The finalists of ‘ReelLIFE SCIENCE @ HOME 2020’ are today announced as WILLIAM STOKES, representing Baltydaniel NS (Newtwopothouse, Co. Cork), ENYA O’REILLY HUERTA, representing Naas Community College (Naas, Co. Kildare) and MAX KAMALARAJAH, representing Wallace High School (Lisburn, Co. Antrim).

From a total entry of 133 videos, made by hundreds of young science communicators representing 80 primary schools, secondary schools and youth groups around Ireland, these three videos were judged to be the best by a volunteer panel of 40 NUI Galway scientists and science students, based on their scientific content, production values and x-factor.

Now it’s time for YOU to vote for your favourite!

Check out their amazing videos below and click here to cast your vote on Twitter. The video with the most votes at the end of the poll will win €1000 for the young filmmaker’s school, with prizes of €500 and €250 for 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Video 1: Germbusting Heroes

William Stokes, a Sixth Class student from Baltydaniel NS, took up animation during the Covid-19 lockdown and produced this distinctive, “Monty Python-esque” short video featuring four Germbusting Heroes – Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister and Alexander Fleming. The judges called this video “a knock-out“, noted the “huge effort to cover a lot of information in a creative, engaging and informative way” and said “the use of the founding antibiotic fathers as germ busters was nicely done!”

You can vote for William’s Germbusting Heroes video on Twitter by clicking this link.

Video 2: A Kitchen Demonstration of Blood Clotting

Max Kamalrajah, a Year 10 student in Wallace High School, raided his kitchen cupboards to create a very original demonstration of how our body recruits cells and proteins during Blood Clotting. The judges loved how this “really creative use of everyday items to explain a complicated situation, captured the ‘at home’ aspect of ReelLIFE SCIENCE @ HOME“. Others described it as a “fantastic and novel depiction of the science of coagulation” and said “it certainly supported learning in an engaging and accessible way“.

You can vote for Max’s Blood Clotting video on Twitter by clicking this link.

Video 3: The Immune System and Me

Enya O’Reilly Huerta, a Transition Year student from Naas Community College, produced a “super stylish” animation to explain the complex and very relevant topic that is our Immune System. Our judges praised the video as “well-edited” with “brilliant animations, great science and beautiful production“. One judge liked the “wonderful art and great explanation within the time limit” while another said it was a “well-voiced and really relevant at the moment“.

You can vote for Enya’s Immune System video on Twitter by clicking this link.

ReelLIFE SCIENCE is a nationwide STEM engagement programme, which encourages young people and the general public to discover more about STEM and its impact on individuals, society and the environment, while at the same time developing participants’ creativity, communication and digital skills.

The programme is based in NUI Galway and is supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover programme, the Community Knowledge Initiative, the CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, the Cell EXPLORERS science education and outreach programme and the Galway Science and Technology Festival.

ReelLIFE SCIENCE was launched in 2013 by Dr. Enda O’Connell and a team of NUI Galway scientists and science students. Since then, more than 14,000 young people in 450 schools and groups around Ireland have taken part, producing over 1,300 short science video for the general public to enjoy.