Early educational experiences help shape our children and youth into the leaders of tomorrow.
Through our outreach work, on campus and in the community, the University of Waterloo offers a wide variety of programming and enrichment opportunities for children and youth. We inspire, educate and engage our future generations to provide them with the knowledge and tools they need for success.
“Whether bringing science and engineering activities to events like Transformation Station and STEAM Heat, hosting student-run programs like Waterloo West Neighbourhood Fest, or bringing student athletes out to skate with children on Family Day, we see the incredible impact of the University of Waterloo on children and youth in our community.”
LAURIE CLARKE, CEO, Waterloo Public Library
Facts and figures
- Engineering Outreach engages 18,500+ youth through 420+ programs.
- 3,500 children and youth attend march break and summer camps on campus every year.
- Engineering Science Quest (ESQ) introduces youth to engineering, science and technology through experiential learning.
- ESQ awarded 2,600+ bursaries, allowing greater participation in summer and march break camps.
- ESQ hosted 300+ activities impacting 15,000+ youth, in 2014.
- Each year 800+ youth engage in technology, engineering, arts and math-related activities at Discovery Square hosted by Science Outreach and the City of Kitchener.
- 5,000+ children participate in hands-on educational activities at the annual Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival in partnership with our Earth Sciences Museum.
- During the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Games, ESQ engaged with more than 7,500 youth at Ontario’s Celebration Zone at Harbourfront Centre.
- The University of Waterloo’s Let’s Talk Science program provides free hands-on science activities in the Waterloo region. In 2014, Let’s Talk Science reached 400+ children and youth through partnerships with our public libraries and engaged with 8,500 students in 350+ classrooms.
- In 2014, 28,000+ visitors explored exhibits on dinosaurs, fossils, gems and minerals, water, mining, and mastodons at our Faculty of Science’s Earth Sciences Museum.
Did you know?
Chances are your children will write a contest connected to the University of Waterloo — before they even graduate high school.
Each year, more than 220,000 students in 65 countries register for contests developed and administered by the University’s Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC). These include the Gauss, Pascal, Cayley, Fermat, and Euclid Contests.
In addition to mathematics competitions, the CEMC organizes math circles, school visits, workshops and teacher education programs to connect with the community.
Families love exploring our Earth Sciences Museum to learn about dinosaurs, minerals, and more.
Engaging youth in water activities during the 2015 Waterloo-Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival.
Learning how to create a cloud in a bottle with Science Outreach at Discovery Square in Kitchener.
Team of girls gather for a photo-op during the 2015 Let's Talk Science Challenge.
From the #UWCommunity blog
ESQ inspires discovery during the Pan Am Games
Staff members and volunteers from the University of Waterloo’s Engineering Science Quest engaged hundreds of children and families in a dynamic quest of hands-on experiences at Ontario’s Celebration Zone at Harbourfront Centre during the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.
It is the only program of it’s kind to be part of this initiative hosted by Ontario Tourism.
