Telus World of Science Edmonton getting ready to excite students
By Kjell Wickstrom
EDMONTON — As students are getting settled into their first month of class, Telus World of Science Edmonton has begun education programs in its continuing efforts to get Edmonton and Alberta’s students interested in science.
“Our main goal is just exciting students about science,” said Kelsey Armstrong, director of school programs .
- Telus World of Science Edmonton on a beautiful fall day on September 20, 2011, before opening their doors to a new school year’s batch of students. Photograph by Kjell Wickstrom
The Telus World of Science will be opening its doors to the first field trips this week, and hosting a teacher’s night on Sept. 27.
Award-winning programs and demonstrations
The World of Science offers school programs that reach over 150, 000 students across the province every year. These programs include field trips to the Telus World of Science, after-school programs that go to Edmonton schools, as well as the Science in Motion program that travels to all corners of the province.
Students will see things at the World of Science programs that they won’t in a normal classroom. They see science demonstrations, one of which won an award from the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet last year that showed sound waves using fire.
Field trips to the Telus World of Science, which began earlier this week, will see not only the demonstrations, but also IMAX movies, and the galleries and exhibits like last year’s Body Worlds or this year’s Titanic exhibit, which opens on Oct. 8.
Another attraction is the Margret Zeidler full-dome theatre. The Zeidler gives teachers a chance to show their students the stars and planets, which “they can’t normally do, teaching class during the day,” said Jan Frohlich, an elementary school teacher at Laurier Heights School.
Why do they do it?
The World of Science programs serve many purposes. The programs work with teachers and Alberta’s curriculum to demonstrate the subjects covered in the province’s classrooms.
“[The students] get a real enrichment program,” said Frohlich. “They love it.”
They give students the opportunity to see experiments and demonstrations that most elementary school teachers would be unable to do.
“The World of Science promotes a love of discovery,” said Michelle Weinhandl, who works on the school programs. “We try to do things teachers wouldn’t or can’t do,” because they may not have the training or resources.
The real goal of the World of Science and the teachers who use the programs is to get students interested and asking questions about science.
“We try to promote a love of discovery and finding out why,” said Tyson Wagner, who works in the Science in Motion program.
Science education is becoming more important than ever. Whether this ends up driving students to pursue careers in science and engineering or just fosters an understanding of the world around them, it is important.
Even if students don’t pursue a science career it “gives them a greater appreciation of the natural world,” said Frohlich.
Students are, at the very least, looking forward to getting out of the classroom and seeing a few explosions while they are learning.