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Education partner TVO leads Youth Media Alliance Award of Excellence nominations

Let's Talk Science is thrilled to celebrate the 12 recent nominations for Awards of Excellence from the Youth Media Alliance for our educational partner TVO.

One of the nominations is "Best Television Interstitial" for Gisèle's Big Backyard, one of TVO's pre-school programs. For many years, TVO Kids and Let's Talk Science have partnered to enhance and support programming for GBB. Special projects have included summer series that excited and engaged kids and their families in explorations of nature and science through a series of online quizzes and hands-on activities they could do at home.

To learn more about the award nominations, click here.

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Tuesday Volunteer Highlights

April 23, 2013

Let's Talk Science has always been a volunteer-based organization. Over the past 20 years, our volunteers have taken part in a variety of jobs - hands-on outreach, online outreach, helping out at the national office, and as members on the board of directors. Today we highlihgt two more of those amazing volunteers!

Stefanie Vogt
Let's Talk Science CurioCity and Outreach Program volunteer

Number of years volunteering with us: 5 years

Program: almost finished my PhD in Microbiology (4 months to go!)

Favourite outreach activity: All Science Challenge – it's amazing to see the enthusiasm and knowledge of the junior high students at this event. Some of the topics they study are things I didn't learn until university!

Why do you volunteer with Let's Talk Science?: I think it's important for scientists to be accessible to the public. Even though not every student will go on to study science in university, I hope that all of the students I volunteer with gain an appreciation for the importance of science in our everyday lives, and more importantly, realize that science is AWESOME!

'Fun fact': I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and finally put my knowledge to good use last year by helping to organize a science-themed Harry Potter Day at the University of Alberta.

Richard T Dobson
Chairman of Let's Talk Science Board of Directors

Position: Retired international Imperial Oil executive

Number of years volunteering with us: 7 years

Why do you volunteer with Let's Talk Science?: Being an engineer and from the Oil Industry I am well familiar with Canada's challenge to generate more STEM educated youth for the future workplace. Canada's productivity and world competitiveness depends on it.

'Fun fact': I have two lovely granddaughters who love DADAD . I have been the leading edge of the famous " Baby Boom" all my life.

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Happy National Volunteer Week!

April 22, 2013

April 21-27 is national volunteer week! Let’s Talk Science would like to take this time to thank all of our volunteers who make our programs possible.

Let’s Talk Science has over 3,000 volunteers across Canada working towards the goal of turning  children and youth on to science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. Our volunteers deliver science programs through hands-on outreach, online action projects, and writing articles for our teen science website, Curiocity.

Together, these volunteers have helped us bring science to life for more than 145,000 children and youth across the country each year!

During National Volunteer Week, Let's Talk Science would like to recognize the incredible contributions to increasing science literacy in Canada through face-to-face and virtual interactions with children and youth.

Thank a volunteer this week for dedicating their time, expertise and efforts to science outreach. We hope that our volunteers continue to enjoy their work with Let's Talk Science and that they continue to know that they are a valuable and essential piece of our organization.  

Our mission is made possible because of our volunteers!

Thank you!

Throughout the week, watch for volunteer highlights that will be posted in this news section, as well as the announcement of our outreach volunteer awards finalists and winners starting Tuesday.

Monday Volunteer Highlight:

Tiffany Cheung, Let's Talk Science Outreach volunteer, University of Ottawa

Number of years volunteering with Let's Talk Science: 2

Program: Biochemistry (Faculty of Science)

Favourite outreach activity: One of my most favourite involvements with Let's Talk Science is the University of Ottawa "Aboriginal Mentorship Program" where I have the privilege of being selected as one of five volunteers (including Monique Menard, Jillian Gideon, Jovian Tsang and Raunak Karmacharya) to serve as year-long mentors for the Aboriginal students at Opeongo High School in Douglas, ON. For this program, I help the students with their individual science experiments as well as give interactive presentations about oncolytic viruses used for treating cancer and provide lab tours at The Ottawa Hospital. This outreach endeavor has been one of my favourite activities because it encompasses the integral elements of Let's Talk Science volunteerism: altruism and compassion, resulting in community change.

Why do you volunteer with Let's Talk Science?: I would highly recommend students to join the Let's Talk Science program because between serving local elementary schools as a science fair judge and giving interactive presentations about fundamental stem cell principles to rural Ontario high school classes, I fervently believe that we all have the capacity to help motivate the students' passion for learning and this is primarily why I volunteer with the outstanding Let's Talk Science program.

'Fun fact': I'm extremely excited to be going to Iqaluit and Resolute Bay, Nunavut as part of the Science Travels program where I will give science presentations and conduct interactive science experiments with the Northern communities and Inuit children for a week.