The face of Western’s student population was much younger this past week as close to 1,000 elementary and secondary students spread out across campus for a variety of learning events.
Calling themselves the Carbon-Based Life Forms of Tuesday, the Seaforth-area team of Michael Watterwork, Parker Hrudka, Conner Selves and Jake Vincent celebrate success in a bridge-building competition at a Let’s Talk Science event.
From exploring the electrical activity of brain cells to belting out tunes in a choir, faculty and students opened Western’s doors to introduce young students to the excitement and fun sides of learning.
For example, hosted by University of Western Ontario science students, the All Science Challenge was a daylong enrichment competition for more than 150 Grade 6-8 students from about 10 schools across southwestern Ontario.
Combining an exciting question and answer competition with build-it-yourself design challenges, the day proved to be a learning experience for all.
“We get just as excited, if not more, than the students themselves,” laughs Western graduate student volunteer Alysha Croker, of the Let’s Talk Science initiative being held at 11 universities across Canada this year.
Students were tested in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, earth and environmental science, engineering, mathematics, psychology and physics.
It’s a great way to bring excitement into learning science by teaching the students how to solve problems individually and as a team, adds Croker.
“Science is a valuable skill to learn and we want to make it as exciting as we can for the students to want to learn more,” she says. “To see their faces light up when they get something for the first time or see a cool experiment – that’s what it’s all about.”
Seaforth, Ont.-area student Jake Vincent says the day was filled with interesting challenges.
“Science is just like art in that you need to be creative in what you do, but in different sorts of ways.”
While Vincent and his pals were talking science, less than 100 metres away at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, close to 500 elementary and secondary students were exercising their vocal chords at the fifth annual Kaleid Choir Festival. The three-day festival included a concert and training session with Finnish six-voice a cappella ensemble Rajaton.
Kaleid artistic director and Music professor Jennifer Moir says the number of school and community choirs grows annually and having Rajaton on hand made it even better.
“When people sing together, good things happen,” says Moir. “What’s appealing to them (Rajaton) is this is not for elite choirs but inspires all levels of experience. It’s one of the things that makes Kaleid unique and one of its strongest features. It’s designed to celebrate amateur choirs with a diverse program and provide exposure and inspiration.”
Exposure to internationally acclaimed artists is part of the inspiration. But so is exposure to the other choirs and directors at the festival, adds Moir.
“It really is a kaleidoscope of voices,” she says. “When you bring people together and ask them to sing, a magical community is created.”
Science was front and centre for the 9th annual Scientific Journey, as hundreds of local Grade 11 students traveled down a ‘road to discovery’ with three top Western researchers.
Presented by Western and Partners in Research, Scientific Journey was an opportunity for the community to learn about innovative research projects.
Elizabeth Gillies, Denis O’Carroll and Amanda Moehring shared their knowledge about improving human health, cleaning up contaminated groundwater and the genetics of evolution and species formation.
For the first time, students also had the opportunity to tour science facilities including the Biotron, Material Sciences Addition and the Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Pavilion.
Continuing with the science theme, Discovery Days in Health Sciences was a one-day workshop that gave secondary school students and teachers the opportunity to explore career options in medicine and the health sciences.
Put on by the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, students heard lectures from Sumit Agrawal (Department of Otolaryngology) and Tim Wilson (Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology) before selecting among more than 35 different workshops.
From spatial hearing and auditory virtual reality to the human genome and cardiovascular pathology, the students gained a clearer picture of what it would be like to be a health professional by interacting with researchers, clinicians and educators in their real-life work setting.