The All Science Challenge is Coming!

Can you believe that it's already time to start thinking about the 2012 All Science Challenge?? The All Science Challenge is a one-day science showdown for kids in grades 6-8.  Students study a handbook of reach-ahead science facts prepared by a team of educational experts and volunteers. On the big day, the students will compete against teams from other area schools for the title of All Science Challenge Champion!! All Science Challenges are hosted by Let's Talk Science sites across Canada, and this year will be Guelph's second time hosting this fun day of friendly competition and teamwork! The All Science Challenge at the University of Guelph will take place on April 24th, 2012.

If you know a student in grades 6-8 in the Guelph area who might be interested in competing, have his or her teacher visit http://www.letstalkscience.ca/challenge to register a team!

What have we been up to?

The fall semester is in full swing, and Let's Talk Science volunteers have already been out and about performing activities with youth in Guelph and beyond! Here are some of the highlights of just some of the activities that we've been up to!

• Linda, Amanda, and Amy showed kids at the Arthur Fall Fair that science doesn't have to take place only in the classroom! Kids at the fair had a chance to test their lung capacity, make slime, and take home some delicious candy DNA!
• Witek, Naheda, and Midori traveled with volunteers from other Let's Talk Science sites in southern Ontario to Alliston, ON to help out at Honda Canada's Take your Kids to Work Day activities! They helped grade 9 students build Rube Goldberg machines! After the activities at the car plant, Witek and Naheda kept the fun rolling by teaching kids about their 5 senses at the New Tecusmeth Library! Check out the full story on the main Let's Talk Science website!
• Jason and Derek have already visited the Guelph Homeschool Science Co-op several times to lead hands-on demonstrations!
• Colette, Midori, and Erica grossed out students at Holy Rosary Catholic Elementary here in Guelph with activities about the human body!

As you can see, we are already off to a busy year! This year, for the first time at the U of G, most volunteers have been placed in year-long partnerships with an educator partner to establish lasting relationships with the youth they visit! Several teams of volunteers have made plans to visit their classes within the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned for more updates about our amazing volunteers!!

Featured Volunteer - Jan Edward

Jan is an amazingly passionate and dedicated volunteer who began working with Let's Talk Science at the start of the 2010-2011 school year! He has visited schools and community groups within Guelph and in rural areas like Dublin, and he performed an amazing 10 activities last year! 

Q. What are you studying and what have you studied in the past?

A.I did my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology in Guelph and I loved it so much that I am still here pursuing my MSc degree studying stress neuroendocrinology.

Q. Why did you become a Let's Talk Science volunteer?

A. Science has always been a passion of mine. Science is practically everywhere in today's world. It is transforming our world in a rapid pace. However, Science is under appreciated. I volunteered for Let's Talk Science to pass on my passion to younger students and at the very least, for the students to gain an appreciation for Science. I believe that  being able to understand the importance of science in our everyday lives is not only an advantage but a necessity. More importantly, I want everyone to know that Science is fun!

Q. What has been your favourite part of volunteering (or what is the best activity that you've done so far)?

A. One of my most memorable Let's Talk Science experience is visiting schools in rural areas. The students are very excited to have us visit their school as they have very few visitors in the school year. This makes the long trip very rewarding. As rural students do not have the same level of access to science programming as urban students, I feel that these trips makes a huge impact as far as science outreach goes.

Past Featured Volunteers:

• Derek
• Kaity

New Year, New Coordinator, New Volunteers.. Same Fun!

Can you believe that it's already September?!? The new school year is ready to start, and Let's Talk Science at the U of G is ramping up for another super fun, super successful year!

We have grown from one coordinator to two! This year, Linda will be joined by a second PhD student from the U of G, Amanda, who will help out with connecting volunteers to teachers and educators! Amanda is also heading up an amazing DNA Barcoding activity (more on that another day!). 

This fall, we are offering several information and training sessions to help bring new graduate students into the program! The information sessions are an optional way for you to learn a little bit more about the program and what we are looking for volunteers to commit to. Attendance at a training session is MANDATORY before we can let you go out into classrooms and community groups!

Information sessions will be held:

Tuesday, September 13th at 2:00pm in the GreenhouseCafe, Bovey Bldg.

Tuesday,September 20th at 4:30 pm in 1800 Pathobiology

Thursday, October 6th at 4:30 pm in 1714Lifetime Learning Centre

Monday, October17th at 4:30 pm in 1714Lifetime Learning Centre

Training sessions will be held:

Tuesday, September 20th from 5-8 pm in 1800 Pathobiology

Thursday, October 6th from 5-8 pm in 1714Lifetime Learning Centre

Monday, October17th from 5-8 pm in 1714Lifetime Learning Centre 

I hope you can join us for another awesome year!

2010-2011 Award Winning Volunteers!

I can't believe it's the end of the school year already! Things have finally started to quiet down (except for the activities from summer schools and community groups!), which means that it's time to name this year's volunteer and activity of the year award recipients! On June 30th, we had a volunteer appreciation and awards night to honour the hard work of all of our fantastic volunteers.

The first award that was distributed was the Activity of the Year Award, which is given to the volunteer (or volunteers!) who develop and exceptionally creative, useful, and detailed activity.  The winners of this year's Activity of the Year Award were Nick S. and Angie R. for their activity about pulleys and levers!  Honourable mentions went to Amanda N. for her amazing Barcoding activity and to Adam T., whose anatomy field trip didn't quite see the light of day (but which was still pretty amazing!).

The second award that we distributed was the Christopher Zweerman Volunteer of the Year Award, which is given to a volunteer who has demonstrated a tremendous amount of passion, dedication, and creativity. This award is named in honour of the U of G's first Volunteer of the Year, Christopher Zweerman, who tragically passed away in 2010. We chose to name the award in his honour because he exemplified all of the qualities that make for a fantastic volunteer.
The winner of the 2010-2011 Christopher Zweerman Volunteer of the Year Award is Midori B., who not only performed an astounding 15 activities, but who also traveled to rural communities, developed new activities, and lent a hand with the All Science Challenge!  Honourable mentions went to Jan (Edward) L., who was also an amazingly dedicated volunteer who spent an enormous number of hours working both in Guelph and in rural communities; to Derek T., who single-handedly managed one of our busiest partnerships (and still found time to do other activities!); and to Kaity R., who not only had a hand in Adam's developing field trip activity, but who also performed several activities and who stepped up when other volunteers became unavailable on short notice.

We also had several volunteers who were nominated for national awards!!  Lisa W. was nominated for the National Volunteer of the Year Award due to her creativity, strong teaching skills, and dedication.  She is an outstanding volunteer! The CIHR Synapse award recognizes an outstanding activity in the field of health science. Amanda W. and Marina N. were nominated for this award based on their fantastic activity about microbes, and they were national finalists for this award!!

Thank you SO MUCH to all of the amazing volunteers this year! We really achieved some amazing things this year, and none of it would have been possible without you!