Students enjoy first time at Exposcience
Ryan Ward attended Exposcience for the first time this year on November 6 and 7 and was impressed “to see so many other great exhibits from other Concordia students. It was really well organized and interesting for people of all ages.”
Exposcience is an annual science fair where Concordia students from a variety of departments share concepts of what they learn in class with West Island kids to foster an interest in science and engineering. The event, held each year at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire, was inaugurated by Concordians 27 years ago and is still going strong. Cameron Tilson, Assistant Director of the Institutional Planning Office and an organiser of the event, said it was one of their better turnouts with close to 1,000 visitors over the two-day event.
Ward is Vice-President Youth Engagement for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) as well as double-major student in his final semester in Arts & Science (Economics and Sociology). He enjoys engaging young people with science and engineering, and “Exposcience was a great example of such an opportunity.”
Yuliya Manyakina is an honours linguistics student. When Exposcience was discussed at the Linguistic Student Association (LSA) meeting, everyone unanimously decided to attend. Having never attended, Manyakina wasn’t sure what to expect. “People coming in and out the whole time, and so many families! We were all so engaged,” she enthused.
Ward’s presentation with EWB involves a Fair Trade Marble machine that demonstrates the distribution of income around a crop of coffee beans. Typically the middle man and the roasters make the lion’s share. Fair Trade ensures the farmers get a fair price for the beans. The EWB students also explained that our belonging to a developed society gives us the responsibility to help solve basic problems for others.
The linguists had a station that allowed kids to record speech. Manyakina also used a Slinky to demonstrate how sound travels. “The kids really enjoyed that one! It was difficult trying to distill the information at first, but by the second day I was so comfortable that it wasn't at all a problem.” She also helped kids create bookmarks with their names using the International Phonetic Alphabet. The parents were intrigued, too.
Manyakina was thrilled with the interest shown by the gifted children. “I can't describe how much fun it was. It just makes you feel great when you think that maybe you made someone stop and think about linguistics for a second, or change his or her idea of what it was completely.
“I think it was also rewarding for us to participate in something like this together.”
Related links:
• Linguistic Student Association
• Engineers Without Borders – Concordia chapter
• International Phonetic Association (and the IP Alphabet)