Cell EXPLORERS SETU (Carlow campus)
Contact the Cell EXPLORERS SETU team and arrange a school visit | cellexplorers@SETU.ie
The Cell EXPLORERS SETU team brings the Fantastic DNA School Roadshow to primary schools around Carlow.
Visits can take place around the time of National Science Week in November 2022.
About
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The Cell EXPLORERS South East Technological University (SETU) Carlow team was established in May 2017. The team is based in the Department of Science and Health, SETU, on the Carlow campus. The team is coordinated by Dr Guíomar García-Cabellos. The majority of the team members who demonstrate in the schools are postgraduate students with an interest in science outreach from the Science and Health Department.
The team brought the Fantastic DNA School Roadshow to primary schools around Carlow in Autumn 2019 and had a big presence around the time of National Science Week in November. Between 2020-21, the Cell EXPLORERS programme nationally made a shift to delivering activities online, with the Fantastic DNA in a Box session. The SETU team is all set to bring the Fantastic DNA in a Box visits to more schools in 2022.
Learn more about the past school visits of the team and the evaluation feedback they have received from schools in the infographic section.
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The Team
Meet the Cell EXPLORERS SETU (Carlow campus) team. You can read more about the wonderful coordinators who will be running the team below. These are lecturers with an interest in science outreach and a passion for engaging young children in science.
The SETU Carlow team is currently recruiting new volunteers for the academic year 2022-23. They hope to be back to delivering Fantastic DNA in a Box sessions soon, and be back to helping pupils and teachers perform DNA extractions in their own classrooms!
CE SETU Carlow team prepping boxes, 2020
Cell EXPLORERS SETU Carlow team, 2019
Dr. Guiomar Garcia-Cabellos
Cell EXPLORERS SETU Coordinator
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Senior Technical Officer
PhD in Environmental Microbiology
Dr. Guiomar Garcia-Cabellos is a graduate of the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid (Spain) where she completed her undergraduate studies in General Biology. She completed her PhD in the Institute of Technology Carlow, under the supervision of Dr David Dowling. This focused on the interactions between plants and microbes for improved bioremediation using constructed wetlands. She studied the endophytic and exophytic bacterial population of one particular plant commonly used in wetlands, Iris pseudacorus and the ability of these bacteria to breakdown pollutants. Her current research interests include the bioremediation of environmental pollutants including landfill leachate and TBT (a kind of paint), investigations into the presence of lithium and other metals in freshwater systems and novel gene transfer systems in commercially important crops.
Dr. Gary Cahill
Assistant Lecturer
Physics
SETU Carlow
Dr. Cahill is a physicist, with a great interest in informal science and outreach. He often leads interesting discussions with the public about topics such as the Big Bang and regularly delivers public lectures during Science Week.
Dr. Kieran Germaine
Lecturer
Bioenvironmental Science,
SETU Carlow
Dr. Germaine is mainly interested in isolating and characterising organic pollutant degrading bacteria, isolating heavy metal resistant bacteria, plant growth promoting bacteria and their growth promoting traits, bacterial genomics, uses of plant associated bacteria as biocontrol agents, bacterial biosensors, plant microbiomes, waste water bioremediation, human pathogens survival in the plant biosphere, and genetic characterisation of Brassica napus. As well as his involvement with Cell EXPLORERS, he is also involved in secondary school science promotion programmes such as the Young Scientist competition.
School Visits
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The SETU Carlow team was set up in May 2017 with a training visit from the University of Galway coordinators which consisted of "on campus" training of volunteers, followed by a training school visit to Myshall National School. Since then, the SETU Carlow team have been bringing the Fantastic DNA roadshow to schools all over Carlow and the surrounding counties.
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In the Autumn of 2019 Carlow visited 6 schools that included 8 classes, during Science Week in November 2019.
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Between 2020-2021, the SETU Carlow team prepped Fantastic DNA in a Box kits for surrounding schools.
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The team will continue school visits this year. If you would like the team to visit your school, please contact by email.
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Map of Cell EXPLORERS SETU Carlow team visits of 2019.
Check the team impact and the feedback from schools!
All children and teachers visited have a chance to provide us with feedback on the visit. This helps us to evaluate the quality and impact of our visits!
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A summary infographic is generated for each team every year. It shows the metrics of the team activity, highlighting children's and teacher's experience by summarising their feedback and includes pictures from school visits.
Click on the links to discover the IT Carlow team visits over the past years.
SETU Carlow team training visit to Myshall NS
ITC Team
Fantastic DNA session
Spooling DNA into small a tube
ITC Team