Selection of Images from STEAM Space Day, Virtual Visit to CERN, May 2024
In May, Coláiste na Sceilge Transition Year students from the Space Messengers and STEM Girls Programmes had an out-of-this-world experience with us on all things space science! From virtually visiting the Hadron Collider control room in CERN, chatting with particle physicist Dr Steven Goldfarb, to exploring the International Space Station through VR, and participating in discussion and debate around their understanding of the possibilities and ethical considerations on the future of space, it was a day filled with STEAM and space exploration! Thank you to Dromid Community Centre for providing such a fantastic location and delicious lunch and Foroíge for loaning us extra VR headsets, we love local community collaboration!
Hear from Sarah, one of the young people who joined us on the day and also took part in our Space Messengers programme.
Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself?
My name is Sarah, I am 16 years old and I am in my fourth year of Colaiste. I like researching space, animals, planets etc, I also like drawing and law, and careers i plan on following post graduation are either Art, Law or Equine work.
In your own words, can you describe your day at STEAM Space Day in Dromid in 3 sentences?
I enjoyed my day in Dromid. It was fun getting to ask Steve questions and to get a better look into CERN. I had a great time discussing the different questions about CERN, space and the Large Hadron Collider with my classmates too.
Can you tell us about your overall experience with the STEAM Space Day?
I had a great day, I learned a lot from Steve, and a lot from my classmates. It was so fun getting to see everybody’s different answers to the questions we were being asked and if given the option I would happily do the day again, or something similar.
We spent a fair amount of time interviewing Steve, asking him numerous questions. Learning how each country member in CERN was able to band together, contributing whatever they could was also pretty cool. While I don’t remember the questions word for word, I do remember that they gave Steve the chance to expand on the workings of the ATLAS particle collider a lot more.
Projects like these that allow young people to gain an interest in topics like physics through an up-close experience with both the people that work in the field and the machines that let it happen are essential to the promotion of working in these fields. Especially to young girls and women who are typically shoved out of these fields. Getting more women into scientific fields allows us to build a more women-friendly space in a world built by and for men.
Did you know that AC, seat belts, the work - sleep schedule and medication were all built with the male body in mind? Back in the day, the male body was viewed as the norm. So with that logic, nothing had to be made to accommodate women since they were seen as out of the norm. That is why women are usually colder than men, as AC was not built with womens’ temperature in mind. Even medication targeted towards women was not tested on women when initially being introduced which is why they tend to cause bad hormone imbalances etc. Women need more sleep than men, with a suggested average of 8-10 hours, while men have the 7-8 recommendation. The average work time for adults is between 7-8AM. If you take into account the need to get ready, most adults get up at around 6AM. Most adults go to sleep between 10PM and midnight. Meaning the average hours slept for adults is 6-8 hours. This means that women are losing out on 2-4 hours of sleep DAILY.
Things like this highlight why women are desperately needed in the science field, whether it’s studying space, medicine, climate etc.
What were some of the most memorable moments for you from the Space Day?
Probably the interview with Steve and the VR (and the playground but ignore that). Doing the VR made me quickly realise I was not cut out to be an astronaut, having gagged and almost died from the fright of the spacewalk mission.
It was super cool getting to have a deeper look at these operations on a personal level. While not being there physically, the digital experience was good enough to be a stand-in. Steve was a really nice guy, and the way that he broke down each process of the ATLAS experiment was extremely helpful.
What did you find most valuable?
Seeing what my other classmates thought about both space exploration and the current issues our world faces. It was interesting getting to see what my peers thought about ethical issues, both space exploration-wise and life on earth-wise. Most of us choosing to prioritise Earth life over space exploration was pretty cool.
During the day there was a talk with Dr. Steven Goldfarb, particle physicist at CERN. Can you describe your experience with this?
It was slightly boring, not Steve’s fault, it’s just not THE most interesting topic for me. It was still super cool to see the process of the collider and all the effort and details that went into it. It was sad that we didn’t get to see inside the control room though as CERN had tech issues (which happens to the best of us!)
The day included mini debates and brainstorming about the Future of Space. Can you share your experience with this and how it enhanced your learning experience?
It helped me find exactly where my peers are with their understanding of the world's current condition. I was surprised at the varying levels of empathy in the classroom. Empathy is a difficult thing to both develop and maintain in today's digital world, especially for groups that you, yourself are not a part of. When asked whether space exploration or poverty should be addressed first, some of my peers showed a certain level of disconnect. It showed how important it is to have empathy taught in the classroom since as teenagers we learn empathy from those around us.
Exploring the International Space Station, May 2024
Participants also had the opportunity to visit the International Space Station through the VR app Mission ISS. How did this virtual experience impact your understanding of space exploration, and what insights did you gain from it?
The VR experience helped me remember my insane fear of heights, and space happens to be fairly high up, shockingly. It did also help me to realise that while space is terrifying, It’s also pretty cool. Not that I didn’t know that already. Here’s some of the other space facts that I thought were really cool, for example
did you know that it is heavily theorised that deep in Mars and Uranus it rains diamonds? While people popularly believe that it is Venus that rains diamonds it actually in fact rains sulphuric acid.
Mars also has evidence that it once had water - or at least the Mars version of water.
The moon is shrinking AND floating away, though it’s nothing for us to be worrying about.
There’s also a large black hole, THE largest that we’ve found actually, is dead in the centre of the Milky Way and it’s named Sagittarius A*. But don’t worry it’s dormant. For now. Gaia BH3 is the largest blackhole that formed from a collapsing star.
Saturn's rings are disappearing slowly and nobody knows exactly why.
Another fun fact is that while in space, your bones shrink! Same as the higher chances of getting kidney stones. To prevent this, astronauts do 2 and a half hours of exercise six days a week. But these problems might pop up anyways due to the fact that humans are not built for space.
It also made me develop a little bit more respect for the people that willingly shoot themselves up there, and the scientists that have found ways to get us up there. No matter how morally questionable the process was. Scientists' use of animals during space exploration is infamous. On 19 August 1960 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5 (also known as Korabl-Sputnik 2) which carried the dogs Belka and Strelka, along with a grey rabbit, 40 mice, 2 rats and fruit flies. It was the first spacecraft to carry animals into orbit and return them alive. In 1957, November 3rd, Laika, a stray dog off of the streets of Moscow was shot into orbit. They knew she would not return, as they hadn’t developed the technology to bring her home. Instead of telling the public this, they lied, saying she was expected to return to Earth in a week. She survived for 6-7 hours.
Dying from panic and overheating due to her heater breaking. This was only revealed in 2002. While the public had known she died, the facts of her death had been covered up. Her heartbeat had tripled during takeoff and never returned to normal, meaning she was in a high state of panic up until her slow, and definitely painful, death. But she is not the only animal to die due to scientists' need to explore space. Except Felicette didn’t die in space. Rather she returned from her trip and was euthanized two months after. Scientists wanted to see the effects of space on her brain, and found nothing. Meaning she survived possibly the most miserable and traumatising thing she could as a tiny cat, only to be killed for research that resulted in nothing.
Finally, how do you think participating in the STEAM day has influenced your personal and academic interests e.g. how you might apply what you've learned during the day in the future?
Since my day in Dromid, I have developed a bigger interest in space. Though that has been developing for a while. The connection between humans and the vast universe that cloaks us is super cool. No matter what part of the world you’re in, the only constant is the stars. Sure we’re looking at a different star system than our ancestors did, but we still use the same methods of navigating from time to time. Buildings like Newgrange or really anything that lines with the sun is so cool, and I think people should appreciate it more to be honest. WITHOUT contributing all our accomplishments to aliens. Aliens are cool and all, but they didn’t drop the pyramids on us, and it wasn’t giants either. Humans built it, whether they were slaves or willing depends on where you look but they are manmade miracles really. My day in Dromid, while striking an interest in space, also spurred on my interest in humanity too.
People love thinking about aliens, whether fictional or not, and they ARE interesting, but we’re pretty cool too. Even with all our issues. Indomitable human spirit and all that. I think I'll use these skills I’ve gained to spread more information about space, and us (humanity), cause even though we are humans, we don’t seem to know a lot about ourselves as a species. Like we’re made of STARDUST ?? That's SO cool.
We pulled ourselves out of the stone age, built machines that can replicate human life and even if you hate AI, me too, it’s ok to admit that it's pretty awesome. Humans are social creatures by nature even if that’s hard to believe with everything going on in the world. Humans wouldn’t have survived this long without STEAM. So I guess what I’d like to say is that STEAM, while it didn’t start my interest, it has definitely propelled it forward.
Since doing the STEAM day do you have any interest or ambition for the future in relation to space exploration or related fields?
While I don’t have a HUGE interest in going into the Space field, it’s certainly something I wouldn’t pass up should it cross my path. I DO find space interesting, it’s just, that’s a LOT of work. And you’ve gotta be smart maths wise (terrible at maths) and such long hours, I’m just not built for stressful jobs. Especially if it’s not something I have my heart and soul set on. So not really, but if it’s there I’ll take it.
But it did boost my interest in jobs that are human related careers, which makes it sound like there are non-human jobs, aliens have to support their families too I guess. But what I actually mean is jobs that are focused more on people, varying from medicine to law, though I guess you could argue some of those jobs are the opposite.
Did you know there are space laws ?? I didn’t, though it’s not shocking that certain people have to be told “Hey maybe don’t colonise and destroy everything in our grasp“. I personally believe space exploration should stay as an organisational focused process, rather than a privately owned business. I believe this because at least with NASA, everything they learn is public information. Privately owned space exploration, other than its trend of failing to get out of our atmosphere, just isn’t ethical nor is it sustainable.
Space is public domain, it’s not ours. Claiming that because you got up there first (through privilege and questionable choices) does not give you the right to just OWN everything up there. The only thing we have in this vast empty vacuum is Earth. Yet nobody wants to have it because it’s viewed as nothing to brag over even though our planet is arguably the coolest out there for its ability to house life. Though I guess when talking about space you could ask how do you define being alive? “ Cogito, Ergo, Sum '' or “ I think therefore I am “ isn’t the best judgement on what lives. There’s also the factor that everything thinks differently. What we define as thinking, won’t be broad enough to encapsulate alien species. Parasites, bacteria, bugs - they don’t think, at least not by our standard. Yet we recognise the fact that they are alive. Alien life would have developed on completely different standards, tougher climates, food etc. One could be made up of gas and still be alive, like a jellyfish. When in space, we will have to redefine laws and ethics to incorporate other life forms, which have developed in vastly different conditions than us, and other planets, which are inherently not the property of any Earthly being.
Y’know looking back at all this text, maybe I SHOULD consider pursuing space exploration.
Muinín Catalyst Sustainable STEAM uses a transdisciplinary, STEAM-based pedagogical approach. Returning to SDG 4, Target 4.7, one of the core missions of the Muinín Catalyst Sustainable STEAM programme is to ensure an arts / design and culture-led approach to learning that is transdisciplinary and transformative. Learning that supports the development of informed citizens, that are systemic, critical and creative thinkers who can apply their knowledge in agile ways that are sensitive, generative and appropriately responsive to context, in relevant and meaningful ways.
This is done through placed-based learning, which enables individuals to experience learning in local, real-life scenarios. Place-based approaches to learning grounded in local communities and contexts are relevant, engaging and inquiry-based. Students gain confidence and competence in affecting change, learning to manage risk, and develop creative, real-world solutions that are eco-socially just and restorative.
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