“Kids are often smarter than what you give them credit for.”
– Kaylee Dodds, Saskatchewan Science Centre
About 15 excited kids joined two summer students from the Saskatchewan Science Centre for a three-hour interactive workshop on Saturday.
The drop-in initiative took place at the John M. Cuelenaere Library in Prince Albert. In the previous couple of days, they also hosted workshops in Christopher Lake and Paddockwood.
The Science Centre’s Kaylee Dodds said one of their goals is to provide interactive learning.
“It’s learning through movement and it’s learning that’s kind of outside of the classroom where the kids actually get hands-on experience. They’re doing stuff themselves and they’re physically seeing models,” she said. “They don’t just have to listen to us, they can also see it.”
The workshop was divided into three one-hour sections about oceans, weather and space. It’s geared towards grades kindergarten to six, but Dodds said it’s suitable for a number of ages.
“It’s such a wide range of topics that they usually find something interesting,” she said.
The children were particularly excited to show their parents how far the airplanes they made could fly, but their excitement showed even more during a space demonstration outside.
Dodds pumped air into a two-litre plastic bottle with a figurine astronaut inside. The kids named it ‘Marshie.’ The bottle—the space shuttle—jetted several feet into the air.
Volunteers from the group came up to the front to combine liquids of different chemicals. They watched as the liquid turned into what they described as iced tea and lemonade colours.
“One of the things we always keep a log of is the funniest kids quotes because we always have some,” said Dodds. “One of the things we love (is) working with kids. It’s because their reactions are so awesome and we love engaging with them and asking them what they know and if they have any questions. They’re always so amazed by what we do.”
She added she’s often surprised by how much the kids know already.
When she asked the group questions before they did a demonstration a couple days prior, Dodds said one girl beat them to it in explaining the science behind it.
“Kids are often smarter than what you give them credit for.”
The Science Centre received feedback from the children on what activities they liked the most in preparation for a camp in August.
