Engineering Science Quest (ESQ) is a flagship developmental STEM outreach program offering hands‑on activities for youth from Grades 1‑9. Founded in 1990 and first launched in 1991, ESQ has grown to serve thousands annually through summer and March break camps, after‑school clubs and community delivery. The program is designed to create meaningful and positive experiences with STEM to enable youth to see it as an important part of their world and futures. With a rich history of innovation and community impact, ESQ remains a cornerstone of our outreach commitment to broaden access to engineering and science education, and to inspire young learners to imagine pathways in STEM.
Why This Matters
For many young people, early experiences with STEM shape whether they see it as something for them or something out of reach. ESQ addresses this through hands-on, discovery-based camp experiences that make STEM exciting, accessible and meaningful. Through PD Day and summer camps, ESQ reaches youth at key moments in their development, building positive associations with STEM that can last a lifetime.
By keeping doors open for all youth, the program helps ensure that curiosity and potential are never overlooked.
I would like to sincerely thank you for providing such an amazing summer camp experience. [They] truly enjoyed the week and benefited greatly from the engaging activities and learning opportunities offered at the University of Waterloo.
Engineering Outreach bring dynamic, hands-on STEM workshops directly into classrooms and onto campus, engaging students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 in year-round activities. These include in-class visits, on-site field trips such as the Kids on Campus program for grade four classes, and the popular “ESQube In-School Workshops”, which offers free sessions for students in grades K–12 on topics such as coding, engineering design, screen-free digital skills and prototyping challenges.
Delivered by enthusiastic university-student instructors, the workshops are designed to align with the Ontario Science, Math and Technology Curriculum and to spark curiosity, promote collaboration and develop problem-solving skills. These opportunities support access and equity, enabling schools to enrich their STEM offerings with no cost to participate.
Why This Matters
For many youth, barriers like distance, cost and scheduling make campus-based programs unrealistic regardless of interest. School-based delivery addresses this by embedding high-quality STEM experiences directly into the school day, across 9 school boards, ensuring access is not determined by a student's circumstances.
We intentionally prioritize schools in rural communities and low-socioeconomic areas that would otherwise have no access to a university-led program. From there, we extend our reach to all boards across the Waterloo region.
This approach multiplies impact beyond a single visit. Students gain hands-on exposure to engineering that can shape their confidence and future course choices, while educators gain tools and strategies they can reuse with future classes, building a more equitable and sustainable pathway into STEM for all.
I am actually thinking to be a coder and code things when I grow up.
I loved when they showed us around. I would love to go there when I'm older.
The Catalyst program empowers high school students in Grades 9-12 to lead and innovate in STEM by building confidence, leadership and problem-solving skills through hands-on design thinking, project work and workshops with faculty and student mentors.
Flagship offerings include a two-week Catalyst Summer Program in Traditional STEM and Early Entrepreneurs streams (in partnership with the Conrad School of Business and Entrepreneurship), and the Catalyst Grade 11 Conference for girls and non-binary students, offered in collaboration with Women in Engineering.
The initiative is central to the Faculty's outreach strategy, broadening access to STEM leadership and helping students see themselves as future change makers.
Additional high school initiatives include free PD Day skill-building workshops and HiveMind, a free tutoring program that hosted 147 virtual sessions supporting students struggling in science and math courses.
Why This Matters
To be well-rounded engineers, the next generation of engineers will need more than technical skills; they will need the confidence, leadership and community awareness to drive meaningful change. Catalyst empowers high school students to develop exactly that by positioning them not as passive participants in STEM, but as active agents of positive change in their communities.
Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity! I truly enjoyed participating in the program, it was such a valuable experience to explore different fields of engineering and strengthen my collaboration skills.I also really appreciated getting a glimpse of campus life at Waterloo, I could genuinely see myself studying here in the future.