*New* Lab-in-a-box
Lending library kits that can be borrowed for your class. Kits include protocols, teacher resources and all materials needed to complete the activity. To request a kit for your class please contact letstalkscience@brocku.ca
Community and Classroom Visits
We connect with youth through classroom or community group visits. 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.
Classroom Visits
We visit classrooms from grade 1 to 12 with curriculum-aligned Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities. Our volunteers typically come in for a class period to do a hands-on/minds-on activity with your students. We also run larger, fill-school events, bring students on to campus and are available to judge science fairs. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and can cover many different STEM-related topics.
Community Visits
Community groups (such as Scouts and Girl Guides), libraries, summer camps, after-school programs and community festivals can request volunteers to incorporate hands-on/minds-on STEM learning in their programs. We’d be happy to set up a table or booth at your event to bring science to life for children and their families.
Our Workshops
The following is a sampling of activities we offer. We can also develop custom activities for your group, so don’t hesitate to request an activity based on another topic not listed here.
The Team
| Workshop | Description | Grade |
| Budding Biologists | Students Learn about the form and function of insects and birds through hands-on activities. Includes marine biology activity extensions | 1 to 3 |
| Budding Marine Biologists | Students learn about the specialized forms and adaptations of marine animals through hands-on activities and role playing. | 1 to 3 |
| Matter Matters | Students explore the properties and interactions of solid and liquid materials through demonstrations and hands-on activities. | 2 |
| Natural Structures | Students explore natural structures to discover what makes a structure strong and stable and then build their own structures and test its strength and stability. | 3 |
| Bright Lights, Big Science | Students work together in teams to design, create and test a variety of items; everyday materials are used to solve challenging science and engineering problems. | 4 |
| Discovering Nature in our Neighbourhood | Students will learn what makes living things different from non-living things and discover how scientists classify living things. | 4 to 5 |
| Biodiversity | Students will be introduced to the six kingdoms of life and learn to identify organisms using a dichotomous key. Students will assess the benefits of biodiversity and the consequences of diminishing biodiversity. | 6 |
| Flight | Students will learn how the properties of air are applied in flight and how the four forces of flight make flight possible. | 6 |
| Hydration Nation | Test and analyze the physical and chemical properties of various water samples and make recommendations on which source could be used for drinking. Extension activity includes discussions on the long-term impact of climate change on freshwater sources. | 6 to 7 |
| Interactions with the Environment | Students build an artificial ecosystem consisting of algae (producers), brine shrimp (grazers), and sea anemones (predators). Students will compare the role of each tropic group within the system and witness how altering any part of the chain can influence the ecosystem’s success. | 7 |
| Investigating Bacteria | Students will use a microscope to examine microbes and culture a colony of microbes to make "the invisible visible." Culturing microbes makes it possible for them to multiply. As a result, many microbes will grow together and form groups or colonies. | 7 to 8 |
| Winogradsky Column | Students will construct a Winogradsky column and learn how this simulates a model of microbial ecosystem that gives us a snapshot of a sediment environment and allows us to study the microbial communities that live there. | 7 to 8 |
| Why do Cells Shring and Swell? | Students compare plant and animal cells using microscopy and observe the effects of osmotic imbalance in red blood cells and red onion cells. | 8 |
| Dye Electrophoresis | Agarose gel electrophoresis can resolve molecules based on charge, size, and shape. In this laboratory you will use gel electrophoresis to separate molecules present in different dyes, and you will see some of the applications of electrophoresis. | 9 to 10 |
| DNA Fingerprinting | Students will use current molecular forensic techniques on DNA samples collected from different suspects to identify the culprit. In this activity, students will prepare the samples, load the samples into an agarose gel, and analyze the banding pattern using gel imaging system to identify the culprit. | 11 to 12 |
| Blood Typing | Using artifical simulated blood, students use blood typing procedures to learn about different blood types and antigen/antibody relations. Forensic and medical applications are available. | 11 to 12 |
| The Action of Enzymes: Amylase Lab | Students will investigate the action of enzyme amylase in the breakdown of starch into simple sugars. Students will determine the optimal pH of amylase by using a spectrophotometer and creating a standard curve. | 12 |
For more information or to request a visit, please contact letstalkscience@brocku.ca.
Science Photo Challenge
Eligibility – Competition is open to all Niagara students in grades 7-12. Group work/collaboration is allowed.
Deadline – June 10, 2024, at 4pm. Winners will be announced on June 17, 2024
Photo categories
· Natural/nature
· Scientific imaging (microscopy/computer images)
· Science at work
· Climate change
How to Enter:
· Email your file in JPEG format to letstalkscience@brocku.ca subject “Science Photo Challenge”.
· Attach your completed submission form to the email.
Judging criteria
· Originality
· Creativity
· Image quality
· Image description
Prizes
· 2 tickets to a science venue of your choice (Ontario Science Centre, ROM, Butterfly Conservatory, Ripley’s Aquarium, Niagara Parks Power Station).
