Pueblo Science

Yesterday's Grade 7 lesson in Webequie First Nation focused on ecosystems and the factors that affect survival within them. Students learned about biotic and abiotic limiting factors through an engaging hands-on activity.

The teacher hid colored papers around the classroom, representing resources needed for survival. As environmental conditions changed, the number of available papers decreased, creating competition among students to find enough resources to survive.

To introduce the role of predators in an ecosystem, the activity evolved into a tag game. Two students were assigned the role of wolves, while the remaining students were rabbits. The rabbits had to collect three colored papers while avoiding the wolves. Due to the limited classroom space, none of the rabbits survived—they were all caught by the predators!

The students had a great time while learning firsthand how environmental factors, competition, and predation influence the balance of ecosystems.

We thank Jino Lim for instructing the class and NSERC Promo Science for supporting this program.

As part of Earth Week celebrations, our Director, Phil Dennis, and volunteer Jilian Halpern hosted an engaging workshop for Grade 9 and 10 students at Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School. Focusing on sustainability, they shared valuable insights into Canada’s cleantech sector, lifecycle assessment methodologies, and nature-based bioremediation innovations, including the use of algae, bioplastics, and biochar technologies. Their presentation highlighted real-world applications of these solutions and inspired students to explore future pathways in environmental science and sustainable innovation.

Students particularly enjoyed the hands-on activities and the opportunity to interact with our volunteers. Reflecting on the experience, student Elena B. wrote:

“The Pueblo Science presentation was a great introduction to eco-friendly innovation, technology, and solutions. The presentation was an amazing way to learn about how environmental technology is used to solve issues that may seem overly intimidating or unsolvable on our planet. The presentation introduced concepts such as bioremediation, the act of repairing damaged environments, which included solutions to issues such as chemical leaching into large amounts of soil and excess CO2 pollution. We learned how Pueblo Science has assisted places such as Indigenous communities and developing countries. I enjoyed how the experiments and demonstrations offered a streamlined learning experience and made concepts visually easy to understand. Demonstrations such as eco-friendly plastic alternative creation and the algae growth displays were both engaging and informative. The Kahoot! at the end of the presentation was also engaging and fun, overall solidifying the experience in our learning.”

This testimonial was excerpted from an article by Mirela Mahmutaj published on the TCDSB News website: https://www.tcdsb.org/o/marshallmcluhan/article/2844633

We thank Siremlabs and Geosyntec for supporting our volunteers!

Science Festival at North Spirit Lake First Nation!

Students had an amazing time exploring science through hands-on activities, including making fruit batteries, bath bombs, perfumes, slime, and robotic cars, as well as building structures with toothpicks and marshmallows—and much more!

We had a wonderful time working with the students and teachers at Victoria Linklater Memorial School. Thank you for inviting us back each year. We always look forward to inspiring young minds through science, technology, engineering, and math!

We thank Promo science for supporting our program.

We are in Dumanjug, Cebu introducing teachers and students to robotics! We ended today’s activities with a careers-in-science Q&A session with the students, where they asked inspiring questions about technology, engineering, and future opportunities in STEM.

We thank PSHS Central Visayas and the Office of the Mayor at Dumanjug for hosting us and organizing the event.

Today's robotics challenge for Grades 4–6 students: assemble and program your robot, attach a soil moisture sensor, and identify the driest and wettest plant! 🌱🤖

The students had so much fun running from one plant to another.

The activity was followed by a demonstration of an automated plant watering system, showing students how robotics and sensors can help care for plants and support smart farming.

We are at Isic Isic National High School introducing students and teachers to robotics! 🤖

The students successfully built and programmed their very first robot—an obstacle-detecting and line-following car! It was exciting to see them learn coding, engineering, and problem-solving through hands-on STEM activities.

Great turnout today at our booth! Families joined us in hands-on STEM activities, creating balancing birds, assembling robotic cars, and programming them to move. It was wonderful to see participants of all ages exploring science, engineering, and creativity together.

Dr. Labrecque delivered an invited lecture on the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence to Computer Science and Education majors at Lamnbung Mangkurat University.

The session explored the fundamentals of AI, its real-world applications, and its growing impact on education, technology, and society. The lecture also introduced neural networks—computer systems inspired by the human brain that enable machines to recognize patterns, learn from data, and make decisions.

Students learned about different kinds of neural networks, including feedforward neural networks, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) used in image recognition, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) used for sequential data and language processing, and modern deep learning systems powering today’s AI technologies. The discussion highlighted how these technologies are shaping the future of education.