Promotion of STEM in a cultural festival – Spraoi 2026

The Spraoi International Street Arts festival runs from July 31st to August 2nd in Waterford city, Ireland’s oldest city. These three days feature exceptional street entertainment, parade, music, dance, fireworks, street performance and fun. More information on the festival is available at: https://spraoi.com/

CALMAST at SETU is the centre for STEM engagement at SETU. This student research hub will involve a 5 day preparation session working with the CALMAST team on trialling various STEM engagement experiment methods. Activities will include trialling STEM demonstration experiments, collecting and collating materials, planning for effective methods of STEM promotion to a broad audience with the overall aim of public outreach and engaging the public in science, technology, engineering and maths towards encouraging more students to choose to study STEM subjects.

Participants will also evaluate the effectiveness of STEM engagement and can optionally assist on the stands at the festival, while also experiencing and assisting in a large cultural family friendly festival. Through group work, students will conduct and plan experiment demonstrations, a biodiversity assessment or thematic evaluation linked to festival activities and develop recommendations to enhance sustainability practices and public engagement.

This programme combines theoretical knowledge with real-world application and implementation of STEM, designing engaging activities for public engagement.

General learning outcomes

• Critically evaluate a range of STEM engagement and public outreach methods by assessing their effectiveness in communicating scientific concepts to diverse audiences within a festival setting.
• Plan, develop, and deliver interactive STEM demonstrations and activities that promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to members of the public of varying ages and backgrounds.
• Collect, analyse, and interpret qualitative and quantitative data related to public engagement and festival activities using appropriate research methodologies.
• Work effectively within a team to organise resources, coordinate activities, and contribute to the successful implementation of STEM engagement initiatives at a large-scale public event.
• Synthesise findings from festival-based observations and evaluations to formulate practical recommendations that enhance sustainability practices, STEM outreach, and community engagement at future events.