“A Science Escape at UNBC” is a program starting up in the fall that will offer students the opportunity to learn about how science is embedded into everyday life.
It’s being offered to Indigenous students that are in grade 9 or 10.
The course runs for 6 weeks virtually, during after-school hours, and has a one-week on-site visit to the UNBC campus.
“What is unique about our program is that we are not focusing just on traditional careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics),” says Ann Duong, Master of Science student in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at UNBC.
“We want to empower participating students to think about how to create their own jobs and businesses that can arise from STEM principles. For example, if they see something in their local environment that concerns them and they have the knowledge from our program and their future studies to tackle it, then we hope to inspire them to pursue solutions through their own career avenues,” she adds.
Presentations, hands-on experiments, and virtual escape rooms based around STEM are some of the things involved with the program.
“We hope to give our participating students an in-depth look at different topics each week that continually build on their learning over the six weeks of the program, helping them to better understand how science is a part of their everyday lives,” explains Dr. Malgorzata (Mal) Kaminska, assistant professor in the Division of Medical Sciences at UNBC.
“A special goal of our camp is to unite Western knowledge with Indigenous ways of knowing by pairing a UNBC faculty member or graduate student with an Elder so each can share their unique perspectives on a particular topic,” she adds.
The program will initially draw students through recommendations from Indigenous liaisons at Quesnel, Prince George, and Nechako Lakes for its upcoming autumn roll-out with expansions planned for other school districts in northern B.C. as part of future programming goals.