The University of Waterloo will host its annual science open house this weekend.
WATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011) - The University of Waterloo will host its annual science open house this weekend to introduce children and their parents to an assortment of fun and hands-on activities.
The free annual event, hosted by the faculty of science, offers activities and demonstrations aimed at children from kindergarten to grade eight, as well as their families.
The science open house takes place Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology (CEIT) on Waterloo's south campus. The centre houses the earth sciences museum, which will present the associated gem and mineral show from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct 28 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
"The science open house and the associated gem and mineral show help children and their families get excited about exploring the wonders of science," said Peter Russell, curator of the earth sciences museum.
This year's open house will give children the opportunity to discover the inner workings of a cell, turn pennies into gold, launch rockets and take home their own plants from the greenhouse.
Attendees will also be able to get a glimpse at the museum's latest exhibit, an educational simulation mining tunnel, with the theme Exploration, Extraction and Remediation: the Life Cycle of a Mine.
The popular chemistry magic show will take place at 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Biology 1 building, room 271.
The open house will also include a travelling exhibit of the recently created Chem13 News Periodic Table Project and children will have the opportunity to create their own periodic table element.
The gem and mineral show will feature a rock pile for young collectors, fossil fish digging, gold panning, creating an earthquake resistant building and more.
Children will also be able to have their photo taken at the earth sciences museum in a full-scale TARDIS. TARDIS, which stands for time and relative dimension in space, is a fictional time machine that appears in a British television program called Doctor Who.
A carbon grill barbecue, cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs, will offer lunch for visitors, outside the west entrance to the CEIT.
Parking is available for free in the B lot (off of Phillip Street). For more information, call 519-888-4567 ext. 32469 or visit science.uwaterloo.ca/events.
Image: University of Waterloo.
About Waterloo Science
Since its founding in 1959, Waterloo's faculty of science has been instrumental in placing the university at the forefront of innovation, discovery and learning. The faculty offers more than 50 core science specializations and options in the departments of biology, physics and astronomy, chemistry, and earth and environmental sciences. It is also home to two world-class professional schools - Canada's only English-speaking optometry school and one of only two pharmacy co-op programs in North America. For more information, go to www.science.uwaterloo.ca.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 30,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
Contacts:
Joanna Magee, communications officer, faculty of science, 519-888-4567 ext. 38983 or jmagee@uwaterloo.ca
John Morris, Waterloo media relations, 519-888-4435 or john.morris@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo news release no. 62
