Let's Talk Science

Let's Talk Science Outreach at McGill University visits Kawawachikamach, QC

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Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteers from McGill University have recently returned from their first remote trip of the season! Outreach volunteers travelled to the aboriginal community of Kawawachikamach, QC to engage students in live presentations, hands on activities, and interactive science events!

Students in Kawawachikamach, QC

During their time in Kawawachikamach, volunteers Hyunwoo Lee and Kota Talla engaged 8 separate classes of grade 5 to 11 students. The variety of presentations covered topics such as: Scientific Methods, Climate Change, Computer and Internet, Forces, and Life in Space. The students were also able to engage in a number of hands-on activities and experiments with their class!

A large number of elementary and secondary students showed high excitement at an after school activity where they stayed at the school to participate. The highlight - being able to observe and touch a cow brain! Many of the students stayed late and didn’t want the event to end!

“Although reaching out to students in a remote aboriginal community calls for cultural sensitivity, we learned that they have more in common with those from urban areas than originally thought. Hands-on activities and audiovisual presentations on a variety of topics helped us to engage the students and impress on them the accessibility of science,” says Talla, “We worked to promote an open learning environment in which everyone is comfortable asking questions and interacting with one another while learning to ‘think’ like a scientist.”

Be sure to check back for more stories about our rural, remote and aboriginal outreach!

2012 Let's Talk Science Award Winners Announced

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Congratulations to the winners of the national Let’s Talk Science Awards!

At campuses across Canada, Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteers and site coordinators are making a difference by inspiring youth and changing lives. We love hearing their stories, and hope that you enjoy hearing about them too!
The 2012 award winners are:

2012 Let’s Talk Science National Site Coordinator Award Recipient:
Megan Dodd, McMaster University
The annual National Site Coordinator Award recognizes an outstanding Site Coordinator that is passionate about science and science outreach and is committed to strengthening and developing their site locally, while thinking nationally. The recipient demonstrates excellent communication, administrative and volunteer management skills, while being positive role models to volunteers and youth.

Megan Dodd has introduced 3 new large-scale events to the McMaster site which added to the diversity of opportunities available to the youth that they reach. These events were the Ancaster Rock and Mineral show (a 2-day event that covers activities on weathering, erosion and earth sciences); Family Science Night (a public event of activities that involved prizes donated from local businesses and transportation donated by the city); and the Science in the Media Event (a 1-day event relating science to popular culture, included presentations by science journalists).

2012 Let’s Talk Science National Volunteer Award Recipient:
Gabriel Potvin, University of Ottawa
The annual National Volunteer Award recognizes an outstanding volunteer who is passionate about science, committed to enhancing science education through effective communication, innovation in approach and activities, and is a positive role model for children and teens.

Gabriel has been a Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteer for three years. Gabriel seeks students with outstanding curiosity and interest in science and has repeatedly hosted these students in his own laboratory to perform full day activities tailored to their interests!

2012 Let’s Talk Science CIHR-Synapse Award Recipient:
Merujah Sivalingham, University of Toronto, Scarborough
The annual CIHR-Synapse Award recognizes an outstanding and innovative health research-related activity done by a Let's Talk Science volunteer.

Merujah developed the Neuron Board Game, a game that teaches students about the nervous system by taking them on a progressive journey through the dendrites of a neuron, to the receptor sites of a cell!

We could also like to congratulate the following Honourable Mentions:

Science Outreach Site Coordinators:

Jessy Livingston-Thomas, University of Prince Edward Island
Over the past year, Jessy has been able to retain 100% of her site volunteers who remained at UPEI and even one that took a faculty position at a community college!

Janet Yuen, University of Manitoba
Janet has built up the systems and processes at the University of Manitoba Let’s Talk Science site to ensure a strong support system for volunteers. Through Janet’s hard word, the profile of the site has risen dramatically and so has the number of volunteers and activities– from 1000 youth reached in 2009/2010 to 10,000 in 2011/2012!

Let's Talk Science Outreach volunteers:

Shannon Obradovich, University of British Columbia, 8 years with Let’s Talk Science
With her knowledge in fisheries, she has developed a comprehensive unit on Pacific Salmon that includes topics ranging from physiology to fisheries. The program even includes a field trip to release salmon back into the wild!

Katherine Duncan, University of Prince Edward Island, 1 year with Let’s Talk Science
Her time has been well spent developing Marine Natural Products, a multi-disciplinary activity designed to engage youth in environmental impact, climate change, oceans, species, ecology, biological extraction, chemistry, medicine and geography!

Andrew Locke, University of Alberta
His experience has helped him develop new methods of interacting with a classroom by incorporating an assortment of activities that cater to various learning styles; alternating between experiments, procedures, competitions, role playing, brainstorming, quizzes, open discussion and games!

Laura Ball, McMaster University, 1 year with Let’s Talk Science
During her time she has developed an Earthquake session that she has delivered to over 60 Grade 9 and 10 students. This session includes a fun interactive presentation, videos, and a quiz to test the student’s knowledge!

We would like to thanks and congratulate all of the award nominees. All of your contributions are exceptional and we are lucky to have such an impressive team!

Rural educators to receive innovative digital technology programs with Monsanto Fund’s investment in Let’s Talk Science

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(London, ON) – Today, the Monsanto Fund announced a $76,000 investment in Let’s Talk Science, a national, non-profit, science outreach organization. The investment allows Let’s Talk Science to support the current and future needs of Grade 8-12 educators in rural areas and develop web-based programs and services to match these needs.

At the request of the Monsanto Fund, Let’s Talk Science recently investigated the disparities between urban and rural educators in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. One finding from the study revealed that technology was available to many rural educators but classroom-ready digital resources were not. Let’s Talk Science is using this knowledge to develop and implement initiatives and programs to assist educators.

“Recent research we conducted revealed the unique challenges faced by rural educators,” said Bonnie Schmidt, Ph.D., President and Founder, Let’s Talk Science. “With the significant investment from the Monsanto Fund, we can tailor Let’s Talk Science programs to better support these educators and ensure that youth living in rural areas are given the tools needed to become 21^st century citizens and innovators.”

One of the programs developed by Let’s Talk Science that does support rural educators is CurioCity, which provides free web-based teaching resources and relevant articles and videos for educators and Grade 8-12 students. Educators can use CurioCity to access classroom-ready resources, including themes such as Biotechnology and Stem Cells, to engage students. With the investment from the Monsanto Fund, Let’s Talk Science is increasing its educator resources and providing additional classroom-ready content.

“A key focus for Monsanto from a corporate giving perspective is rural education and rural teachers,” explained Trish Jordan, public and industry affairs director with Monsanto Canada. “With the support of the Monsanto Fund and Let’s Talk Science, we have been able to identify some of the unique needs of rural teachers and we look forward to working with Let’s Talk Science and others to develop programs or services to help meet those needs and strengthen rural communities.”

“Technology in the classroom has become an essential and permanent part of 21st century learning, and educators need classroom-ready applications to properly use those technologies,” said Phil Langford, President, Saskatchewan Science Teacher’s Society. “With this grant, CurioCity, a digital hub produced by Let’s Talk Science, will give educators accessible resources and classroom tools to engage students in how science, technology, engineering and math apply to their everyday lives. Without support such as this in rural classrooms, some of our students would miss out on opportunities that might otherwise only be available to urban students.”

Since 1993, Let’s Talk Science has been developing and delivering innovative learning programs that get children and youth excited in science, technology, engineering and math. In addition to CurioCity, Let’s Talk Science also mobilizes thousands of university and college students and science and technology professionals across Canada every year through the Let’s Talk Science Outreach program. This program specializes in outreach to rural areas, with volunteers regularly visiting rural classrooms across the country to deliver hands-on science activities to children and youth free of charge. For more information on Let’s Talk Science programs and resources, please visit www.letstalkscience.ca or www.ExploreCurioCity.org.

-30-

Media Contacts:
Maggie MacLellan
Communications Officer
Let’s Talk Science
1-877-474-4081 ext. 239
mmaclellan@letstalkscience.ca

Trish Jordan
Public and Industry Affairs Director
Monsanto Canada
204-985-1005
Trish.L.Jordan@monsanto.com

About Let’s Talk Science:
Let’s Talk Science is an award-winning, national, charitable, science outreach organization. Let’s Talk Science creates and delivers science learning programs and services that turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential to become 21^st century citizens, innovators and stewards. For more information about Let’s Talk Science, please visit www.letstalkscience.ca.

About the Monsanto Fund:
The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

news events videos	Let's Talk Science Outreach at McGill University visits Kawawachikamach, QC \| Print \| Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteers from McGill University have recently returned from their first remote trip of the season! Outreach volunteers travelled to the aboriginal community of Kawawachikamach, QC to engage students in live presentations, hands on activities, and interactive science events! During their time in Kawawachikamach, volunteers Hyunwoo Lee and Kota Talla engaged 8 separate classes of grade 5 to 11 students. The variety of presentations covered topics such as: Scientific Methods, Climate Change, Computer and Internet, Forces, and Life in Space. The students were also able to engage in a number of hands-on activities and experiments with their class! A large number of elementary and secondary students showed high excitement at an after school activity where they stayed at the school to participate. The highlight - being able to observe and touch a cow brain! Many of the students stayed late and didn’t want the event to end! “Although reaching out to students in a remote aboriginal community calls for cultural sensitivity, we learned that they have more in common with those from urban areas than originally thought. Hands-on activities and audiovisual presentations on a variety of topics helped us to engage the students and impress on them the accessibility of science,” says Talla, “We worked to promote an open learning environment in which everyone is comfortable asking questions and interacting with one another while learning to ‘think’ like a scientist.” Be sure to check back for more stories about our rural, remote and aboriginal outreach! 2012 Let's Talk Science Award Winners Announced \| Print \| Congratulations to the winners of the national Let’s Talk Science Awards! At campuses across Canada, Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteers and site coordinators are making a difference by inspiring youth and changing lives. We love hearing their stories, and hope that you enjoy hearing about them too! The 2012 award winners are: 2012 Let’s Talk Science National Site Coordinator Award Recipient: Megan Dodd, McMaster University The annual National Site Coordinator Award recognizes an outstanding Site Coordinator that is passionate about science and science outreach and is committed to strengthening and developing their site locally, while thinking nationally. The recipient demonstrates excellent communication, administrative and volunteer management skills, while being positive role models to volunteers and youth. Megan Dodd has introduced 3 new large-scale events to the McMaster site which added to the diversity of opportunities available to the youth that they reach. These events were the Ancaster Rock and Mineral show (a 2-day event that covers activities on weathering, erosion and earth sciences); Family Science Night (a public event of activities that involved prizes donated from local businesses and transportation donated by the city); and the Science in the Media Event (a 1-day event relating science to popular culture, included presentations by science journalists). 2012 Let’s Talk Science National Volunteer Award Recipient: Gabriel Potvin, University of Ottawa The annual National Volunteer Award recognizes an outstanding volunteer who is passionate about science, committed to enhancing science education through effective communication, innovation in approach and activities, and is a positive role model for children and teens. Gabriel has been a Let’s Talk Science Outreach volunteer for three years. Gabriel seeks students with outstanding curiosity and interest in science and has repeatedly hosted these students in his own laboratory to perform full day activities tailored to their interests! 2012 Let’s Talk Science CIHR-Synapse Award Recipient: Merujah Sivalingham, University of Toronto, Scarborough The annual CIHR-Synapse Award recognizes an outstanding and innovative health research-related activity done by a Let's Talk Science volunteer. Merujah developed the Neuron Board Game, a game that teaches students about the nervous system by taking them on a progressive journey through the dendrites of a neuron, to the receptor sites of a cell! We could also like to congratulate the following Honourable Mentions: Science Outreach Site Coordinators: Jessy Livingston-Thomas, University of Prince Edward Island Over the past year, Jessy has been able to retain 100% of her site volunteers who remained at UPEI and even one that took a faculty position at a community college! Janet Yuen, University of Manitoba Janet has built up the systems and processes at the University of Manitoba Let’s Talk Science site to ensure a strong support system for volunteers. Through Janet’s hard word, the profile of the site has risen dramatically and so has the number of volunteers and activities– from 1000 youth reached in 2009/2010 to 10,000 in 2011/2012! Let's Talk Science Outreach volunteers: Shannon Obradovich, University of British Columbia, 8 years with Let’s Talk Science With her knowledge in fisheries, she has developed a comprehensive unit on Pacific Salmon that includes topics ranging from physiology to fisheries. The program even includes a field trip to release salmon back into the wild! Katherine Duncan, University of Prince Edward Island, 1 year with Let’s Talk Science Her time has been well spent developing Marine Natural Products, a multi-disciplinary activity designed to engage youth in environmental impact, climate change, oceans, species, ecology, biological extraction, chemistry, medicine and geography! Andrew Locke, University of Alberta His experience has helped him develop new methods of interacting with a classroom by incorporating an assortment of activities that cater to various learning styles; alternating between experiments, procedures, competitions, role playing, brainstorming, quizzes, open discussion and games! Laura Ball, McMaster University, 1 year with Let’s Talk Science During her time she has developed an Earthquake session that she has delivered to over 60 Grade 9 and 10 students. This session includes a fun interactive presentation, videos, and a quiz to test the student’s knowledge! We would like to thanks and congratulate all of the award nominees. All of your contributions are exceptional and we are lucky to have such an impressive team! Rural educators to receive innovative digital technology programs with Monsanto Fund’s investment in Let’s Talk Science \| Print \| (London, ON) – Today, the Monsanto Fund announced a $76,000 investment in Let’s Talk Science, a national, non-profit, science outreach organization. The investment allows Let’s Talk Science to support the current and future needs of Grade 8-12 educators in rural areas and develop web-based programs and services to match these needs. At the request of the Monsanto Fund, Let’s Talk Science recently investigated the disparities between urban and rural educators in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. One finding from the study revealed that technology was available to many rural educators but classroom-ready digital resources were not. Let’s Talk Science is using this knowledge to develop and implement initiatives and programs to assist educators. “Recent research we conducted revealed the unique challenges faced by rural educators,” said Bonnie Schmidt, Ph.D., President and Founder, Let’s Talk Science. “With the significant investment from the Monsanto Fund, we can tailor Let’s Talk Science programs to better support these educators and ensure that youth living in rural areas are given the tools needed to become 21^st century citizens and innovators.” One of the programs developed by Let’s Talk Science that does support rural educators is CurioCity, which provides free web-based teaching resources and relevant articles and videos for educators and Grade 8-12 students. Educators can use CurioCity to access classroom-ready resources, including themes such as Biotechnology and Stem Cells, to engage students. With the investment from the Monsanto Fund, Let’s Talk Science is increasing its educator resources and providing additional classroom-ready content. “A key focus for Monsanto from a corporate giving perspective is rural education and rural teachers,” explained Trish Jordan, public and industry affairs director with Monsanto Canada. “With the support of the Monsanto Fund and Let’s Talk Science, we have been able to identify some of the unique needs of rural teachers and we look forward to working with Let’s Talk Science and others to develop programs or services to help meet those needs and strengthen rural communities.” “Technology in the classroom has become an essential and permanent part of 21st century learning, and educators need classroom-ready applications to properly use those technologies,” said Phil Langford, President, Saskatchewan Science Teacher’s Society. “With this grant, CurioCity, a digital hub produced by Let’s Talk Science, will give educators accessible resources and classroom tools to engage students in how science, technology, engineering and math apply to their everyday lives. Without support such as this in rural classrooms, some of our students would miss out on opportunities that might otherwise only be available to urban students.” Since 1993, Let’s Talk Science has been developing and delivering innovative learning programs that get children and youth excited in science, technology, engineering and math. In addition to CurioCity, Let’s Talk Science also mobilizes thousands of university and college students and science and technology professionals across Canada every year through the Let’s Talk Science Outreach program. This program specializes in outreach to rural areas, with volunteers regularly visiting rural classrooms across the country to deliver hands-on science activities to children and youth free of charge. For more information on Let’s Talk Science programs and resources, please visit www.letstalkscience.ca or www.ExploreCurioCity.org. -30- Media Contacts: Maggie MacLellan Communications Officer Let’s Talk Science 1-877-474-4081 ext. 239 mmaclellan@letstalkscience.ca Trish Jordan Public and Industry Affairs Director Monsanto Canada 204-985-1005 Trish.L.Jordan@monsanto.com About Let’s Talk Science: Let’s Talk Science is an award-winning, national, charitable, science outreach organization. Let’s Talk Science creates and delivers science learning programs and services that turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential to become 21^st century citizens, innovators and stewards. For more information about Let’s Talk Science, please visit www.letstalkscience.ca. About the Monsanto Fund: The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org. More Articles... 5 Days of Appreciation: Friday 5 Days of Appreciation: Thursday 5 Days of Appreciation: Wednesday 5 Days of Appreciation: Tuesday National Volunteer Week 2012 5 Days of Appreciation: Monday Exploring Science in the Media Newfoundland and Labrador students receive innovative science-based learning programs with Hibernia’s investment in Let’s Talk Science Coordinators Come Together at Simon Fraser University Cathy Orlando Environmental Stewardship Award Winner Announced Page 1 of 69 «StartPrev12345678910Next End»	Science surrounds us. It is part of our daily lives: all day, every day, and everywhere we go. How can I make an underwater volcano? What kinds of transportation are there? 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