Annual Report 2023

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.

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

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

• Sarah Aubert (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Student, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Taylor Naaykens (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Student, University of Toronto
• Carolyn Davison (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Candidate, University of Toronto
• Dr. Sila Appak Baskoy (external link, opens in new window)  -Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Jenna Barnhardt (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Candidate, York University
  
• Dr. Imogen Coe (external link, opens in new window)  - Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University
• Alexandra Malinowski (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Candidate, University of Toronto

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

• Prof. Toussaint Barboni (external link, opens in new window)  - Researcher & Lecturer, Università di Corsica
• Amber Grant (external link, opens in new window)  - PhD Candidate, Toronto Metropolitan University

4 In-Person Speakers

• Kathleen Padulo (external link, opens in new window)  - Director of the Environment, Chiefs of Ontario
• Bronwyn Roe (external link, opens in new window)  - Staff Lawyer, EcoJustice
• Dr. Mili Roy (external link, opens in new window)  - Ontario Regional Chair, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
• Brian Salt (external link, opens in new window)  - Founder, Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Centre

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.

• 16 dynamic booths
• Over 1000 participants engaged (general public)
• 110 volunteers
• TMU community members from Physics, Architectural Science, Computer Science, Urban Water, Food & Soft Matter Materials
• Local partners included Science Everywhere (external link, opens in new window)  and Visions of Science (external link, opens in new window) 

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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) .

• Kanina Terry (external link, opens in new window)  - Multidisciplinary artist, a trained chef, former caterer and culinary arts instructor
• Dr. Jamaica Cass (opens in new window)  - Primary care physician on-reserve at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
• Zorga Qaunaq (external link, opens in new window)  - Multidisciplinary artist
• Dr. Ryan Giroux (external link, opens in new window)  - General Pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Inner City Health Associates in 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.

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