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Annual Report 2023

A review of SciXchange's growth and achievements throughout 2023.
January 22, 2023

Let’s Talk Science

At SciXchange we offer a number of programs, through Let’s Talk Science, to meet the needs of the organizations that we partner with and by extension the youth that we serve.

967 elementary students

700 high school students

94 students from the community

Elementary School

  • 24 virtual sessions for elementary school students
  • 967 students engaged

High School

  • 22 sessions hosted on TMU campus (chemistry, computer science and medical physics labs)
  • 1 virtual session (ecology)
  • 700 students engaged

Community Partnerships 

We also partner with a number of community organizations. These partnerships allow us to go beyond a school setting to engage participants of various backgrounds within their communities. The format of these programs varies based on the requirements of our partner organizations.

  • 4 community centers
  • 25 visits
  • 94 students engaged

Special Community Events

Soapbox Science

Our annual Soapbox Science (external link, opens in new window)  event hosted at The Word on the Street (WOTS) (external link, opens in new window)  was held on May 27, 2023 at Queen's Park, Toronto. Soapbox Science is a global public outreach platform for promoting women and non-binary scientists and the science that they do.

  • 13 student volunteers
  • Estimated 200+ participants engaged (general public)

2023 Speakers

We engaged with 200+ adults and children.

Soapbox Science during Word on the Street at Queen's Park in Toronto.

Video by Kathleen Espiritu

Let's Talk Climate (in)Justice (LTCiJ)

Let's Talk Climate (in)Justice (LTCiJ) was held on November 17, 2023 at Oakham House, TMU with 50 registered participants attending this in-person event. This symposium featured a series of virtual speakers and an in-person discussion featuring researchers and advocates from a variety of backgrounds. They explored both climate injustice as well as the path forward to reach climate justice.

LTCiJ was made possible through a collaborative effort of the French Embassy, LTS and SciXchange.

2 Virtual Speakers

4 In-Person Speakers

Supported by 7 TMU Student Volunteers
A panel of speakers on stage.

A panel of speakers having a discussion on stage.

From left to right: Brian Salt, Kathleen Padulo, Dr. Mili Roy, Bronwyn Roe

Photo by Olivia Graham

Had 50 registered participants

A group of panel speakers standing in front of two banners and posing.

From left to right: Raveena Sureshkumar (LTS coordinator), Victoria Cunningham (LTS coordinator), Brian Salt, Bronwyn Roe, Kathleen Padulo, Dr. Mili Roy and Leigh Paulseth (Enrichment & Outreach Coordinator at SciXchange)

Photo by Olivia Graham

Science Rendezvous

Science Rendezvous (opens in new window)  is Canada’s annual celebration of science. This free festival, targeted to all age groups, makes science accessible to thousands of people with a day of engaging, informative, and interactive events.

Our event took place on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in the heart of our campus with 16 dynamic booths. With an impressive gathering of over 1000 participants and the dedication of 110 volunteers, our event was a resounding success.

You can check out the event photos in our SR 2023 gallery (opens in new window)  and learn more about the event in our SR 2023 annual report.

We engaged with 1000 adults and children.

Science Rendezvous 2023 on Gould Street within TMU campus in Toronto.

Video by Kathleen Espiritu

Multiple participants engaging with volunteers at the Food Science Now booth.

Children learned about the different properties of everyday food ingredients while making slime with starch, water and food colouring at the Food Science Now booth.

Photo by Clifton Li

Group of about 40 people, wearing red t-shirts, posing for fun, with white event tents in the background.

Our volunteers made Science Rendezvous 2023 a great success.

Photo by Clifton Li

 

Indigenous Outreach - Stoodis Science

“Stoodis” is Indigenous slang for “let’s do this”. Our programming under the banner of Stoodis creates opportunities for elementary and high school students, and the general public, to learn from Indigenous knowledge holders.

In 2023, we engaged with 1055 people through our Indigenous Outreach programs.

2023 Youth Outreach Highlights

  • 35 in-class workshops with Indigenous youth from Grade 3-12, engaging a total of 473 youth.
  • 338 members of the general public directly engaged at Science Rendezvous in May 2023.

NEW Initiative - Hide Tanning Gallery

In fall 2023, during Science Literacy Week and TMU Indigenous Education Week, we hosted a hide tanning gallery at the inaugural showing of the POD Student Gallery space, highlighting community contributions to the art and science of Indigenous hide tanning practices. The exhibit included photos from previous hide tanning workshops hosted on campus, the tools used to complete the process and the finished hides.

We reached 145 TMU community members during the first week of opening.

Take a look at how our staff set up the Hide Tanning Gallery.

Video created by Sofia Verduga

Hide tanning gallery space that features photos of the hide tanning process and a deer hide

The Hide Tanning Gallery featured photos from the 2019 Hide Tanning Camp held here on campus, as well as several finished hides using a variety of techniques (including fish skin tanning). 

Photo by Dr. Emily Agard

NEW Initiative - Mini Snowshoe Making Workshop

Stoodis Science hosted its first snowshoe workshop in collaboration with the Ontario Science Centre, where families and children explored the science and Indigenous roots behind snowshoeing and had the opportunity to make their very own pair of mini snowshoes. 

We had 72 participants at our workshop.

Snowshoe Making Workshop at Ontario Science Centre

Video created by Sofia Verduga

Indigenous Scientist Chats

In July to August 2023, SciXchange hosted a series of four webinar sessions with Indigenous professionals working in STEM, for our third annual Indigenous Scientist Chats.

These talks were geared for high school age and up as well as the general public with a focus on Indigenous learners, but all were welcome to join. Each week our scientists addressed a different theme around their body of work. Students submitted questions prior to the chat or during the talk through Zoom.

You can learn more about our speakers on our Indigenous Scientist Chats web page (opens in new window) .

Technovation Girls Toronto

Technovation (external link)  is a global tech education nonprofit organization. Technovation Girls (external link)  allows girls across the world to use technology to solve problems in their lives and their communities. SciXchange hosts the Toronto chapter and Dr. Emily Agard is the chapter ambassador.

In 2023, we had a total of 38 girls, with 14 teams achieving a 100% completion rate. Out of these, 9 teams participated in our optional Toronto Pitch Celebration Event, showcasing their high engagement in the program, despite the event not affecting the global competition results.

Our program was bolstered by the support of 17 mentors, 21 speakers, 4 coaches, and 6 judges.

5 Teams to Global Semi-Finals

1 Team to World Summit

Eureka Summer Camp

In the summer of 2023, SciXchange hosted our 11th annual 4 weeks of Eureka! day camp in collaboration with engineering and athletics.

  • 63 campers engaged
  • 2 TMU student science instructors

Week 2 of Eureka! Day Camp 2023

Video created by Sofia Verduga

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