2024 Event Recap
You can check out this year's event photos in the 2024 gallery (opens in new window) and our past event photos in the 2023 gallery (opens in new window) .
Science Rendezvous 2024 Team
Leadership Team
Dr. Emily Agard, Director of SciXchange, Toronto Metropolitan University
Mikayla Li, Departmental Assistant, SciXchange, Toronto Metropolitan University
Leigh Paulseth, Enrichment and Outreach Coordinator, SciXchange, Toronto Metropolitan University
Funding
Faculty of Science, Toronto Metropolitan University
Science Rendezvous 2024 Highlights
Science Rendezvous 2024 at TMU was held on Saturday, May 11th. It was a vibrant gathering right at the heart of our campus with 21 interactive booths and activities. This year's event was a resounding success, marked by the dedication of 100 volunteers and an impressive turnout of over 1000 participants.
Science Community at TMU
Researchers, staff and students from various departments, organizations and research labs at TMU contributed to the majority of this year’s programming. We featured work in physics, architectural science, computer science, urban water, food & soft matter materials, psychology and much more to deliver engaging and hands-on experiences to our participants of all ages. Attendees explored topics ranging from cutting-edge research to practical applications in everyday life.
Our event offered a diverse range of educational experiences for participants. Physics students designed a lung model that provided valuable insights into lung function, lung imaging and deep learning for disease diagnosis. Participants learned about ultrasound imaging as our staff at the Physics department demonstrated its principles by imaging a rubber duck submerged in water.
At the SPIE and Optics Student Chapter Booth, children crafted their own kaleidoscope to explore the principles of light and reflection. The Engineering Outreach Booth was popular, with attendees assembling birch bark canoe models and learning traditional Indigenous canoe-making techniques. Other booths covered topics like urban water contaminants, drones in geographic studies and food science applications.
Meanwhile, the Virtual Reality Game Booth, hosted by computer science students, attracted lines of participants eager to experience innovative VR games.
Stoodis Science
The Stoodis Science’s Land Acknowledgement Booth aimed to educate visitors about wampum belts, Indigenous treaties, and the science behind wampum belts. This booth sought to transform SciXchange and TMU's approach to land acknowledgments, moving beyond simple signs or scripts to provide meaningful educational experiences and create a lasting impact.
Let’s Talk Science
At the Let’s Talk Science Booth, children explored the degradation timelines of the common waste in a landfill and learned practical strategies for reducing waste. They also participated in an invisible ink activity, writing secret messages with a special solution and revealing them through a scientific process.
Visions of Science and Skywide Amateur Radio Club
Another highlight was the Visions of Science’s Bubble Laboratory Booth, where kids delved into the science of bubbles, learning about surface tension and surfactant interactions. At the Skywide Amateur Radio Club Booth, attendees discovered the principles of physics and electronics behind making radio contact.
Science Rendezvous 2024 Activities
Participants visited our Information booth for general information and guidance on various activities available to all participants.
- Presented by SciXchange (opens in new window) at TMU
- Volunteers included Virajeet Kulkarni and Mina Esparham
One of our activities included exploring the conditions inside a landfill, where garbage is layered, compacted, and covered to create a dark, oxygen-deprived environment. Attendees discovered the degradation timelines of the common materials in these conditions and learned practical strategies to reduce waste production.
Participants also explored the wonders of science through invisible ink! This engaging activity allowed children to write secret messages with a special solution, followed by a scientific reveal process that fosters curiosity and a love of learning.
- Presented by Let's Talk Science (external link) and SciXchange at TMU
- Volunteers included Iffat Pithia, Raveena Sureshkumar, Sabesen Pathmanathan, Arghavan Pourhashemirahimi and Flora Zhang
Stoodis Science delivered the land acknowledgment for TMU's Science Rendezvous event. Participants explored wampum belts, quahog shells, and beading looms at the booth to learn more about the Dish With One Spoon and the Two Row Wampum belts.
- Presented by Stoodis Science - our Indigenous Outreach Program at SciXchange TMU
- Volunteers included Caleb Wesley and Raania Chowdhury
Unlock the power of X-ray vision to capture images within the body, focusing on the intricate study of the lungs. Participants explored different X-ray pictures in which they could see healthy and diseased parts of the lungs.
Children experienced the magic of balloon arts and crafts at our booth, where we visually demonstrated airflow patterns within healthy and diseased lungs.
Participants also ventured on a journey into the enigmatic world of deep learning, where we unlocked the secrets of predicting the future! We utilized images from our Lung Imaging activities to conduct a disease diagnosis with precision and insight.
- Presented by Quantitative Image Analysis in Medicine (external link) at TMU by Dr. Miranda Kirby
- Volunteers included Dr. Miranda Kirby, Sara Rezvanjou, Kalysta Makimoto, Daniel Genkin, Meghan Koo and Gaurav Veer Singh
Attendees immersed themselves in our booth's engaging listening activity, where they explored a spectrum of frequencies from low to high. They witnessed the world of ultrasound imaging as we demonstrated its principles by imaging a rubber duck submerged in water. These interactive demonstrations enlightened participants about how ultrasound serves as a method to visualize our inner body using sound waves.
Attendees visited our booth to discover whirligigs, a versatile toy that has inspired an innovative and cost-effective method for centrifuging blood. Kids engaged in our interactive art-and-craft activity titled "How do X-rays work?" where they used glue, glitter, paper, and light to simulate the fascinating process of X-rays.
- Presented by the Department of Physics at TMU
- Volunteers included Graham Ferrier, Xavier Bauza, Chee Ching Leeanne Leung, Kaitlyn Sims, Allona Kaye Lim, Jamie Tien, Melissa Burke, Ayushi Ahir, Zara Shahid, Maimoonah Rana, Mason Rock, Junyeong Kim, Manuel Alejandro Coba Cabrera and Revin Toquero
Participants learned about the vast scale of the solar system and the intricate dynamics of the Earth-Moon system. They engaged in an interactive challenge as we tested their knowledge of the distances between planets within our solar system.
- Presented by the Department of Physics at TMU
- Volunteers included Dr. Dave Kirsh
Visitors explored contaminants found in urban water sewers and local freshwater sources. They discovered examples such as non-flushable products causing clogs in sewer systems, road salt contamination affecting downstream freshwater bodies, and other relevant projects.
- Presented by the Urban Water TMU
- Volunteers included Manh Huy Nguyen, Eric Fries, Brieanna Limkilde and Ericka De Oliveira
Attendees learned about imagery, geographic information systems, as well as techniques for water, soil, weather, and other environmental sampling.
- Presented by the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at TMU
- Volunteers included Dr. Dave Atkinson
Participants explored the wonders of light firsthand at our booth with a hands-on craft session. They created their kaleidoscope using reflective paper and beads, delving into the fascinating principles of light and reflections.
- Presented by the SPIE and Optics Student Chapter (external link) at TMU
- Volunteers included Veronica Kurkjian, Kate Dingle, Vanja Dvekar, Leah DeVos and Fiona Zerai
Visitors saw demonstrations aimed at unravelling the mechanics behind perception, attention, and memory in our minds.
- Presented by the Department of Psychology at TMU
- Volunteers included Dr. Frank Russo, Jennifer Preman, Rayna Adachi-Amitay, Katya Tikhostoup, Max Marshall, Michael Zara, Carmen Dang, Kathryn Bolton, Litzia Mirra, Alec Benavides, Kieryn Carlse, Rhiannon Ueberholz, Yusuf Ghauri, Megan Vaziri
Participants explored cutting-edge materials engineered for energy conversion, storage, and conservation.
- Presented by the Department of Architectural Science at TMU
- Volunteers included Dr. Umberto Berardi, Khaled Khaled, Leila Abdulmaleki and Sina Rahimi
- Presented by the Engineering Outreach Office at TMU
- Volunteers included Nirav Patel, Alacea Yerxa, Eliza Nwaesei and Negin Abdollahi
Attendees discovered our upcoming summer camp programs tailored for children and young adults aged 6 to 17. They explored examples of projects and activities that campers will engage in during their enriching camp experiences.
- Presented by Toronto Met Day Camps at TMU
- Volunteers included Lillian Electriciteh, Nana Tutu
Visitors engaged in captivating experiments employing food-grade materials, designed to pique your interest in the vast realm of food science.
- Presented by the Food and Soft Materials Research Group at TMU
- Volunteers included Robert Jordan Carrillo Zurita, Katia Kent, Quinton Ropret and Andrii Goralchuk
Children created gigantic bubbles at our booth. They learned about surface tension and surfactants and how they interact.
- Presented by Visions of Science (external link)
- Volunteers included Cristihan Rios, Valentina and Abel
Attendees experienced various Virtual Reality applications and games designed by our computer science students.
- Presented by the Department of Computer Science at TMU
- Volunteers included Talon Jiang, Peter Lee and Roupen Kaloustian
Participants experienced a demonstration of HF Amateur Radio while exploring the underlying principles of physics and electronics explained in detail.
- Presented by Skywide Amateur Radio Club (external link)
- Volunteers included Ian Penney
Volunteer Appreciation
A heartfelt appreciation goes out to all our dedicated volunteers whose invaluable contributions made Science Rendezvous 2024 at TMU an absolute triumph. With over 100 enthusiastic individuals from various departments, associations within TMU, and local organizations, they were the driving force behind the captivating demonstrations and activities that brought Science Rendezvous to life.
Volunteers included:
- Kavya Puvanapaskaran
- Bianca Lino Wozniak
- Mekdis Reed
- Angela Xiao
- Ishmam Rashid
- Diana Mae Tagomata
- Amasha Malawiya Arachchige
- Jocelyn Saborio
Volunteers included:
- Thwarakaa Thayakaran
- Zayneb Al-Hantoshi
- Juan Pires
- Lavanya Chhilwar
- Kashish Sharma
- Jann Cristobal
- Melanie Kentshitswe
- Fiza Malik
- Nushra Fazeel
Feedback from our participants
“The presenters were really enthusiastic and my daughter really enjoyed all the activities.”
“Keep it up! It was super fun for our two 12 year old boys”
“I loved the variety of booths. There were some special ones for sure! The VR was a hit!”
“We had an amazing time! Both kids ages 5 and 10 loved it!”
Science Rendezvous 2024 By The Numbers
We engaged with 1000+ adults and children in one day.
Over 100+ volunteers worked together to make Science Rendezvous 2024 possible.
We had 21 booths and activities on-site.
Our Sponsors and Supporters
- Toronto Metropolitan University
- Faculty of Science, TMU
- Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science, TMU
- Faculty of Arts, TMU
- Facilities Management and Development, TMU
- Event & Space Reservations, TMU
- Toronto Met Day Camps, TMU
- Engineering Outreach, TMU
- Urban Water, TMU
- Food & Soft Matter Materials Research Lab, TMU
- SPIE and Optics Student Chapter, TMU
- Visions of Science
- Skywide Amateur Radio Club
- Science Rendezvous
Science Rendezvous 2025
Here at SciXchange, we thrive on bringing science to life, making it not just understandable, but thrilling for everyone. Mark your calendars for May 10, 2025, as we unveil an all-new array of mesmerizing activities and demonstrations. You won't want to miss out on this exhilarating event!
Join us on May 10, 2025 with a new line-up of captivating activities and demonstrations.