Bringing Science Week to over 60 Primary Schools including the Aran Islands and Connemara with ATU’s Rainbow Lab Initiative

November 07, 2025

Hands-on ‘Rainbow Lab’ experiments bring colour, curiosity, and science to life for young learners in English and Irish.

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is bringing the wonder of Science Week 2025 to even the most remote corners of the west coast — including the Aran Islands and Gaeltacht communities across Galway — through its innovative Rainbow Lab (Saotharlann an Bhogha Báistí) initiative.

The project, designed for children aged 4 to 8, transforms simple household materials such as water, milk, and food colouring into tools for discovery. Through easy-to-follow, bilingual activities, the Rainbow Lab helps children explore key scientific principles like light refraction, diffusion, and colour mixing — all while making science fun and accessible.

Already, more than 66 schools nationwide have taken part in the programme, with many in Galway’s island and Gaeltacht areas receiving Rainbow Lab kits containing all necessary materials. Teachers and parents can also access video demonstrations via QR codes, ensuring the experiments can be carried out in classrooms or at home, in both English and Irish.

“Rainbow Lab is about sparking curiosity and showing children that science is everywhere — in the colours they see every day”, said Dr Oran Morris of ATU.

By making experiments fun and accessible, we hope to inspire a lifelong love of learning

The project’s reach into Gaeltacht regions and the islands brings STEM learning beyond urban centres, ensuring that island and rural communities are equally engaged in national initiatives like Science Week.

Co-funded by ATU and Research Ireland, the Rainbow Lab shows how creative outreach can bridge distances — from the classrooms of Galway city to the shores of Inis Mór and the heart of Connemara — making science a shared adventure for young minds across the west.