik, Czech Republic on 22 April 2024.
Click here to download a PDF of the science behind the song.