Cold Lake and District FCSS and the Lakeland branch of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) were hoping to ignite the love of sceince in local youth.
On Saturday, Feb. 9, young scientists were busy completing challenges as part of the annual Science Olympics.
“I think it’s really to get them excited and thinking about those real-world problems and what some potential solutions are. To think big picture and what they want to do with their lives. If they see a challenge here they think is really interesting to work on, that might help inspire them to pursue that later in life or in their academic career,” expressed Andrew Francis, branch chair for the Lakeland branch of APEGA.
He added, “Being engineers and junior scientists, we’re very science-oriented people. We tend to be very passionate about this field, and we want to share that with kids and try to show them the fun side of engineering and geoscience, and how it affects their day-to-day lives.”
This was Cold Lake and District FCSS’ second year being on-board with the program.
Ada Andrzejewska, child and youth program facilitator, said they were excited to be partnering up with APEGA once again.
“Any opportunity for the kids outside of school, for science, and just to get together and build new skills, we take advantage of,” she noted.
Julien, Easton, and Molly were busy with their challenge.
Participating youth were split up into groups of three or more, and were given the materials and instructions needed in order to complete a science and geoscience-based challenge.
For enthusiasts like Molly Pedersen, it was great to be putting her knowledge to the test.
“It’s really fun and it’s a good way to get people learning about science,” she said, adding the program is right up her alley.
“I want to be a scientist when I’m older. I’m not sure what in yet, but it’s all really fun to learn about.”
Max Sebo, fellow participant, agreed.
“I really like science... I like that you have to work in a team and that it’s building structures,” he expressed.
Teamwork and hands-on experience were two of the day’s highlights for Sebo.
In the end, APEGA is hoping to inspire youth to consider a future in the industry, one challenge at a time.
