Workshops

 

We connect with youth through classroom or community group visits, virtually and in-person. Free of charge, our Outreach volunteers arrive on-site to incorporate hands-on/minds-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning activities for your programs or events.

We are offering both in-person and virtual outreach for the 2023-2024 school year. All workshops are approximately 1 hour, with some exceptions.

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Please see the table below for our current workshops:

All workshop content and supplies are completely FREE of charge.

Name Grades Duration Subjects Description
Ruler Reaction, Finger Print All Grades 15 minutes or less Biology, Mathematics, Other Booth event activities
Marine Biology: Living/Non-living Kindergarten, 1, 2 1-2 hours Biology Students will discuss and examine differences between living and non-living organism with a focus on the marine system. Includes a sea jelly craft and interacting with live animals. In collaboration with Mobile Biology, UBC Okanagan. In person. School visits only in May, on campus visits throughout the year.
Candy Science Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Less than 1 hour Chemistry, Physics, Other, Mathematics Candy Science experiments for booth events. In person.
Water Science - booth Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 15 minutes or less Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology Ph Testing, Tree Rings, Surface Tension, Celery Experiment
Feast for the Senses Kindergarten, 1, Preschool 1-2 hours Health Science, Biology Students participate in interactive, sensory activities that help them understand how animals use their senses to locate food. In person.
Build Your Own Bacteria 1, 2, 3 Less than 1 hour Biology Students will learn about the basics of bacterial structure and the roles of bacteria in the intestine while completing a hands on activity. In person.
What if There Were No Bees? 1, 2, 3, 4 1-2 hours Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences This workshop consists of two parts: a reading of the book "What If There Were No Bees?: A Book about the Grassland Ecosystem" by Suzanne Slade, followed by a fun, interactive hands-on activity. In this activity, students will explore the process of cross-pollination. In person.
Animal Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 15 minutes or less Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology n/a
Butterfly Life Cycle 2 Less than 1 hour Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences This workshop consists of two parts: a reading of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle followed by a Butterfly Life Cycle hands-on activity. We will learn about the different steps in the life cycle of a butterfly from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis / cocoon, to butterfly. In person or virtual.
Matter Matters 2 1-2 hours Chemistry, Physics Students explore the properties and interactions of solid and liquid materials and what it means when these types of matter have different densities. In person.
Marine Biology: Metamorphosis 2, 3, 4 1-2 hours Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology Students will explore the life cycle of a crab to understand metamorphosis in different species of animals. Students will then interact with preserved and live animals. In collaboration with Mobile Biology, UBC Okanagan. In person. School visits only in May, on campus visits throughout the year.
Code a Keychain 2, 3, 4, 5 Less than 1 hour Other, Mathematics, Information Technology/Computer Science coding
Perils of Plastic 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Less than 1 hour Earth & Environmental Sciences Learn about the problems of plastic big and small. Students will learn about what a microplastic is, why it’s harmful and how to avoid them. Other issues addressed will include plastic litter and entanglement, breakdown timeline of plastics and more. In person.
Water Science 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Less than 1 hour Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences Shorter activities (work for booth events as well) around water science: Oil spill, pH measuring, surface tension. In person.
Marine Biology : Biomes 3, 4, 5 1-2 hours Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences Students will explore the environmental differences of various biomes and discuss organisms' adaptations. Students will create their own animal. Students will then interact with preserved and live animals. In collaboration with Mobile Biology, UBC Okanagan. In person. School visits only in May, on campus visits throughout the year.
Super Science Challenges 3, 4, 5, 6 1-2 hours Engineering, Physics Youth work together in teams to design, create and test a variety of items; everyday materials are used to solve challenging science and engineering problems. In person.
Trees for Tomorrow 3, 4, 5, 6 1-2 hours Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology Find your roots and grow resiliently as you step into a world of green! In this workshop, students will explore what makes up a healthy forest, and how tree and soil health is important for sustaining ecosystems. Students will consider how human actions affect forests, and how forests are important in combatting climate change. Discussions will focus on positive actionable steps students can take to protect plant and soil health in their communities. In person.
Tomatosphere Seed Investigation 4, 5, 6 1-2 hours Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology Tomatosphere uses the excitement of space exploration as a way to teach the skills and processes of scientific inquiry and a fair test. Students will examine the effects of the space environment on the germination of tomato seeds. We will plant two sets of tomato seeds and begin our investigation. In person.
Coding with Ozobots 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Less than 1 hour Information Technology/Computer Science Ozobots will introduce you to the basic concepts of coding. Instead of understanding only zeros and ones, Ozobots understand 4 colours (black, blue, green, and red). In person.
Marine Biology : Reefs 6, 7 1-2 hours Biology, Earth & Environmental Sciences Students will discuss what corals and coral reefs are and why they are important. We will explore the impacts of climate change on coral reefs, causes of climate change and how each individual can help to improve our reefs. Students will participate via discussion, hands on activities and have the opportunity to interact with live animals. In collaboration with Mobile Biology, UBC Okanagan. Note: this workshop runs 75 mins long. In person. School visits only in May, on campus visits throughout the year.
Ask a Scientist 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 1-2 hours Psychology, Biotechnology, Information Technology/Computer Science, Education, Mathematics, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology, Health Science, Astronomy and Space Science Students have the opportunity to ask questions and chat with a real scientist! A scientist will walk students through a day in the life of scientist and what their particular research field involves. In person or virtual.
Marine Biology: Ocean Acidification 9 1-2 hours Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology Students will be introduced to the periodic table in order to better understand the chemistry behind ocean acidification. Emphasis will be placed on understanding pH, how pH changes in response to climate change and how changes in pH can impact the oceans and the animals that live there. Students will have the opportunity to run their own experiment where they will acidify their “ocean” in order to better understand the relationship between excess CO2 and pH. Alongside an experiment students will have some hands on time with the live marine animals that are impacted by these changes in our oceans and discuss ways they can help mitigate the issues around global warming. This workshop requires 75 minutes. In person. School visits only in May, on campus visits throughout the year.