Resources: secondary school

Let’s Talk Science provides a unique opportunity for you to invite University of Waterloo Science student volunteers to conduct free, curriculum-aligned, hands-on science activities with your students. To schedule a workshop for your class, please use the Let's Talk Science form to Request a Visit. We can run any of these workshops as part of a campus visit as well.

The workshops that we currently offer are:

Endangered Earth: Gr 9 IP Investigate climate impacts on ecosystems through assuming the role of conservation biologists, and work in teams to protect endangered species and their habitats. Learning about species at risk, teams allocate funding and advise on land development.

Energize: Sustainable City Challenge: Gr 10-11 IP In a board game simulation, students develop a sustainable energy strategy for the Waterloo Region using real-world data. Teams are challenged to reduce their carbon emissions by 80% before the year 2050!

Enlightened Optics: Gr 10 IP Explore reflection, refraction, and total internal reflection through demonstrations and activities. Discover the different ways light travels and moves in the environment.

Evolution and the Tree of Life: Gr 11 IP Reconstruct relationships and unravel evolutionary timelines in this workshop that outlines the past, present and future of the tree of life.

Gels and Genes: Gr 11, 12 IP With hands-on micro pipetting and gel electrophoresis experiments, learn techniques in interpreting and analyzing DNA in a forensic setting.

Let's Talk Cancer: Gr 12 IP Explore the biology of cancer and emerging biotherapeutic treatments. Assess cellular proteins and problem-solve to develop a cancer treatment.

Monster Meiosis: Gr 11 IP A fun intro or wrap-up to your meiosis unit, this workshop has students sort parental chromosomes, select new offspring chromosomes, and decode the new chromosomes to construct their unique baby creatures.

Operation Ozone: Gr 11 IP Students take the roles of climate scientists using their problem-solving skills to save the world. Review atmospheric gas chemistry and learn about the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment; a Canadian space mission! 

Quantum Detectives Gr 9, 10 IP Students will explore binary information, light interference, and spectroscopy to solve a crime in the quantum lab.

Quantum Light and Cryptography: Gr 12 IP Let’s get hands-on with quantum technology! After exploring how to encode bits of information into the polarization of individual photons, students will build a laser communication system and use quantum superposition to keep their messages secure.

The Ins and Outs of Digestion: Gr 10, 12 IP Our bodies digest food every day, but what's really happening inside us? Explore digestion with this hands-on kit that discusses digestive anatomy, processes and some ways digestion can go wrong!

Viral Vaccines: Gr 9-12 IP  As scientists working for the World Health Organization, work to mitigate a zombie apocalypse scenario. Learn that vaccines are effective at preventing and protecting against the spread of infectious disease.

Bring your students to campus for any of the workshops above, or these unique on-campus experiences listed below. Our catch-all campus Science visit request form is a good start, or follow links below to specific activity websites and forms.

Earth Sciences Museum workshops

The Earth Sciences Museum has developed several workshops that are tailored specifically to meet the Ontario Science curriculum and can be delivered in your classroom, on campus, or virtually. For full workshop descriptions and to book, please visit their Programs page. Their new Mitigating Microplastics workshop is great!

Chem Lab Days

The Department of Chemistry offers on-campus laboratory activities that correspond to the Ontario science curriculum. Your Gr 11/12 students will conduct hands-on science in a university lab setting. Science tours and lectures might also be arranged. These visits occur only during our exam periods in December and April. Pairs well with the Geochem in Water Resources workshop and lab tour with the ESM for a whole-day visit. Chem Lab Days info and booking.

Gustav Bakos Observatory

Young astronomers can view the universe through the telescope at the University of Waterloo's Gustav Bakos Observatory. Free tours include a short talk on astronomy (around 30 minutes) plus an opportunity to ask questions, followed by a tour of the dome. If you have any questions or would like to arrange a private tour for your class, please email the observatory coordinator at observatory@uwaterloo.ca.

Astro-Bubble

Join scientists from the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics in our portable planetarium to learn more about the wonders of the Universe! This activity can happen on campus during your group's visit, or we can bring the night sky to you (very specific location requirements!). 

Physics Lab Days

Grade 11 and 12 physics classes engage in investigative lab stations specially designed to ignite their curiosity and to encourage them to make connections between various aspects of Physics. These visits occur only during our exam periods in December and April, on campus. Physics Lab Days info and booking. 

Institute for Quantum Computing

Get your students hyped for all things quantum with our Quantum Detectives, or Quantum Light and Cryptography workshop! See the IQC Outreach page for more ideas.

Online Interactive Chemistry Lessons and Labs

The Department of Chemistry has developed freely available, interactive online chemistry lessons covering select topics from grade 11 and 12 Canadian high school curricula. Each lesson focuses on clearly articulated learning objectives using a combination of text, images, animations, interactive questions with immediate feedback, and narrated example problems with solutions. For more information and to access the lessons, visit open.science.uwaterloo.ca for the lessons and the Chem Lab Days page for the labs.

Periodic Table Project

In celebration of International Year of Chemistry (IYC), the University of Waterloo's Department of Chemistry and the Faculty of Science encouraged chemistry educators and enthusiasts worldwide to adopt an element and artistically interpret that element. The project created a periodic table as a mosaic of science and art, with interactive apps available for android and iPhone. Visit the Periodic Table Project to find out more!

Timeline of the Elements

Dive into the Periodic Table by investigating the discovery of the elements. This project consists of a website resource, posters for high school classrooms, and an exhibit in the Science Teaching Complex on campus. Explore more at the Timeline website.

Chem13News

Chem 13 News is an online magazine published for teachers of introductory chemistry by the Chemistry Department at the University of Waterloo. Eachissue contains articles, labs, puzzles, cartoons and helpful advice for high school chemistry teachers. Past issues can be viewed on the web page, and stay tuned for amazing special issues over the next year! To find out more, visit the Chem13news home page.

Perimeter Institute

The Faculty of Science is proud of our strong ties with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Perimeter’s award-winning outreach team brings science to life and raises scientific literacy through classroom resources, public lectures, teacher workshops, an educator network, and a summer school where students interact with Perimeter researchers. For more information, visit the Perimeter Institute Outreach page.

Resource Responsibilities Travelling Kit

Challenge your students. Test their knowledge. Arrange for a Waterloo Science Exam.

All students who complete one of the contests below in 2025 will receive the $1000 Faculty of Science Contest Award, should they choose to attend a Faculty of Science program (some restrictions apply). The new Centre for Advanced Science Education is now coordinating our science contests. 

• Sir Isaac Newton Exam: A prestigious physics prize exam, written each spring by thousands of students from across Canada and around the world. Covers basic physics, mainly from the Ontario Secondary School Physics Curriculum. Annually in May.
• Chem 13 News Exam: This challenging contest has been running for 50 years! Students compete for scholarships. Covers material a well-read senior high school chemistry student is likely to encounter. Annually in May, 40 questions in 75 minutes.
• Avogadro Exam: Ontario Grade 11 chemistry students and students anywhere at a similar level are eligible. This 40-question, multiple choice exam covers the Structure of Matter, Bonding, Reactions, Solutions and Gases. Written during one 75-minute period. Annually in May.