By Bob Vrbanac, Chronicle Staff
Kids are born with a sense of wonder — where everything they experience is new and novel and inspires them to want to find out more.
They have a lot of the same traits in common with scientists at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute, said Greg Dick, director of educational outreach at PI. They look out into the universe and ask why?
“A lot of our scientists have that same sense of wonder,” said Dick. “Sometimes you forget that science is an incredibly creative endeavour and you have to use your imagination and come at problems from so many different ways.”
That questioning, inquisitive nature can be muted with age. That’s why PI has partnered with the federal government to host BrainSTEM: Your Future is Now Festival to enhance children’s natural curiosity and encourage that thirst for knowledge in fields like science, technology, engineering and math.
“We really want to connect the deep science to the really interesting innovations that that leads to,” said Dick. “It hopes to lead to the careers that are evolving because of that new thinking.”
The festival kicks off Sept. 30 and goes to Oct. 6, and will have kids explore things such as wireless electricity, invisibility cloaks and using their minds to move and control objects.
The event will also feature interactive exhibits, special presentations, public lectures and tours of Perimeter Institute. TV Ontario will also be on hand to participate in the discussion and broadcast some of the revelations to the world.
“Every exhibit has an interactive component,” said Dick. “Take for instance Robothespian (personal interactive robot) that can guess their age and do a variety of things. That’s the innovation part, but there will also be a discussion about the science behind it, and kids will be able to see how it is making those decisions.”
Organizers will then ask kids how they see their future changing because of the innovations they see and the scientific breakthroughs that are being pursued.
“It’s about science, discovery and imagination, and that last piece is crucial to let the kids run with what could be,” said Dick.
Other exhibits include making devices operate by just putting on a helmet and using your mind to activate.
“You’ll be able to turn on bars of light just using your mind,” said Dick. “This is now technology — we’re able to do this now — but it feels so futuristic.
“Imagine how that could change their lives, and that’s really what we want to do. We want to show them we’ve come an amazing distance already, we want them to imagine how it can impact their lives over the next few years.”
Dick said the festival will be the launch of a number of initiatives that will be coming out of the Perimeter Institute over the next few years.
It will lead to the creation of an in class and online educational resource that will allow teachers to bring those insights right into their own classrooms and inspire the next generation of explorer.
“It’s all about 21st century skills, and its creative, collaborative and all about critical thinking,” said Dick.
For more information visit www.perimeterinstitute.ca or call 519-883-4480.