[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]A young girl from Glasnevin will play a starring role in a new series of science books that she has helped to design.
Lauren Boyd Smith (10) is one of the nine members of an influential young people’s group, The Wonder Panel, who have been working on the Science Apprentice books for the past five months.
The young student, who attends Scoil Chaitriona, joined the Wonder Panel in April this year, after she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
Lauren joined Panel in a bid to help to highlight the importance of medical devices, particularly those that can help people like her manage their diabetes. Lauren’s mum is part of the team who created the Science Apprentice books.
Having type 1 diabetes, Lauren is incredibly enthusiastic about the way her state-of-the-art sensor and scanner allows her to avoid the need for regular prick tests to measure her blood glucose levels.
Lauren said: “I was excited to take part in the Wonder Panel, and especially the Superbodies book, because I use technology as part of my body.
“I have a sensor attached to my arm and I use it to scan my blood glucose levels.
“I’ve had the sensor for six months now, so it’s still new to me. My friends all think I’m a cyborg, which is pretty cool.”
The Wonder Panel enlisted six new panellists to take part following a nationwide campaign earlier this year by UCD, looking for ‘stretchy thinkers’.
The lucky children selected have worked closely with the Science Apprentice team to form the questions and answers that appear in the four books, and that make the books invaluable to Irish schoolchildren. The impressive panel even get to appear in the books themselves.
The Science Apprentice books will aim to encourage children – as well as adults – to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics that all exist in the world around us.
Throughout the new four-part series, readers will follow the two main characters, Izzy and Phil, as well as the wonder panellists on an interactive journey exploring the human body, our environment, how things are made and why everything is not always as it seems.
Written by science journalist and writer Dr Claire O’Connell, the books intend to open children’s minds to a world of potential careers in STEM.
The books are produced by UCD and supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The books all contain Augmented Reality elements that have been created by the team at the Virtual Reality Lab in UCD.
The Science Apprentice books are available to order for schools and are free to collect with the Irish Independent in SuperValu stores every Saturday in November.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
