© SARA POURNADER (THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN PRE-COVID-19)
SCIENTISTS IN SCHOOL IS HELPING TO RAISE THE NEXT SCIENCE LEADERS AND INNOVATORS
As
we become more dependent on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) every single day, raising scientificallyliterate children is increasingly important. However, most children don’t have enough opportunities to see science as exciting, fun, relevant and accessible, and often decide early that science is too difficult or boring. That’s where Scientists in School comes in. Scientists in School is a leading STEM education charity. They provide children in Kindergarten to Grade 8 with opportunities to understand the importance and relevance of science in everyday life and help build confidence in their STEM skills. Since 1989, over 10 million children in Canada have become scientists through workshops that engage them in hands-on exploration and discovery. In a recent post-workshop survey of 5,000 teachers, 92% said Scientists in School was very to extremely effective in enhancing their students' interest in STEM. In a typical Scientists in School workshop, an expert scientist guides children in person through a series of hands-on STEM investigations. Due to COVID-19, the charity now offers their hands-on STEM workshops and Family Science Nights virtually to classrooms, community groups, and for at-home learning. Workshops spark exploration in rich, fun and engaging ways, and every child receives an individually packaged Mini Science Bag filled with scientific materials, shipped ahead to use during their virtual workshop and long after.
WHAT PARENTS AND EDUCATORS ARE SAYING “Very fun, very engaging, like a treasure box with instructions to follow. My son said he would definitely tune in for science if it was like this every day!” “My experience with Scientists in School was amazing. My Grade 1 students were actively engaged in testing materials, used their critical thinking skills to design a puppet using fasteners, and experimented while designing structures to span, support, and contain. We revisited the activities multiple times after the workshop because the students were so interested in the learning.”
EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SCIENTISTS IN SCHOOL A prosperous and innovative Canada is one where every voice is represented in our workforce, research and scientific discoveries. With the support of visionary partners, Scientists in School puts a laser focus on increasing equitable access to their workshops. Approximately 30% of their total reach in 2019 was to children attending schools serving low-income communities— that’s 190,800 children out of 711,000. However, more work is needed. Addressing access barriers for less-affluent students has become even more important as the pandemic has affected students in already vulnerable situations the most. You can help to ensure that all children in Canada continue to have opportunities to explore the wonder of STEM and envision a future in science.
To learn more, book a workshop, or become a donor visit scientistsinschool.ca
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