Colin O’Neill, Kinsale Community School
First day in the BEES TY programme
When I started the BEES ty programme in UCC on the 2nd of February I was nervous about meeting other people with the same scientific interests as me. When we started we all had to take a seat then introduce each other to everyone in the class.
For our first class we had geology and we went outside to see some of the rocks in the UCC rock garden were we got to learn how old they were and were they came from. It was quite cool seeing rocks that were 300 million to 900 million years old because you could imagine how much its time it has been through. For our second class we had a terrestrial ecology class were we got bugs into pit fall traps and we then took them out and examined them under a microscope it was really cool and seeing the body structure of the insects were awesome. For our third class we did a mammal id practical were we got given a hair of a random animal and we had to look at the hair through a micro scope and try define what animal it was. That was only the first day and already the programme was beginning to look awesome.
Second day in the BEES TY Programme
When we arrived our first class was a current student Q&A class were we asked current UCC students about what UCC was like for them and from what they told us about UCC, it sounds epic. For our second class we had a ecology/zoology lecture that we got told how they can be very interesting and very cool and what you do in it. The third class had to be one of my favourites for it was a marine bio lecture and I have a huge interest in the sea and what you do as a marine biologist. Our last class that ay was the plant science practical were we learned how much plants help us and how we can fuse the genetic genes of plants into each other using a device called a gene gun. The second day was quite good because of the marine bio lecture but it was quite a drag from the start for the day was mostly lectures instead of experimental work.
Our third day in the BEES TY Programme
For our third day we started off with postgrad research were we learned what it is like to be a postgrad student and what subjects we should do. Our second class was a plant science lecture again but it was quite cool for we saw how fast the resurrection plant can grow and how plants reproduce and move. Our third class was an international science class were we learned how much you move around to country to country in college as a scientist and how much people you get to work with around the world. For our last class that day we got a tour around UCC main campus were we learned its history and how if you step on the crest you or someone else would get pregnant. The third day was quite interesting and we learned quite a lot about the collcge life.
Our second last day in the BEES TY Programme
For our first two classes we went bird ringing were we caught birds and got to hold examine and tag them. It was fun and cool. For our third class we had a careers talk in the computer lab were we were grouped up and we had to make a presentation about the career we were given. For our last class we had a geology practical were we had a quiz were we had to identify and see how old fossils and rocks were. That was the second last day in the programme. It was quite fast and fun.
The last day of my epic journey in the BEES TY Programme
For the first class we had a science lecture and practical were we learned all about the environmental side of science and how much water we use a day and a week. For our second class we had a media and science practical were we learned about media and were we had to do what I am doing now of our last class we are having a conclusion of the week class were we talk about how awesome this week was and how we met so many new awesome friends.