Science & Technology Week Activities!

Guelph LTS at the Arthur Fall Fair

Katie B & Sana K are my new heroes!
They drove through torrential rain last Saturday, all the way to Arthur to set up an LTS booth at the Arthur Fall Fair. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_Slime_in_hand.JPG

For 5 full hours they entertained the masses with Chemistry Magic Show demonstrations, competing fiercely against the nearby face-painting clowns for attention. 

By the end of the day, the SLIME won out. Their LTS booth was one of the highlights of the Fair! Over 100 kids and their parents came by to visit Sana and Katie and learn about the science behind the magic (& the wonders of the LTS program!)

What a way to kick off the start of the academic year! 

More Volunteer Appreciation! Summer Raffle Winners

As June wrapped up, Nancy and I gratefully looked towards what we thought would be a quiet and lazy summer here at LTS Guelph. Boy were we wrong!!

Our volunteers helped us run 15 activities in July. That represents 66 hours of volunteer time from 18 different volunteers (some volunteered more than once!) to reach over 220 kids in Guelph and 40 kids in far off Meaford!

In August, LTS reached an additional 190 youth by running 9 more activities, which would not have been possible without help from 15 different volunteers who contributed 46 hours of their time! Miyuki K was our superstar volunteer of the month, helping with 4 activities, including our Chemistry Magic Show partnership with Creative Encounters with Science and a Crime Lab activity at the Guelph Public Library. Kaitlin R and Maude P also get 4 stars for their partnership with CES and for developing a new workshop called Let's Talk Nutrition! Marlene P gets a huge thank you from me for volunteering to drive all the way up to Meaford to help me run Astronaut Academy at the Meaford Public Library!

This summer we implemented a new raffle for any volunteers who helped us run an activity.

* In July, Haley P won an OVC tote bag filled with stationary, a U of G reusable mug and an HP wireless mouse.

* In August, Li D won and OVC tote bag filled with stationary and a Cineplex 2-4-1 movie ticket.

Thanks everyone! And cheers to a new school year!

Ann

Please spread the word! LTS is running training sessions for new volunteers!

Are you a 3rd or 4th year undergrad, vet or graduate student, staff or faculty? Are you looking for a way to get involved in the community, get to know other grad students in other departments, and/or to share your passion for your field with youth? If you are, Let's Talk Science is looking for you!

Let's Talk Science (www.letstalkscience.ca) is a national not-for-profit organization that pairs university student volunteers with educators across Canada. We are looking for senior undergraduate, graduate and vet student volunteers who can spend 10 hours each year (only 5 hours/semester) volunteering with youth in Guelph and the surrounding area. Though our volunteers are predominantly science, engineering, or math graduate students, all disciplines are welcome! (This means YOU social science students!) 

There are many diverse opportunities for involvement, and our volunteers have many opportunities to develop their communication, presentation and teaching skills (always a bonus for adding to your CV!) in both local and rural/remote communities. Most volunteers engage students with hands-on science activities from our pre-made "kits", but you can also develop and design your own modules around your area of study or special interest, helping to add to our catalog of available activities.

Examples of recent activities include a visit to a Grade 2 class for a Plants & Pollinators game, a competition to build chain-reaction Rube Goldberg machines in a Grade 7 class, monthly library visits for kids' science programs like our Crime Scene Investigator mystery and Chemistry Magic Show, giving a talk at a Philosophy symposium or presenting your research in a Poster Presentation at Science Rendezvous.

 To learn more, come out to one of our 20 minute info sessions in the Science Complex Room 1511: 

Thursday, September 12th, 2013 at 5 pm

Thursday, September 19th, 2013 at 5 pm

 If you're already convinced,  and want to volunteer, you'll first have to attend an orientation and training session. Please RSVP to uguelph@letstalkscience.ca for one of the following training sessions in the Science Complex Room 1511:

Thursday, September 12th, 2013 from 5:30-7:30 pm

Thursday, September 19th, 2013 from 5:30-7:30 pm

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
in the Science Complex Room 1511

If you have any questions or concerns, please email the University of Guelph Let's Talk Science coordinators, Nancy and Ann at uguelph@letstalkscience.ca. To learn more about who we are and what we do at the University of Guelph, please check out our website at www.letstalkscience.ca/uguelph.

Cheers!

Ann & Nancy