Workshops
| Grade | Program | Description | Field | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K - 1st | Why Live Here? | Explore the needs of living things (ie: food, shelter, safety) and how the habitats of animals meet these needs. Includes songs/rhymes, a story book, and tie-ins to math and literacy. | Ecology & Environment | 60 - 75 minutes |
| K - 3rd | Budding Biologists
[virtual option available] |
How are living things adapted for survival? Through hands-on activities, students will learn about the form and function of insects and birds. Try eating like a bird and build an imaginary insect! | Biology | 60 - 90 minutes |
| K - 3rd | Budding Marine Biologists | Adaptations help animals survive. Throughout the workshop, students will learn about how marine animals have adapted to communicate, eat, and live in marine habitats. Explore different zones in the ocean and discover the animals that live there! | Marine Biology | 60 - 90 minutes |
| K - 3rd | Common Senses | Let’s learn about our five senses - what they are, how they work, and how to trick them! Each participant will investigate their own senses and make observations. | Biology | 60 - 75 minutes |
| K - 5th | States of Matter | We hear about solids, liquids, and gases - but what about those squishy fluids that are a bit inbetween? This workshop explores non-Newtonian fluids, chemical reactions, and polymers through experiments and demonstrations. Oobleck (cornstarch and water) activity only available for on campus visits. | Chemistry, Physics | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 3rd - 6th | Exploration Mars
[virtual option available] |
Learn about the challenges of getting to and operating in the extreme environment of The Red Planet. Designing and building a Mars lander will challenge your abilities to work as a team, use resources efficiently, make and revise plans, and integrate knowledge of basic physics. | Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Design | 60 - 75 minutes |
| 3rd - 6th | The Bone Zone: Human Physiology | Our bodies are incredible machines! Discover how our skeletal system provides protection, support, and movement for us. After learning about the physiology of bones, students will make and test there own model hand. | Health, Kinesiology | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 3rd - 7th | Fight or Flight: the Science of Stress
[virtual option available] |
Stress affects us all, from young children to adults. Some stress is good; it keeps us sharp and motivated. But too much can slow us down or make us sick. Learn how stress affects the human body and how to know where your personal limits are. We'll discuss what you can do to manage stress (fight) and when it's a better idea to get away (flight). | Health, Kinesiology | 60 - 75 minutes |
| 3rd - 10th | DNA
[virtual option available] |
DNA is the blueprint of life. Based on age, students will: learn about the structure of DNA by making a candy model, extract DNA from fruit, and/or apply their knowledge of transcription and translation to explore mutations in bees. The bee activity is presented in association with Genome BC. | Biology | 60 minutes |
| 4th - 6th | Space-cial: Constellations and Moon Phases
[virtual option available] |
Fascinated by the starry night sky? Amazed by the shapes of the moon? Learn about constellations and the moon in this space-cial workshop! Through creating constellation viewers and moon martians, students learn to recognize famous constellations, understand moon phases, and identify the conditions on the moon. | Astronomy, Space Science | 60 - 75 minutes |
| 4th - 8th | Stomp Rockets: the Science of Flight
**unavailable |
We will learn about the forces that keep planes in the air, and the forces during a rocket launch. Apply your rocket design knowledge to make your own paper rocket, powered by stomping power! | Physics | 60 minutes |
| 4th - 8th | It's Electrifying! | In this whirlwind tour of electricity, we will learn about the basic components of a circuit, build series and parallel circuits, test materials for insulating or conducting properties, and make electromagnets. | Physics | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 4th - 9th | Rocks to Riches | In this workshop, students will learn about naturally occurring earth resources focusing on rocks and minerals. They will discover how rock and mineral resources play an important role in our daily lives, and learn where earth resources come from with examples from B.C. and Canada. In the last activity, students will learn about the mining life cycle and get a chance to practice their own mining skills. | Earth Science, Geology | 75 - 90 minutes |
| 5th - 9th | Crime Lab
[virtual option available] |
Use different techniques from Forensic Science to solve a crime! See how forensic scientists use knowledge of chemistry, biology, and psychology to piece together clues. It's important to be able to judge the value of our data when deciding when which clues matter the most! | Forensic Science | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 5th - 9th | Hydration Nation
[virtual option available] |
Students will determine drinking water quality through testing the chemistry and physical properties of the main bodies of water on a newly discovered island and comparing results to the Canadian drinking water guidelines. Can be combined with Oil Spill. | Ecology & Environment, Water Chemistry | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 5th - 9th | Oil Spill | When oil leaks from a supertanker at sea or a pipe on land, the impact on the surrounding environment is severe and complex. After learning about what happens at ground zero, we’ll test out a number of the different clean-up methods used by rescue workers and engineers. Can be combined with Hydration Nation. | Ecology & Environment | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 6th - 10th |
Photosynthesis |
Explore the fascinating science behind plants and light through an experiment with spinach. Only in combination with CIPI Photonics. | Plant Biology, Optics | 30 minutes |
| 8th - 10th | Transportation and the Environment | Drive in to the multi-faceted world of transportation! In this workshop, students examine current and potential energy souces used for transportation. Students will test fuel cell cars, wind-powered cars, and explore sustainability and the effects of fuels on the environment. | Environmental Science, Mechanics | 60 - 90 minutes |
| 8th - 12th | CIPI Photonics
***unavailable |
Students learn hands-on about the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, and detection/sensing of light. Created by the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (now known as PhotonsCanada). | Physics, Optics | 75 - 90 minutes |
| 9th - 12th | DNA Biotechnology
|
In this workshop students will learn about DNA including its structure and function. Students will visualize DNA through gel electrophoresis and consider how DNA can be a powerful tool in forensic investigations.
*this workshop is able to be requested, however it's availability is restricted as it must be requested from the LTS National Office |
Biology | 60 - 90 minutes |
Digital Literacy Workshops
| Grade | Program | Description | Field | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K+ | Binary Beads | Welcome to the science behind computers! Students will explore what binary code is and how computers use it to store information. | Computer Science | 30 - 45 minutes |
| 1st - 7th | Code and Go Mice | Welcome to the science of computational thinking! In this workshop, students learn how to code using a Code and Go Robot Mouse which can be programmed with travel directions to navigate through mazes. By the end of the workshop, students will understand how to code specific commands, and how they are combined to form a program. | Computer Science | 60 minutes |
| 4th - 9th | Driving Towards the Future | In this workshop, students will learn about the current topic of self-driving cars and use it as a platform to learn about the big ideas behind computational thinking. As they “program” a car through different levels involving parking, loops and navigating curves, they will take on the role of the programmer, as well as the role of the computer that executes the program, in order to experience the entire process. | Computer Science, Engineering | 60 - 75 minutes |
| 5th - 9th | Living Space | As humans spend longer periods of time living in space, a better understanding of the impacts of environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels on the health and well-being of humans is becoming increasingly important. Students will build computational thinking skills by engaging in micro:bit coding activities to collect, record, and analyze data about the environmental conditions in their classroom. | Computer Science, Space Science, Environmental Science | 60 - 75 minutes |
Community Events
Some of our workshops can also be adapted as table or community event activities!
These workshops include:
- Common Senses
- DNA
- Fight or Flight
- Rotors and Towers
- Flight
- Crime Lab
- Hydration Nation
- Photosynthesis
- CIPI Photonics
- Step into your STEM Career VR
- Binary Beads
- Ozobots
- Code and Go Mice
We can also work together to develop a custom table activity for your event, if you're interested in a workshop adaptation not listed above.