All aboard for Turin

In another example of novel science communication, six young Irish science ambassadors are travelling across Europe aboard the Science Communication Bus in order to promote Dublin City of Science 2012.

Having left Dublin on the 20th of June, they plan to reach Turin (City of Science 2010) on the 1st of July before heading on to Barcelona to end their tour. The stopover in Turin will coincide with that city's science celebrations which take place from 2nd-7th July.

The science ambassadors will be tweeting, blogging and youtubing along the way.

The science bus rolled into Brussels yesterday where they visited Ireland's European Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.

Ellen Byrne, one of the science ambassadors outlined the goals of the trip: "We are travelling from Dublin to Turin and all along the way, we are talking about Dublin, the city of science 2012".

Maire Geoghegan-Quinn welcomed the initiative: " I think it is a tremendous achievement because it is collaboration between different elements, Enterprise Ireland, which deals with industry in Ireland, the chief scientific officer and so on, and also the tourism bodies in the country."

"They have been talking to the ambassadors, and they keep telling me that every time, everywhere they go, there is a huge buzz and a huge excitement. And, as I've said from the beginning, I want young people back involved in the sciences and what better way to promote that than to see these young people travelling all the way to Turin."

And Ellen Byrne had some advise for those interested in science: "I would say roll up your sleeves and just totally get involved. There is something for everyone in science: science, technology, engineering and maths; and whether it's music, art or football, there is something for everyone to do within science."

You can find out more about the trip and about Dublin 2012 by visiting www.dublinscience2012.ie