Faculty of Engineering | University of Ottawa

Bring fun, hands-on activities to your STEM class!

Adventures in Engineering and Science at the University of Ottawa offers 14 workshops that are aimed at helping elementary school students understand different subjects in engineering and science, while having fun! They are designed to fit the Ontario and Quebec curriculum and are led by experienced undergraduate students of the Faculties of Engineering and of Science.

Cost

$100 per workshop at your school or $60 per workshop at the uOttawa campus
$140 for Biodiversity at your school or $90 for Biodiversity at the uOttawa campus

Bulk discount

Workshop prices reduce by $5 per workshop if four or more are ordered for the same day, at the same location

Location

Our group of dynamic instructors can join you at your school or at the uOttawa campus.

If you want our team to go to your school, make sure to book at least 2 workshops (i.e. with other teachers).
There is no minimum number of bookings required for workshops held at the uOttawa campus.

Format

A maximum of 35 students enjoy a hands-on workshop lasting 60-75 minutes, related to a specific engineering or science topic.

Based on feedback from our instructors and teachers, workshops work best with groups of 15-25 students. If you have a group of more than 35 students, the best option is to split the group into two as there won’t be enough material for every student.
The teacher is expected to stay in the classroom at all times and complete a short evaluation at the end of the workshop.

Our workshops are available only in the months of May and June.

Registration

Pick a workshop that best suits your curriculum and your students’ interests.

Select two potential workshop dates. Registrations for workshops are done on a first-come, first-served basis.
Once registration is complete, you will receive an email from Adventures 1-3 business days following the receipt of your application. Occasionally, it can take up to 5 business days for us to contact you. If you do not hear back from Adventures within a week, please send us an email at: adventures@uottawa.ca.
Once your registration has been processed, we will send you an email with a tentative schedule. You must review it thoroughly then reply by email to either confirm your registration or make changes.

Registration for Spring 2020 will open in January 2020.

(For technology and coding workshops, please visit our Maker Mobile workshops page.)

Workshops

5 Senses

(JK, SK, Gr. 1)
Discover the five senses and how they interact together to give us an image of the world surrounding us.Students will investigate their five senses through interactive activities.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
K	Science & Technology	Conduct simple investigations through free exploration, focused exploration, and guided activity, using inquiry skills (questioning, planning, predicting, observing, communicating).
1	Needs and Characteristics of Living Things	Investigate needs and characteristics of plants and animals, including humans.

Human body

(Gr. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
The human body demystified! With demonstrations and interactive discussions, students will discover the different organ systems that work together to make our body function. They will then use Ozobots, little programmable robots, to understand how the digestive and circulatory systems work.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
5	Human Organ Systems	Demonstrate an understanding of the structure and function of human body systems and interactions within and between systems.

Wild world

(JK, SK, Gr. 1, 2)
This workshop introduces its participants to biology. There will be interactive demonstrations with a range of topics from life-sized mammalian skulls to understanding the difference between herbivores and carnivores. Hands-on investigation of the physical characteristics of these specimens allows the students to understand how these animals survive in their respective communities. In the second part, students will use Beebots to learn more about animals living in different ecosystems and the life cycle of animals.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
K	Science & Technology	Conduct simple investigations through free exploration, focused exploration, and guided activity, using inquiry skills (questioning, planning, predicting, observing, communicating).
1	Needs and Characteristics of Living Things	Investigate needs and characteristics of plants and animals, including humans.
2	Growth and Changes in Animals	Investigate similarities and differences in the characteristics of various animals. Investigate the life cycle of animals.

Biodiversity

(Gr. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
On your mark, get set, dissect! In this workshop students will get to dissect a specimen themselves! The students will learn how to safely and properly dissect a specimen in order to understand how its organ systems work together. They will also learn about characteristics unique to that creature.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
4	Habitats and Communities	Investigate the interdependence of plants and animals within specific habitats and communities.
6	Biodiversity	Investigate the characteristics of living things, and classify diverse organisms according to specific characteristics.

Structures and mechanisms

(Gr. 8)

Investigate structures and mechanisms through a hands-on building activity. In small teams, build a machine that efficiently accomplish challenging tasks using hydraulics systems and simple machines.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
8	Systems in Action	Investigate a working system and the ways in which components of the system contribute to its desired function

Forces and structures

(Gr. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
In this exciting workshop, students will discover the importance and utility of stability and forces. This workshop will describe the importance of various types of forces and of geometric forms in the construction of buildings. The students will apply their newly acquired knowledge in a building challenge!

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
3	Strong and Stable Structures	Investigate strong and stable structures to determine how their design and materials enable them to perform their load-bearing function.
5	Forces Acting on Structures and Mechanisms	Investigate forces that act on structures and mechanisms.
7	Form and Function	Design and construct a variety of structures, and investigate the relationship between the design and function of these structures and the forces that act on them.

Energy and me

(JK, SK, Gr. 1)

In this fun interactive workshop, students will discover three different kinds of energy: light, heat and sound. Through hands-on activities and exploration, they will the way energy is used in our daily life!

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
K	Science & Technology	Conduct simple investigations through free exploration, focused exploration, and guided activity, using inquiry skills (questioning, planning, predicting, observing, and communicating) to learn about energy in our daily life.
1	Energy in Our Lives	Investigate how different types of energy (light, heat and sound) are used in daily life.

Optics and sounds

(Gr. 4, 5)
This workshop focuses on introducing children to the fascinating world of lights, sounds and waves. The concepts of refraction, incidence angle and critical angle are demonstrated with the use of laser light passing through different mediums. The study of sound is also introduced with a dynamic activity on vibrations.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
4	Light and Sound	Investigate the characteristics and properties of light and sound.

Electricity

(Gr. 5, 6)
How much do you really know about electricity? Electricity is one of the most important resources of our time and yet many of us still don’t know how it works. Through interactive demonstrations and activities, students will be able to discover how electricity can be created and controlled to suit our everyday needs. Students will get the opportunity to build their very own circuits.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
6	Electricity and Electrical Devices	Investigate the characteristics of static and current electricity, and construct simple circuits.

Chemical creations

(Gr. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Chemistry is everywhere! Come discover the mystifying world of molecules and atoms. New concepts are taught through a series of fun chemical reactions. The interactive experiments performed will reflect the grade level of your class.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
2	Properties of Liquids and Solids	Investigate the properties of and interactions among liquids and solids.
5	Properties of and Changes in Matter	Conduct investigations that explore the properties of matter and changes in matter.
7	Pure Substances and Mixtures	Investigate the properties and applications of pure substances and mixtures.

Rockin’ geology

(Gr. 4)
“What is a mineral?” This presentation will give you the answer and will allow its participants to explore the unique properties of these solids (crystal form, hardness, cleavage, colour and luminescence). The numerous uses of minerals in society are also described.

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
4	Rocks and Minerals	Investigate, test, and compare the physical properties of rocks and minerals.

Green conscience

(Gr. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Participants explore the science of global climate change through unique and innovative games and activities. They then explore the implications of this global issue and discuss how climate change will affect them. Participants will also construct and race solar powered cars!

Grade	Topic	Overall expectation
5	Conservation of Energy and Resources	Investigate energy transformation and conservation.
6	Electricity and Electrical Devices	Evaluate the impact of the use of electricity on both the way we live and the environment.

Performing iterations
Information

This page is being updated or designed. Content might be incomplete or appear shortly.

Science workshops for kids