At yesterday's event, hard-hatted youngsters from Engineering Science Quest showed off their miniature city for VIPs including dean of science Terry McMahon, dean of engineering Adel Sedra, and Actua CEO Jennifer Flanagan.

Ottawa supports kids' science programs

A federal government grant of “up to $1.25 million” will support Waterloo’s Engineering Science Quest and similar programs at eight other Ontario universities, for the sake of “preparing young people for today’s high-tech economy”, it was announced yesterday.

Peter Braid, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, made the announcement at a news conference in Engineering 5 building. He was speaking on behalf of Gary Goodyear, the minister of state responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev).

He said “more children in southern Ontario will be able to experience real-world scientific issues and innovations” because of the grant, which is going to Actua, a national science, engineering and technology youth outreach network. Said Braid: “By developing our next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians, we can help drive innovation and keep the economy growing in southern Ontario for years to come.” 

Actua is getting the funds, says a news release, “to enhance its customized programming designed to engage youth who are typically underrepresented and underserved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields. This includes Aboriginal youth, girls, underprivileged youth, at-risk youth and youth living in remote areas or inner-city neighbourhoods.

“The funding will help Actua create more spaces in southern Ontario for children to participate in summer camps, classroom workshops, clubs and community outreach activities. These are delivered by university undergraduate students in science, technology and engineering programs who are instructors for Actua network members. That includes Waterloo’s ESQ, which is running programs this summer on the Waterloo, Cambridge and Stratford campuses and in Brantford, Chatham, Orangeville and Owen Sound.

“More than 3 million young Canadians have been inspired through their participation in Actua’s positive, hands-on educational workshops, camps and community outreach initiatives,” the news release said. “Over the next three years, Actua anticipates reaching an additional 17,000 youth in southern Ontario. Of that total, an estimated 10,000 girls, 2,250 Aboriginal youth, and 450 at-risk and marginalized youth will be benefit from the new summer camps, classroom workshops, clubs and community outreach activities. Through this partnership, Actua will also support an estimated 200 jobs per year, mainly for undergraduate STEM students, for the next three years.”

The investment is being provided through FedDev Ontario’s Youth STEM Initiative, aimed at encouraging students in kindergarten through grade 12 to pursue an education or career in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The initiative provides funding to not-for-profit organizations to expand, enhance and coordinate the reach and impact of educational outreach programs. It’s designed “to encourage young people to pursue further studies and careers in these fields, creating a future talent pool that is well-positioned to fuel business innovation and growth in southern Ontario”.

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Hylozoic tour leads back to Waterloo

“Hylozoic Ground” has been an attraction around the world, and now it’s coming back to the Waterloo school of architecture where it all started.

“The Hylozoic Ground Collaboration” opens today in the Design at Riverside gallery, operated by the Cambridge Galleries on the first floor of the Architecture building beside the Grand River in Cambridge. The exhibition will run through October 16 (except August 27 through September 5, when the gallery will be closed).

It’s curated by Esther E. Shipman of the Cambridge Galleries staff. Says her publicity for the show: “The Hylozoic Ground Collaboration demonstrates how a theoretical idea, propelled forward through ground breaking research, can lead to a promising new branch of contemporary architecture.

“It charts the fifteen year, multi-continent journey of Philip Beesley’s ‘Hylozoic Series’ that culminated in the Canadian entry to the 12th Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010.The Hylozoic Ground Collaboration is Design at Riverside’s celebration and tribute to this exceptional body of work which weaves together structural engineering, artificial life science, hybrid architecture and art.

“The collaboration refers to the collective of designers within Philip Beesley’s studio, legions of dedicated students and volunteer teams, and to the ultimate fusion of expertise and innovation offered by primary collaborators such as Robert Gorbet and Rachel Armstrong.

“This exhibition is a behind-the-scenes look at the sketch books, prototypes, drawings, and evolution of the elements that comprise the wonder and magic of Hylozoic Ground — a window into the intense research, experimentation, highly specialized technical expertise and countless hours behind the beauty and spectacle.”

An opening reception for the exhibit is scheduled for September 8 at 6:30 p.m. In addition there will be two special events:

• A “key collaborators forum” on September 30 at 6:30.
• A lecture on October 13, also at 6:30.

Organizers are promising “frank and open discussions on the implication of mixing art & science between the Hylozoic Ground’s visionary team Philip Beesley (artist and architect), Robert Gorbet (engineer), Rachel Armstrong (experimental chemist), followed by book signing and refreshments at Design at Riverside. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The publicity adds that “Design at Riverside would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council Program for the Promotion of Architecture for their contribution to the Hylozoic Ground Collaboration exhibition and the Grand Valley Society of Architects for their contribution to the Key Collaborators Forum.”

The gallery is open Tuesday to Thursday noon to 8 p.m., Friday noon to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday (starting after Labour Day) 1:30 to 4:30.

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National volleyball team here this weekend

Tickets are available both online and at the door for two games at the Physical Activities Complex that will pit the Canadian national women’s volleyball team against its rivals from the Netherlands.

The games will be played Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00. Tickets are $18 for one game or $25 for two, with group rates also offered.

The Waterloo games are the second half of a four-game series being held as a warmup for the Olympic Games qualification process that will start next month. The Canadian and Dutch squads played last night at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa and will play Thursday night at McMaster University’s Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, before coming to the PAC.

It’s the first competition for the Canadian squad since finishing in seventh place at the Pan Am Cup in Mexico in early July.

“This series,” organizers say, “will offer fans in Ontario an opportunity to see Team Canada’s top lineup.  Both the Canadian (ranked 20th in the world) and Netherlands (ranked 12th) national teams will be showing off their top squads as these matches will be instrumental in their preparations and lead up to their respective zone championships the following month.

“These matches will also be the first time that Canada's offensive star, Sarah Pavan (left) of Kitchener, will wear her country’s uniform in her home province and home town.”

Says the Canadian head coach, Arnd Ludwig: "The team is really looking forward to these matches after a tough training period. We saw last year at the World Championship that we need to play more matches against top teams, and the Netherlands have one of the top teams in the world. We practised hard in the past few weeks, and we see this series as a great preparation for our upcoming major tournaments, the NORCECA Championship next month in Puerto Rico and the Olympic Qualifier in January in Mexico.

"We are also happy that we are playing some matches in Ontario, as it is important for us that people all over Canada see us play and see how hard the athletes work to compete at the highest level. We hope to have big support from the local communities in these matches."

CAR

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