Hundreds of students are being put through their paces by judges at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in Dublin.
The competition, in its 54th year, saw entries from half of the schools in the country.
This year, 60 percent of the projects are by girls.
Juliette Gash reports;
Calm before the (brain) storm #BTYSTE pic.twitter.com/hy8CXrZLlL
— Juliette Gash (@JulietteGash) January 10, 2018