The 60th edition of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition takes place at the RDS in Dublin this afternoon.
The President Michael D Higgins will attend the opening ceremony at the RDS with the public able to see the projects from tomorrow.
219 schools will be involved in this year's showcase event which runs until Saturday.
Organiser Mari Cahalane says it's vital for children to have a space like this where they can explore and learn more about STEM topics that interest them.
'It gives them sort of an outside view of what they're learning in the classroom. It gets them to research and develop their own thinking about projects and project ideas, and in a lot of cases that they want to investigate. there may be a personal connection there.'
