UCalgary Minds in Motion - Natural Science Summer Camp II

After a bit of a break, HPI returned to work with the UCalgary Minds in Motion, Natural Science summer camps. Followed by our last visit on July 4^th, we did it again on August 15^th. It was another great success; 11 trainees participated, along with Dr. Andre Buret. The structure was similar to our last visit, with short presentations and hands on activities, demonstrations and the display of cool parasite samples, followed by a great closing summary by Dr. Buret. Twenty-three grade 5-6 kids were present this time. They were all amazed by what they learned and discovered during the session, and based on their feedback, everyone thought everything was cool and awesome.

As graduate students and researchers, it is important to make science accessible, understandable and interesting to the general public. I think we did a great job doing this, as a 10-year-old commented, “I loved all of the things, I liked everything because the details and explanations were clear and understandable.”

Although the session outline was similar to our last visit, we had different HPI members involved and each of them brought their unique talent. Different combinations of the trainees gave the event a different flavour, yet remarkable as always. Thanks to all of the effort the volunteers and Teresa put into this event!

We also received some amazing, sweet gifts from UCalgary Minds in Motion summer camps – 3D printed ticks in all different colors, with a card signed by all the kids who participated in the session!!! Overall, it was a successful outreach event, and a good experience! We would love to work with the awesome Minds in Motion team again in the future!