By Olivia and Aysha
The Let's Talk Science enrichment is an amazing and fun enrichment all about STEM and teamwork. We learned lots of new topics and did a bunch of engineering challenges to prepare for the Let's Talk Science Challenge. Some of the engineering challenges we faced included the marshmallow on the stick and the marble race.
In the Let's Talk Science enrichment, we had eight topics to study, including math, space, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and technology, and earth science. But it wasn't very hard because we spent a whole period studying tips and tricks. We prepared by doing weekly quizzes about the topic we were assigned and the engineering challenge.
The Let's Talk Science Challenge is a team-based competitive event that encourages STEM in students from grades 6–8 all across Canada. Not to mention, it is free! This challenge has amazing awards such as the question-and-answer competition, an engineering challenge, and the Lorna Collins Spirit Award.
On each team, there are 3 - 4 members. The Lab Rats: Annabelle Nehme, Olympia Betts, and Yasmin Dhanani. The Alchemists: Naomi Baird, Inga Tracy, Aaron Mason, and Olivia Fincham-Dinsdale. The DNAs: Scarlet Pitcher, May Kuhail, and Eva Li. Last but not least: The Girls in Green: Lyv Kearns, Aysha Aldhafeeri, Georgia Glinski, and Madeline Turner.
On April 27th, we arrived at the competition at Carleton University, where the event was taking place. At the beginning of the event, we were greeted by our two fantastic volunteers, who would guide us to all the rooms where the events would take place. Our first challenge was the first part of the trivia. We were asked true or false questions, multiple-choice questions, and fill-in-the-blank questions. We were then guided to the next activity, which was the engineering challenge.
The top secret challenge used our scientific knowledge to build a piece of equipment. Then, we analyzed data to determine how effective it was. After this spectacular challenge, our next stop was lunch! There was pizza, granola bars, and a selection of juices; then it was dessert! A chemistry professor who taught at Carleton made ice cream from nitrogen, cream, sugar, and chocolate. While we were waiting, we got to make cool DNA bracelets and DNA made from candy. Sadly, the last part of the event was long-engineering answer trivia! We then made our way back to the bus, encouraged by STEM.
There were four awards available, and Elmwood won two of them! The Lab Rats won the overall trivia challenge, and the DNAs won the engineering challenge. Congratulations to the teams who participated!
This has taught us so much, but especially about teamwork, studying, and problem-solving, and it inspired us to continue pursuing STEM.