Filed under: volunteer awards
Congrats to Tomek Sposob for winning a UW LTS prize package at our Volunteer Recruitment Booth raffle! Raffle prizes included: LTS tshirt/water bottle/mug and a $25 visa gift card!
Filed under: sponsors/donations
Thank you friends at SPC for their generosity! SPC Card is your pass to exclusive student discounts and deals on fashion, shoes, accessories, sporting goods, restaurants and more. With this in mind, SPC has donated many, many gift cards and VIP SPC cards to recognize our hardworking, dedicated volunteers! In addition, LTS at the UW has partnered with SPC in fundraising efforts. Get your SPC Card discount card today ONLINE by clicking on the above SPC Card banner and entering LTS as your promo code — and for every card sold, LTS at the UW gets $2.50 dollars profit!
Special thanks to Tara Rebeiro (SPC Marketing Specialist) for her time, help, and altruism!
Filed under: outreach events
This summer, summer science camps were provided from July 15th to August 18th! As a joint effort with CSI Manitoba, kids from inner-city schools attended presentations run by University of Winnipeg students (Jason Syvixay, Jen Regier, Alex Jagsch, Michael Lang). Presentations taught and exposed concepts like forensic science, polymers, rotors, circuits, magnets, and also included a tour of the University’s greenhouse (made possible by the biology department’s own Karen Jones).
Filed under: aboriginal student outreach
The UW Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program continues to collaborate with the Eco-Kids and Enviro-Techs Aboriginal science outreach programs. Targeting inner-city aboriginal youth, Eco-Kids, Enviro-Tech and LTS seek to relate indigenous values to traditional scientific and environmental issues.
Goals of Eco-Kids collaboration:
- explore the relationship between culture, science, and the environment
- link the Aboriginal community’s traditional teachings with science curriculum
- allow youth, ages 10-14, to participate in a wide range of field trips to places like Oak Hammock Marsh, and Fort Whyte Alive!
- allow youth the opportunity to participate in hands-on scientific experiments
Goals of Enviro-Techs collaboration:
- aimed at high school youth, incorporates traditional Aboriginal teachings with environmental science
- to tap into the academic potential of teenagers by training them with ‘creative problem solving’ and other techniques – in order to promote academic and personal success (these high school students also receive leadership training and thus, ‘pay-it-forward’ by teaching youth associated with Eco-Kids)
Filed under: all science challenge 2009
Plans are in the works to finally introduce the All Science Challenge to the UW LTS PP in 2009! More details to come!
For now, here is some information (from the National LTS Website) regarding the All Science Challenge:
Nearly 1,000 students across Canada participated in All Science Challenge competitions this year that are run by Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program sites.
As the All Science Challenge continues to grow, so has interest from students, along with their teachers and parents, who are looking for extra curricular science activities. This year, 20 Grade seven students from The Study, an independent girls’ school in Montreal, Quebec, formed five teams of four and travelled with their teacher to Toronto to participate in the University of Toronto competition. Three of The Study teams placed in the top 10, with one team taking second place overall.
Filed under: volunteer awards
In this section, the coordinators of the UW LTS PP acknowledge, recognize, and award the volunteers who have made exceptional contributions to the University of Winnipeg with LTS-PP during the school year.
Monthly, we will recognize outstanding volunteers with certificates (ie. volunteers of the month). Annually, volunteers can expect to receive well-documented reference letter regarding their efforts and dedication to the UW LTS PP (… and signed by a University professor, which is always great when applying for scholarships, medical school, grad school, etc!)
Filed under: activity ideas
Here is a sample of the kinds of science workshops the UW LTS PP can offer.
Note: We are always adding to this page as new activities are developed, so please check back regularly for new ideas! If you are interested in incorporating one (or more) of these activities to your science curriculum, please contact us!
Biology
- Welcome to Forensis 101: crime lab investigation techniques are taught (ie. fingerprinting, chromatography techniques, chemical analysis of compounds, polymer forensic engineering concepts … science topics involved: polymers/monomers, dna analysis, chemistry
- The Bone Zone: experience ‘bone-ified’ activities to discover how the skeletal system provides protection, support, and movement through challenges, demonstrations, and role-playing activities. Students also get the chance to build a model hand and test it for strength and stability! … science topics involved: anatomy, nutrition, testing materials, structural strength
Physics
- Entrepreneurial Science: students learn about the economics of science by forming companies to design self-propelled objects. By ’purchasing’ parts, building and testing their creations, students discover a variety of potential energy sources. Having a novel idea is just the first step in inventing. Turning the idea into a viable product is definitely not easy and may not be inexpensive! … science topics involved: air pressure, energy, mechanics, forces
Combined Concepts
- Super Science Challenges: teamwork is essential as students solve these engineering, science, and math challenges. Can they design a method to move ping-pong balls without touching them or passing beyond specific boundaries? How many pennies can they get onto a paper bridge? Designs are improved and tested until the “best” design is determined … science topics involved: testing and designing of products, problem solving, teamwork
Math
- Color Me Probability: this game uses dice to help instill the concepts of probability … science topics involved: odds and probability
Filed under: aboriginal student outreach
by: Raena Mina, BSc (hons), 07/08 LTS PP Coordinator
There is a philosophical difference between Aboriginal culture and Western science, with respect to a ‘world view’. This difference may account to why there is a proportional under-representation of aboriginal students in science programs at the high school and university level.
“According to several recent reports, almost half of our city’s Aboriginal youth do not graduate from high school. The Opportunity Fund — combined with innovative programs such as Eco-Kids and Enviro-Techs demonstrates The University of Winnipeg’s commitment to closing that ‘graduation gap’ and enabling the inner-city and under-represented students to achieve their full academic potential.”
One common theme that arises is the cultural clash between the values and philosophy of Western science (particularly as found in the classroom) and the values and philosophy held by many Aboriginal people and communities. At the risk of oversimplification, the Aboriginal perspective has a world view of people and living resources as a spiritual whole, whereas Western science seeks greater understanding through breaking apart the whole and analyzing it in terms of its component parts. These differences can create difficulties for Aboriginal students (and, one might argue, for many non-Aboriginal students as well) in classrooms dominated by the Western science perspective.
Many schools across Canada have tried to incorporate traditional aboriginal knowledge in the school curriculum[1]; many, such as our own Eco-Kids and Enviro-Techs programs[2] – have a prominent environmental focus. At the post-secondary level, universities are increasingly becoming aware of the need for special support for Aboriginal students entering science as a field of study[1].
University of Winnipeg and the LTS PP program attempt to attract aboriginal youth to higher education, as well as offer help on-site in schools and introduce homework programs.
We are travelling to distant schools as well as hosting information sessions and lab visits for schools from reserves (Chief Peguis Nation and Skownan First Nation). We also participate in the Chief Peguis First Nation Science and Technology Symposium that hosts many lecture/activity presentations for resident high school students. In addition to this, we intend to expand our activities to other interested schools throughout Manitoba.
Professors Randy Kobes and Vesna Milosevic-Zdjelar actually visited the Skownan School and Winnipegosis High School themselves. Using a hands-on approach, Kobes and Milosevic-Zdjelar performed science workships with students ranging from kindergarten to grade nine. Areas of science that were taught included electricity, magnetism, optics, and sound. They presented a lecture about the origin of meteorites and the importance of Canadian findings. Students were also shown how they could participate and help the Canadian Geological Survey in compiling the number of meteorites found on Canadian soil.
In contrast to their trips to schools located on Aboriginal reserves, the UW LTS PP also offers science outreach services to students at the Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre. Twice a week, university science students tutor Aboriginal youth for at least four hours per session. While most of the students are primarily Aboriginal, the same services are offered to anyone in need (such as ESL students and inner-city students).
With this in mind, the UW LTS PP plans to continue collaborating with neighboring schools and inner-city students. The UW LTS PP also plans to have more meetings with the elders from the community — in order to exchange ideas and views about science and philosophy; as well as to garner greater understanding.
[1] http://communications.uvic.ca/edge/pdf/v5n14_25sep05.pdf
[2] http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/cms-filesystem-action?file=pdfs/media-releases/release-070215.pdf
[3] http://aboriginal.science.ubc.ca and http://www.arts.usask.ca/students/aboriginal
Filed under: year-end recap
by: Raena Mina, BSc (hons), 07/08 LTS PP Coordinator
The University of Winnipeg has had a successful recruitment this year with over 30 undergraduate student volunteers from physics, anthropology, biochemistry, biology, biopsychology, as well as those in education — all, very enthusiastic and eager to participate in our incoming requests from schools throughout the city. We are still open for recruitment, having found more and more students interested in becoming a part of the Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program.
This year we offered the services of our science students to provide tutoring twice a week for four hours to the Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre. While the students that come to the centre are mainly Aboriginal, we provide help to anyone who is in need, getting drop ins from ESL students and inner-city students (including students from elementary, highschool, and university). Whenever there are no dropins, LTS volunteers help students working with computers in their computer centre.
Our site is lucky to have some very awesome coordinators, like Randy, Vesna, and Beata, who are all active and involved in class visists. We have received many requests from schools we have worked with in the past, including Tyndall Park Elementary School — where we will be sending volunteers to do living and non-living biology activities with their grade one class.
We have also been active with our inner-city highschool, Gordon Bell – where Vesna did a physics presentation and physics activities with their grade 11 and 12 students; and with whom we will also be doing more activities next semester. These students have also shown keen interest with our genetics department, and thus, next term, Beata will teach them on how to work with electrophoresis gels.
We are still reaching elementary schools, with Vesna doing meteorite and solar system activities with students in grade 5 and 6. We are also still in the planning stages of doing an elementary school competition involving science projects — of which, we would like to do in February (when some elementary schools are invited to our labs for science activities).
Filed under: support us
Are you interested in providing the UW Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program with financial or in-kind support? Let’s Talk Science is a registered charity and a tax receipt can be provided for support donated to our program.
Support can come in the form of in-kind donations (gift certificates, company product, etc), financial, or science supplies (both consumables and permanent supplies).
We are always looking for creative ways of showing appreciation to our volunteers for all the hard work they do and to supply them with the best scientific tools possible to help inspire students all across MB!
Those interested in supporting the program, please contact:
Jason Syvixay, Coordinator
UW Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program
The University of Winnipeg
E-mail: jasonsyvixay_lts@hotmail.com
Phone: 204-997-3040
or log onto the LTS National Office web donation page: LTS National Office web donation page Don’t forget to specify where you would like your gift to go!
