26
This four-day summer camp from July 26-29, 2021, is for girls aged 12-14 who want to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), by doing fun hands-on labs and activities. Campers will have the opportunity to raise and track the development of their own Zebrafish embryos, along with other awesome STEM activities like chemistry experiments and engineering design challenges! Campers will also explore interesting careers by chatting with female role models working or studying in STEM fields.
Registration: will open May 7, 2021 through Eventbrite and will be first-come, first-served. We have reduced spots due to COVID restrictions, so be sure to register early!
Register is available on Eventbrite at this link: https://jrggw1.eventbrite.ca
Important Information:
Age Restrictions – Campers must be aged 12, 13 or 14 at the time of the camp.
COVID-19 Protocols – WISEatlantic has received approval through Mount Saint Vincent University to host our summer camps in-person for 2021 with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place that follow both provincial and campus guidelines (such as reduced participant numbers, increased hygiene practices, and mask-wearing).
Refund Policy – This in-person camp approval is conditional upon provincial public health requirements at the time of camp, therefore, in-person programming may have to pivot to virtual at the last minute. If this is the case, a refund will not be granted. If a refund is requested for another reason, a full-refund will be granted up to one week prior to the camp start date, 50% refund up until 3 days prior to camp start date.
03
This four-day summer camp from August 3-6, 2021, is for girls aged 12-14 who want to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), by doing fun hands-on labs and activities. Campers will have the opportunity to raise and track the development of their own Zebrafish embryos, along with other awesome STEM activities like chemistry experiments and engineering design challenges! Campers will also explore interesting careers by chatting with female role models working or studying in STEM fields.
Registration will be opening May 7, 2021 through Eventbrite and will be first-come, first-served. We have reduced spots due to COVID restrictions, so be sure to register early!
Registration is available on Eventbrite at this link: https://jrggw2.eventbrite.ca
Important Information:
Age Restrictions – Campers must be aged 12, 13 or 14 at the time of the camp.
COVID-19 Protocols – WISEatlantic has received approval through Mount Saint Vincent University to host our summer camps in-person for 2021 with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place that follow both provincial and campus guidelines (such as reduced participant numbers, increased hygiene practices, and mask-wearing).
Refund Policy – This in-person camp approval is conditional upon provincial public health requirements at the time of camp, therefore, in-person programming may have to pivot to virtual at the last minute. If this is the case, a refund will not be granted. If a refund is requested for another reason, a full-refund will be granted up to one week prior to the camp start date, 50% refund up until 3 days prior to camp start date.
16
This summer camp, from August 16-19, 2021, is for girls ages 15 & 16 who want to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), by doing fun hands-on lab experiments and activities. A focus of this camp is exposing participants to the broad range of career opportunities in STEM by connecting them with female role models studying or working in STEM who will share their career experience, advice, and current research with participants.
Registration will be opening May 7, 2021 through Eventbrite and will be first-come, first-served. We have reduced spots due to COVID restrictions, so be sure to register early!
Registration is available on Eventbrite at this link: https://srggwcamp.eventbrite.ca
Important Information:
Age Restrictions – Campers must be aged 15 or 16 at the time of the camp.
COVID-19 Protocols – WISEatlantic has received approval through Mount Saint Vincent University to host our summer camps in-person for 2021 with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place that follow both provincial and campus guidelines (such as reduced participant numbers, increased hygiene practices, and mask-wearing).
Refund Policy – This in-person camp approval is conditional upon provincial public health requirements at the time of camp, therefore, in-person programming may have to pivot to virtual at the last minute. If this is the case, a refund will not be granted. If a refund is requested for another reason, a full-refund will be granted up to one week prior to the camp start date, 50% refund up until 3 days prior to camp start date.
In 2020, the WISEatlantic team decided that we wanted to virtually engage young girls in the creative design process to promote their interest in STEM. The Living WISEly App Idea Design Contest was developed as an opportunity for girls aged 14-16 to hone their creative skills to one of today’s most heavily discussed topics: sustainability. Sustainability refers to meeting your own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Participants were tasked to develop their own interpretations of sustainability and design their own app that either promotes or is related to their definition of sustainability.
The contest was held over many months, with application intake opening in December 2019 and closing in February 2021. In March, we hosted a virtual App 101 Session with app developer Lesley Chard. Participants were introduced to the App design process, as well as various tips and tricks to keep in mind while developing their designs. Later that month, contestants made their first pitch to a small judging panel. Judges provided feedback for each participant to incorporate into their final pitches.
Final pitches were longer and App designs had to be polished and fine-tuned. The presentation style was open, but it had to be clear that thought and effort had gone into their final pitch. A variety of styles were used, including both video and PowerPoint. A judging panel of 5 people attended the presentations and were assessed participants’ App designs according to a variety of criteria including, but not limited to, how well they adhered to theme, the originality and execution of their design, the need for the App, and if they had appropriately used their time during their pitch. The panel met following the presentations and decided on three winners; tied for first place were Shabad Kaur and Bianca Skye, and the runner up was Babitha Pothu. Congratulations to the three of you!
Shabad’s App was called “Plan-It” and was designed to make it easier for individuals to make sustainable purchases at a variety of big-name stores. By incorporating a reward system into her app that gave users the chance to earn discounts when they made certain sustainable choices, she ensured that people would keep coming back to her App and make long-term change.
Bianca’s App, “Go Go Eco”, was aimed towards younger children. Users would have the opportunity to grow a virtual garden by doing various real-time and in-game tasks related to sustainability. Her goal was to teach the younger generation about how they can make sustainable choices from their own home, like growing a vegetable garden, or ditching single-use plastics.
Babitha named her app “Accident Free” because its purpose was to prevent car accidents from occurring. The App would sync with a vehicles’ monitoring systems to alert the driver of any immediate threats. The other feature of the App was that if there was an accident, it would sync with 911 and alert the appropriate emergency assistance and would provide first responders important information such as location of the accident.
Congratulations to all participants! It was amazing to see what you all came up with. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into the contest and we can’t wait to see what you do next!
Thank you also to our judges: Tamara Franz-Odendaal, Sally Marchand, Lesley Chard, Madyn Bourque, and Molly Murray.
Our 2021 Girls Get WISE Science Retreat went virtual for the first time this year! The event was held on May 1st through Zoom to introduce young girls to various STEM disciplines while engaging them in science related activities.
Thirty-two girls in grades 7-10 participated in a CSI-based spatter analysis activity where they got to put their mathematical skills to the test to determine where a balloon of Fruitopia popped. Additionally, the girls worked together in small groups to make their way through a STEM-themed escape room including tasks in binary coding, pH testing, constellation naming, and DNA transcription and translation. The retreat also featured our always popular role model session which gave participants the chance to interact with female scientists in civil engineering, physics, and environmental science, and learn about their careers.
While the retreat was not able to be held in person this year, it remained a success! Having the event virtually gave us the chance to host girls from outside of the Halifax area, bringing an enthusiastic group of aspiring scientists together safely to celebrate our love for STEM.
Featured below is some feedback we received from participants and their parents about their experiences in our 2021 Virtual Girls Get WISE Science Retreat;
“I really enjoyed the role model session and learning about different jobs in the STEM field.”
“It was a huge hit with our 13-year-old daughter… and a perfect activity while NS is in lockdown, and we are all staying at home.”
“My favorite activity was the escape room. I have been to two of these events in previous years and [have] enjoyed every one!”
WISEatlantic is excited to announce...
That along with Women in Aerospace Canada – Atlantic, we will be hosting the CCWESTT 2022 Conference in Halifax! So make sure to save the date, May 12-14, 2022. The conference will take place at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel.
Let’s reach for the stars and create impact, together!
We’ve put together some helpful tips for faculty on how they can be better allies to the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Over the past couple months we have been highlighting STEM organizations right here in Atlantic Canada. It was important to us to highlight organizations that strive for STEM inclusion for equity deserving groups. Here is a reference document with all all of the organizations we have featured and their contact information!
This document features 10 tips on enhancing EDI within university administration. It was developed by the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering -Prairie Region.
