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In 1963 two UCD physics researchers, Rev. Dr. Tom Burke and Dr. Tony Scott, while conducting research in New Mexico, America, came across ‘Science Fairs’. These local school science exhibitions culminated into State Fairs and ultimately a national competition. The pair decided that this type of hands-on science was something that Irish students could benefit from, by taking science outside the four walls of the classroom and showing that it is all around.

And so the Young Scientist Exhibition was born.

The first competition was held in 1965 in the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin and attracted 230 entries. It was open to individual entries from second level students in the subjects of Physics, Geography, Chemistry, Biochemistry and Mathematics.  The success of the first year was such that the exhibition moved to the much larger venue of the RDS in year two and it has remained there ever since. In 1969 the competition was extended to include schools from Northern Ireland and by the mid 1970¹s students were allowed to enter either as individuals or as a team of up to three.

The categories were re-defined as Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences; Biological and Ecological Sciences; Social and Behavioural Sciences and then in 1999, a separate Technology category was introduced.

For many years the exhibition was sponsored by Aer Lingus and for a short time by Esat, which was taken over by BT in 2000.  The event has been organised and sponsored by BT Ireland ever since.

In recent years the number of entries has increased dramatically, reaching an all time high in 2008 when 1416 projects were submitted. All entries are screened to select the 500 projects that go through to compete in the RDS. Attendance at the exhibition over the three public days is over 34,000, making it one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, if not the world!

Sadly in March 2008 one of its founders Rev. Dr. Tom Burke passed away at the age of 88, following a short illness.  The last time many people met Fr. Tom was at the awards ceremony of the exhibition in January. He had never missed a single exhibition, although in recent years had stepped down as a judge.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is much more than a competition, it is an unforgettable experience of a lifetime for the students who take part. As well as  the 500 student projects themselves, there are a further four exhibition halls filled with science and technology based exhibits and entertainments which illustrate to all that science really is cool and lots of fun.