Music, drumming, fun ... and science in Waterford

Did you know that drinking just one can of fizzy soft drink a day will mean eating 6.4kgs of sugar over six months? writes Brian Byrne.

Well, that was just one of the fascinating — and thought-provoking — things the Diary learned on a visit to Waterford's Spraoi Festival at the weekend.

That was knowledge courtesy of Calmast, the Waterford Institute of Technology's outreach programme for promoting knowledge through science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

The programme provides hands-on experiments at festivals and similar occasions, with its 'Physics Buskers' doing simple experiments with everyday things to popularise science.

These included turning a bunch of carrots into a musical instrument, playing the notes with an electric current going through the veggies ... different carrots have different conductivities and can produce different sounds.

There was also a demonstration of how friction on a string will stop a mug tied to it from crashing to the pavement, just at the last minute (you have to see it to understand). And how water and a pinch of baking soda can inflate a rubber glove.

There was lots more on the Calmart stands on one of Waterford's streets, which were all otherwise abuzz with music, comedy, drumming, food stands and more. It was a good weekend to visit the city, which has a lot going for it on any weekend in the summer ... and it's only an hour from Kilcullen.

Meantime check out the Calmast schedule here, you may find it coming to a festival near you.

And yeah, take it easy on the sugary drinks ...

The Always Drinking Band entertaining.

The Friendship Band of Northern Ireland reflected in the mirrored cover of the Apple Market.

A more standard view of some of the Friendship Band.

The Waterford Brass Band in dress-up mode.

A little mood drumming.

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