It is with great sadness that we marked the passing of Lloyd Johnston in November of this year. Mr. Johnston was one of the Science Centre's original board members, one of the first chairs, and one of the main reasons the Saskatchewan Science Centre exists today.

From this article in the Globe and Mail:

Mr. Johnston "grasped the possibilities of a "Powerhouse of Discovery" for making science fun and accessible.... So for five solid years he volunteered about a third of his time to turning the science centre dream into reality."

And from this article in the Leader-Post:

"When Johnston was saluted by the science centre in 1990, he was described as a man with a remarkable ability to get grants from governments and individuals. “I have a strong interest in the education system in Saskatchewan; what exists now is obsolete in terms of science,” he told the gathering. “This science centre intends to have an influence on solving that problem.”"

The memorial service was held in the Kramer IMAX Theatre.

Stay curious,
Collette

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Being a new resident to Saskatchewan as of January 2011, I had never heard of Agribition before coming out here. I knew that it was a big deal, that I would be going, and I prepared for the event, but had no knowledge of how large Agribition is and how much fun I was going to have!

We were there the entire week (Nov. 21-26), in Arena 3 with the Agri-Ed Showcase. The theme for our booth was sustainability and renewable resources. We brought a lot of K’Nex for visitors to build wind turbines, as well as have two of our ‘exhibits in a box’ on display.



I built the giant windmill behind the table, and I built the Ferris wheel with help from a co-worker. These two structures actually move, and were powered by solar panels! Solar panels contain silicon, which is an element that is energized by light from the sun, and the panels convert this energy from the silicon atoms to electricity. This electricity powers two small motors that spin our K’Nex creations!



The children who visited our booth built us some interesting wind turbines or wind mills. We challenged them to build a wind mill, as seen below.



However, we had quite a few children who built some very creative wind turbines or wind mills. Sometimes they built us things that were powered by wind! I saw a rocket powered by wind turbines on Tuesday. This is a picture of a carnival ride that is powered by a wind turbine on the top!



In addition to having our booth, we performed our "Superheroes of Sustainability" Show four times a day for classes that pre-registered. We saw classes from Kindergarten to Grade Six. Our Superheroes show is a lot of fun and we discuss how we can all become superheroes of sustainability by doing our part to help the environment! If you want to check out the show for yourself, it is one of our regular stage shows here at the Science Centre.



I heard a lot of different suggestions, such as: recycle, use less water, turn off lights and appliances when not using them, and bike or walk to places. I have high hopes for our future superheroes!

Our week was busy, but I did find time to explore some of the other arenas and areas of Agribition. Here is a small fraction of what I learned at Agribition:

1. Alpaca fibre does not smell. And Alpacas love having showers!
2. Sheep are ruminants, just like cattle, goats, yaks, and bison. Ruminants have a four chambered stomach and will regurgitate their food to chew it and swallow again.
3. Chickens take a long time to hatch. The chicks are in the eggs for 21 days on average, and they may take several hours to escape from the shell. However, they are well worth the wait!
4. Saskatchewan has four wind farms in the province. Three are around Swift Current and Cypress Hills, and a new one was just built by Moosomin this year!
5. Agribition is a fun place to be! There were so many exhibitors and great food, I recommend checking it out next year!

See you all next year at Agribition!
Merissa

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A couple of weeks ago someone emailed us with a question that I loved so much, I thought I'd repost the question and the answer here.

A potential visitor emailed saying that she and a friend were coming in from out of town with six kids the next weekend and wondered what they could do to make the most of their visit to the Science Centre. Super great question! What follows was my reply, slightly edited to make sense in a blog context. I've also inserted some pictures to spice things up a little.

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Your question is a great one! I’m glad to answer it. 

You mentioned you’ll be here on Saturday, October 22. We open at noon on Saturdays and stay open until 6pm. General admission includes 2.5 floors of permanent exhibits plus a whole bunch of programming including:

• Kids 8 years old or older can enjoy our rock climbing wall. Climbs are at 3:30 and 4:30 and sign up is one hour ahead of time at our Front Desk. Each child  will need to have a waiver signed by their legal guardian to climb (If you or your friend aren’t the legal guardian of anyone that wants to climb, you can have the guardian sign the waiver form here and you can bring it with you.) Adults can climb too, of course, so you might want to join them!

• On weekends we have Family Friendly 2pm Activities, which are held at 2pm of course. This month you guys would be making Electric Slime! Listen for the announcements when you’re out on the floor.

• Every hour we have Stage Show demonstrations that are very fun and interactive. The schedule is available at our Front Desk, or you can listen for the announcements. Depending on which shows you catch, you might see an exploding pumpkin, several kinds of rockets, have your hair stand up on end, or see some fun things with liquid nitrogen. Descriptions of the shows are on our website.

• I always encourage people to ask our “Science Explorers” lots of questions (they’re the ones out on the floor giving the demonstrations). They know how all of the exhibits work, can explain certain concepts to you or the kids, or even show you tricks in the bubble pit. Sometimes people think some exhibits are broken, but in fact some are just trickier to operate and understand.
  
  If something confuses you, definitely don’t be shy about asking the Science Explorers some questions. We also have a whole bunch of animals that live here, and Science Explorers can bring them out to be touched sometimes. Though I don’t expect Saturday to be quiet, often on quiet days you’ll find Science Explorers walking around holding our gecko or our ferret, offering pets and explaining what kind of care they require.

All of that is included with general admission!

You can also pay a bit extra to see Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition visiting exhibit right now. It’s here until March. I think it’s quite amazing. It features actual artifacts recovered from the ocean floor, and really focuses on the personal stories of Titanic. You receive a boarding card with a real passenger’s name on it, which people find quite fun. You get to pretend you are that person, so you might be a First Class business tycoon, or perhaps a Third Class child immigrating to the USA with his parents. At the end of the exhibition you find out if your passenger survived the sinking or perished.

The exhibit begins in a fun and lively manner—just as Titanic’s maiden voyage would have begun—and ends with emotional accounts of what happened the night it sunk. I don’t think it’s too emotional for small kids, though. There is nothing “graphic” about the exhibition that would be difficult for them; it would be up to you and how you explain things.

We also have some great films at the Kramer IMAX Theatre. Born to be Wild 3D (pictured at right) is great for everyone including young children; it’s about orphaned baby elephants and orangutans that have been rescued and rehabilitated. It is both beautiful and adorable. Arabia 3D is aimed at a slightly older audience, since it’s more of a history/geography film about Arabia. Older kids should like it.

Show times for each film are on our website. You can also watch the trailers to the films by clicking on each film’s link on that page.

If your families visit more than once a year, you may also be interested in buying a membership while you’re here. Particularly if you are going to add the Titanic exhibit or an IMAX film to your day, or if you plan to visit us on both Saturday and Sunday, you may find it cheaper.

A family membership gives you unlimited free access all year to everything I mentioned in the first four bullets, and it’s only $75 plus GST (or less if you live more than 70km away from Regina). You can find more information on our website.

Sorry that my answer is rather long-winded, but we have lots of things to do here. I hope you guys have tons of fun!

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Stay curious,
Collette

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We have had a lot of animal changes around here lately. Two new introductions, a death, and a move have all happened in the past few weeks.

You can read all about our happy new residents in Sheila's blog post that went up yesterday. Jack and Will the Northern Pike have been here for a couple of weeks now, and they seem to be enjoying their new home. They no longer have to worry about being caught by anglers, that's for sure!

In sadder news, over the August long weekend we lost Neko, one of our beloved ferrets, to old age. Though we are very sad to lose such a long-time member of the Science Centre family, Neko was getting very old in ferret years and had been suffering from increasingly uncomfortable symptoms. Neko was about 7 years old and Dr Bardutz, the veterinarian that keeps our animals healthy, told us that he's rarely seen a ferret live past 8 years. Neko was very loved around here. We'll miss him.

We do still have Neko's sister Dorrie, but she has also slowed down significantly. Being the same age as Neko, we don't expect that Dorrie will be with us too much longer. She's in a nice quiet spot in the critter cave where she sleeps up to 20 hours per day. You are welcome to come visit her, but there is a note on her enclosure asking for quiet.

Here's a picture from happier days a couple of years ago. Neko is the white ferret and Dorrie is the brown one.

We are losing another critter shortly as well, but this story isn't quite so sad. Our Boa Constrictor, Larry, will be moving to Reptile World in Drumheller, Alberta next week.

Larry has been a long-time member of the critter family and he's definitely going to be missed. He is strong and healthy and has been growing like a weed, but that means that soon he'll be too large for his space here. His space was even renovated quite recently to accommodate all 7 feet of him, but we really can't keep up. He is expected to double in size, and we simply don't have space for such a huge snake. We love Larry and we know that his new home in Drumheller is going to be a very good one for him. 

Here is Larry, not long after moving in to his current space.

His last day at the Science Centre will be Monday, August 22nd if you want to stop by for one last visit!

We also still have our Great Horned Owl, a leopard gecko, a kingsnake, a bearded dragon, fruit bats, three of the cutest salamanders you've ever seen, and a tree frog, and a hermit crab. Oh, and of course we have Jack and Will, our new Northern Pike!

Stay curious,
Collette

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Fasten your seat belts everyone...we’re going fishing!

This story begins last year when we began looking for a companion for the sturgeon we lost to a neurological disorder. A few years ago the Science Centre was given two Lake Sturgeon for display as part of the Sturgeon in the Classroom project through the Fort Qu’Appelle Fish Hatchery. Through nearly a year of consultation with fisheries, hatcheries and fish experts from across Canada and the US, we unfortunately had to give up our search: Lake Sturgeon will soon be added to the endangered species list.

Sadly, sturgeon don’t do well on their own in captivity, and our second sturgeon, Hank, died suddenly in December. The aquarium in which the Sturgeon were held is part of an award-winning and eco-friendly exhibit all about Saskatchewan: Wild! Saskatchewan

Since this exhibit is all about celebrating Saskatchewan’s natural plant and animal species, we tried applying for another Sask species, Northern Pike. With the help and consultation of an amazing biologist, Tanya, from the Ministry of Environment, we applied for a special permit allowing the Science Centre to display these fish for educational purposes.

The following is a photo diary of our day out at Regina Beach trying to net the pike, and of their first day at the Saskatchewan Science Centre!

It’s a hot, sunny July day. We drive to Regina Beach to try netting some Pike.

The unit you see in the back of the truck is a special holding tank designed to protect the fish from the hot day. It also has a special mechanism to add extra oxygen to the tank as we journey back to Regina. In this photo you can see the lid of the tank is open.

After carefully unfolding and checking the larger of the two nets we’ve brought, Tanya and one of her co-workers (we’ll call him C. for short) put on their fancy hip-waders (water-proof boots) and carefully make their way into the water.  

C. warns us that the water is a lot higher than usual and the slops are unpredictable and very muddy. He attaches one end of the net to his boot and pull the other; carefully walking in a loop around where Tanya’s standing and making his way back to shore. Hopefully we’ll see a pike or two…?

Lots of minnows, a few crabs and other small critters, but no pike this time.

We put the critters back into the water and move a bit farther down to see if we can get into the reeds a bit more (that’s where the Pike like to hang out).

You can see in this photo that while Tanya, who’s only a few metres away is standing in water just up to her ankles, the water level where C.’s standing is above his waist.  There is too much debris from this year’s flooding in the water and C.’s having trouble seeing what’s around him.  The rocks and water level have changed too much and are unpredictable, so C. and Tanya decide be on the safe side and leave this section for today.

But did we get any pike?!

Not this time, either. Lots of other interesting critters though!

We’ll have to head back to Regina to fix the net which got caught and torn on some debris. C. will try again next week and let us know if he has any luck!

...

Success! Tanya just called to say they got some pike and will arrive in 30 minutes!

Tanya helps me transfer the two adult pike that C. collected into a portable container.

Since a fish’s habitat is the water around them, we need to do a few things before transferring them to their new home. If we simply place them in their new tank right away, they may go into shock, so we need to carefully transition them to the new water.

The first thing I need to do is measure the temperatures of the two sets of water. This time of year, Pike tend to do best around the same temperatures we’re comfortable at: around 19-23 degrees Celsius. After the drive from Regina Beach on a very hot day, the lake water has warmed considerably; we’ll need to lower this gradually back down to where the Pike will be more comfortable.

Now that I know the two temperatures, I can monitor our progress. By gradually adding the lake water to the aquarium and aquarium water to the holding container, we can slowly let the Pike adjust to the new water quality and also carefully lower the water temperature back down to what they’re used to.

It takes while, but finally most of the water has been exchanged and the temperature is back where we want it. I’ve been keeping a close eye on the fish during this process. They seem curious and a little agitated, but seem to be doing well with the transition.

When I finally transfer them to their new home, they don’t do much at first, but soon start swimming. I expected the first thing they’d do would be eat all the guppies we’ve been stocking for them, but they’ve had a stressful day and are happy just to explore.

Here are some photos from right after I moved them:

Our staff decided to name the Pike ‘Jack’ and ‘Will’. Welcome to your new home!

Sheila Beaubien
Biology & Environmental Science Coordinator

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Will you be at a provincial park, rural library, or festival this summer? So will we! Maybe we will see you! Our GO! science Outreach team will be going from towns south of Regina to parks north of Prince Albert, get almost to the Manitoba border in the east and visit many points in between.

Merissa and Lindsay will be putting the miles on so you can dive into summer with fun demonstrations and engaging activities. All of the programming at the parks and librairies will be about water. They will take you on a trip into the oceans, you'll explore weather, and you will learn about the role of water in our everyday lives. Each summer program also includes a make-and-take-home craft. At events like I Love Regina Day, they will have their awesome "science in a box" activities. Here is a photo of one of them from Canada Day in Regina:

On Flickr, the caption under the picture reads, "The purpose of this exhibit is to explore your depth perception. Trying to thread the large needle with one eye shut is very hard to do!"

Here is their travel schedule this summer. If you're in the neighbourhood, please drop by!

July 5-Rowan’s Ravine Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
July 6- Pilot Butte Library (1pm - 4:30pm)

July 12- Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
July 14- Wakamow Valley Children's Day Festival in Moose Jaw (11am - 3pm)
July 16- Fort Qu'Appelle Library (11am - 4pm)

July 18- Moose Mountain Provincial Park  (1pm - 4pm)
July 19- Glenavon Branch Library (12pm - 3:30pm)
July 20- Churchbridge Library (1pm - 4pm)
July 21- Duck Mountain Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)

July 26- Craik Library
July 27- Manor Library (10am - 2pm)
July 28- Good Spirit Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
July 29- Greenwater Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
 
August 3- Narrow Hills Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
August 4- Candle Lake Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)
August 5- Anglin Lake Provincial Park (1pm - 4pm)

August 10- Midale Library
August 13- Sedley Library (1-4:30)

August 16- Springside Library (12:30pm - 4pm)
August 17- Watson Library (1pm - 4:30pm)
August 20- Regina Ukrainian Fall Festival

August 27- I Love Regina Day (12pm - 3pm)

September 3- Regina Dragon Boat Festival

(If there are times not listed, please check out the event or library websites for specifics.)

If you'd like to follow our Outreach team via the internet, check out the Flickr set they've been updating.So far they have some photos from their last trip to schools, plus a handful from Canada in Regina like the photo above.

Stay curious,
Collette

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I had an unexpected morning today, which isn't really that unusual here at the Science Centre. Expectedly unexpected?

Stephen and Darrol from prairie dog magazine popped by unannounced. I assumed it was to take a look at our summer exhibit, Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition, but it had absolutely nothing to do with that. Or us really. They were snake hunting. Of course, right?

I've met Darrol before--he was here last year for something. I think it might have been the day the new screen went up when we converted the IMAX theatre to 3D, but I'm not entirely sure. Stephen I speak to regularly over email, but we'd never officially met in person.

Wanting photos for a story they're doing, they had been out looking for snakes in the grass just south of our building but weren't having much luck and came inside for a few minutes of refuge from the mosquitoes. Since Stephen and I hadn't met, they had Front Desk call me to see if I could chat.

I'm always up for a snake hunt! My job is so weird (read: awesome) sometimes. So, yeah, I followed them outside to see what we could find.

Not finding too much at first, I thought instead I'd at least make my time worth it and get a blog post out of the things I found on our walk. I found this feather, which as a kid I'd have picked up much to my parents' chagrin ("It's dirty!").

I took several photos of mushrooms, but this was the biggest clump that I found. I wonder if we normally have them in this area, or if it's just because of the massive amounts of rain?

I also took photos of the path that goes along between the lake and the skate park. I need to remember to bring my mountain bike out here sometime this summer; I always forget we have this path. This particular bit leads up onto a small wooded hill. Darrol did some scouting up there, but I stayed on the hopefully less mosquito-infested path.

Next to the hill is this sign. I think it has a good message, albeit not so timely on June 24.

There are dozens of gopher holes around this area. But, did you know they are actually not gophers that we see around here, but Richardson's ground squirrels? And to be accurate, those are burrows we see, not holes.

Not the most creative photo I've ever taken, but here is an ant hill.

I took several photos of the various flowers I found. Some are considered weeds, but I always think that weeds are just misunderstood flowers. This first one seems to be a bit out of focus. I just got a new camera and it doesn't work quite the same as my old one. I like this photo anyway, though.

I also found garbage. Grrr. I didn't actually see very much, to be fair. But, still. Grrr.

And finally, after I was ready to call my own search to an end (this unexpected field trip was cutting in to my newsletter-writing time), we hit the jackpot. A big, beautiful garter snake! Ta da! As always, don't forget you can click the photos to see larger versions.

And here is Darrol capturing some shots.

My favourite picture of the day; Darrol on the left, camera ready, and Stephen pointing it out for him from the trees (he looks like an explorer to me). I like that Stephen still has his coffee muh firmly in hand. Eventually he did set it down, proving that he does in fact love snakes more than coffee. I like snakes, but I'd never give up coffee for them!

Turns out Stephen loves snakes and has several of his own, so the news guy gave the science girl a lesson on snakes! Some of this is stuff that Stephen told me, and some I looked up after. Stephen figures the one we found was likely a female. She was also either pregnant or really well fed because she was quite thick. The term for a pregant snake is gravid. After a chat with a colleague later we wondered if garter snakes give birth to live snakes or if they have eggs; they give birth to live young.

A male snake will get narrower just after the vent (the "excretory opening") and before the beginning of the tail, where a female doesn't. The difference is that their sex organs are housed there, which of course is different for the males and females. I had never thought of snakes having tails before. I think I just thought of it as having a head and the rest was just body. It's not something I've ever thought about before.

I also learned that mid-morning is a good time to go snake hunting, because the snakes will be coming out from their hiding places to sun themselves. The place we found this snake had a large pile of wood chips nearby, which Stephen figured was a good place for snakes to find bugs and worms and all sorts of delicious things. The snake we found had the end of her tail broken off at some point, so if I ever decide to find her again I should recognize her.

It was a fun hour or so of walking around in the sun (and mosquitoes), and the science lesson was excellent too. I think I may do some snake hunting again in the future!

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Tomorrow we are doing the official media launch of the Saskatchewan Robotics Challenge workshop. We have done two workshops so far, so tomorrow is actually our third. We are inviting the media tomorrow because it is also the day that IBM is holding some global celebrations for its 100th birthday and we want to be part of the party.

IBM, via their subsidiary ISM Canada, donated all of the hardware for the workshop. That's $10,000 worth of laptops and robots. Amazing!

It's not just laptops and robots, though. Their employees, retirees, and business partners are also donating their time and expertise to this excellent initiative. It's these folks that will be teaching students how to build and program the robots. These are people who work in the IT industry, so the hours of mentoring that they are donating will hopefully go a long way towards encouraging kids to choose technology-based careers.

The kids participating tomorrow are from Grades 6 to 8 from Imperial Community School here in Regina. The entire program has been put together specifically for kids who might not otherwise consider a career in technology. It's for kids with less access to resources, such as the laptops and robots, plus less access to mentors in the technology industry.

We currently offer 20 different workshops that are curriculum-based, designed to supplement what educators are teaching, or to introduce new concepts using resources not available at every school. This new workshop makes it number 21.

So hey, who knew that IBM was 100 years old? June 16, 1911 was the founding of a company that in 1924 became known as International Business Machines. Today I think of computers and programming when I think of IBM, but the original products were scales and punch card equipment. IBM set up an entire website for their 100th birthday, including short films on the company that I wouldn't mind watching, plus all sorts of stories on 100 ways that IBM helped shape the last century (ex. The Apollo Mission, Watson, Linux). I remember quite a few of those topics being covered in my computer science classes in university.

The picture over there on the right is of one of the robots from the second workshop. I also have this photo of some girls from the last workshop, getting a kick out of their robot.

I plan to take more photos tomorrow, plus actually chat with the folks from ISM Canada. I have a lot of questions which I'm sure they'll be happy to answer. Some of the questions and answers I'll be posting on Twitter. So, if you don't want to wait for me to blog about the answers (which I plan to do this week, hopefully), you may want to watch our Twitter account tomorrow. The workshop runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.. Also, watch for the hash tags tomorrow from our participants. #IBM100 and #COS will get you posts from anyone in the 120 countries where IBM does business. Tweets tagged with #SSCrobotics will get you posts from our particular workshop.

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Conversations I have with others about our new summer exhibit Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition usually start with a giggle and a bit of blushing. But I find once we get past the initial reaction (mostly because of the exhibit title and the image it evokes) and engage folks about what the exhibit is really about, they’re intrigued, and want to check it out.

The exhibition is structured around five themes:

• fertilization and conception (my origins)
• puberty and hormonal changes (me & my body changes)
• sexual attraction (me and you and why this is happening)
• contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and the social aspects of sexuality (my choices and how they impact others)
• what does your sexuality mean to you (my point of view)

Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition was created by the Montreal Science Centre in consultation with health experts, educators, parents and adolescents to ensure the soundness and accuracy of the approach, tone and format of the exhibit. Designed with youth the exhibit provides frank and straightforward answers to the questions young people have about their sexuality.

It does not encourage sexual activity. What it is intended to do is provide non-biased, factual information that will help young people make enlightened and responsible decisions. A recent article appearing June 1 on canada.com, Teens turn a blind eye to sex information on the web: Study, highlights the need for this information in our community.

We’ve had a number of educators, administrators, parents, grandparents and health care professionals visit the exhibit, and all agree that it is appropriate for and includes information that young people are looking for. Some recent visitors had this to say:

“It was great – would definitely bring students back!”

“I liked the computer where it showed how easily viruses spread.”

“Great way to learn and understand concepts about sex and sexuality.”

For us older adults it is a great way to see how the conversation about sexuality has changed since we were teenagers and to understand the societal pressures young people are faced with today. It certainly has opened my eyes to what young people are looking for from educational institutions like the Science Centre.

If you would like to learn more about Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition I encourage you to visit the exhibit section of our website. There you will find a number of resources about the exhibition, including a teacher’s guide and curriculum links.

The decision on whether or not you visit the exhibit is up to you (children 12 years of age and under must be accompanied by an adult). But I encourage you to see the exhibition before judging the merits of it.

Sandy Baumgartner
Executive Director

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Have you been to the Kramer IMAX Theatre lately? For the past month or so, we've been displaying a life-sized plush orangutan. Here I am peeking through the foliage to have my photo taken with her.

For only $2, you can be entered to win this amazing plush toy. All of the money raised goes to two very awesome non-profits: Orangutan Foundation International (as seen in the film Born to be Wild 3D) and the Saskatchewan Science Centre! (Did you know we are a registered non-profit?)

The day the orangutan arrived in the office, there was quite a stir about whether to call it she or he. Most folks immediately leaned towards he, but it's actually quite easy to tell the difference between a male and female orangutan. Males have big, fleshy cheek pads that keep developing their entire lives. Females find these cheeks very attractive! Once you see a photo of a male orangutan, you'll never mistake the two again.

The raffle ends May 31, so hurry down to see her, and maybe take in Born to be Wild 3D while you're here!

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Today we had an incredible visitor to the Saskatchewan Science Centre. Astronaut Chris Hadfield was here!

Mr. Hadfield is one impressive guy. Not only was he the first Canadian astronaut to perform a spacewalk when he installed Canadarm2 on the International Space Station in 2001, but during his next mission--scheduled for December 2012--he will become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station. He will be up there for six months, which is by far his longest mission.

We were really fortunate to have Mr Hadfield today as part of a week-long tour that will also include presentations in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Kingston. This tour coincided with the 50th anniversary of manned spaceflight. 50 years ago yesterday, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in space.

Mr. Hadfield began his morning at the Science Centre by having breakfast with 26 students from the University of Saskatchewan, plus professor Kathryn McWilliams (pictured on his left below). I had been asked by the U of S to take photos of the event, which meant that I got to sit in on almost an entire hour of Mr. Hadfield talking about space with a small group of people. It was amazing!

He talked a lot about his training, what will be happening in the next couple of years to get ready, and what he's expecting to be doing on the International Space Station. He also talked about how excited he is to get up there and play the guitar that is already there; he's excited to play things he knows and also write some new songs. He described what it's like to play a guitar in zero gravity, which was pretty neat. He says that it sounds the same, but feels different. You don't need a strap, of course, because the guitar will float there on its own. He said, though, that he often misses frets because he's used to gravity pulling his arm down on Earth. Up in space, that gravity isn't there and so he has to use his own energy to do it. It makes a big difference.

One student asked about what is needed to become an astronaut. Mr. Hadfield answered with his specific experience, but then then went on to point out that the CSA isn't necessarily looking for anything in particular. They are looking for people who are capable of learning and who are physically fit. That's pretty much it. He said if you want to be an astronaut you should go out and get an advanced degree, or several, in something. It doesn't even really matter what--just something complicated, to prove you can learn. Otherwise how do you prove you can learn? It was an interesting discussion.

One of the things I found interesting was that all astronauts need to learn the Russian language to fly. The Russian space program is pretty big! He spends most of his time living and training in both Houston and in Russia, and so they all need to have a working knowledge of the language.

Another student asked if there was anything that he encountered in space that he wasn't prepared for. The first thing he said was that the view of the Earth from space is so much more beautiful and breathtaking than you can ever imagine. He said it never gets old. He said that even those who have been seeing that view for six months simply don't get bored with it. His answer actually really moved me.

In a second part to that answer, he said that when he got back the first time from being in space he reported that absolutely nothing worked out up there the way they had planned. Nothing. Not a thing. But, everything was within the scope that they had planned for. Nothing went exactly to plan, but all of it was within the realm of their capabilities. Sounds kind of like real life, doesn't it?

After breakfast, Mr. Hadfield then gave a presentation in the Kramer IMAX Theatre to about 100 kids from St. Andrew, St. Michael, and Douglas Park elementary schools. Also online watching via webcast were about 215 classes from around the province!

I know this picture below is dark and a bit fuzzy, but I still like it. It's of Mr. Hadfield entering the theatre on the left looking up to the audience, and his image being broadcast onto the screen behind him. It was kind of rockstar-like. And, I'll echo a comment from a colleague of mine, if anyone deserves a rockstar entrance, it's somene who has been in space and accomplished what he's accomplished.

The presentation talked about the history of spaceflight, where it's going, and he also talked quite a bit about the responsibility we all have to take care of our Earth. He showed photos of the pollution that you can see from space, plus one of a large lake in Kazakhstan that used to be huge and is now a small, polluted sad-looking thing. It fit in very well with all of the programming that we've been doing around Earth Month here at the Science Centre.

After a fascinating presentation where he had the kids and their teachers in the palm of his hand he took lots and lots of questions from the audience. I had to leave to greet some media, and when I came back in he was standing on a kid!

It was pretty funny. You might see it on the news tonight! He was demonstrating what it feels like to blast off from Earth and go into orbit. After this he actually picked up the boy and they pretended he was in zero gravity. Lots and lots of giggles from the crowd indeed.

He's a pretty funny guy. After the presentation he chatted with some staff of the Science Centre. Here's a good illustration of how demonstrative he can get while talking.

Also, check out this photo that Mr. Hadfield himself took and posted on Twitter. Neat!

Both during his chats with the UofS students, and later during his presentation to the kids, he talked about what motivated him to become an astronaut. As a 9 year old boy he watched live on TV, as so many others did, as humans first walked on the moon. He proclaimed right then that he was going to become an astronaut, and he planned his learning and the rest of his career out so that he'd have the best chance at doing that. Back in the 60's Canada didn't have a space program. It wasn't possible for a Canadian to become an astronaut, and it wasn't until the 80's that it was a feasible career choice. It was a dream. He fulfilled it.

As he finished his presentation to the kids this morning he left them with some parting advice. He told them that they are going to grow up and be something someday. It's up to them to choose what they want to be, because if they don't choose, someone else is going to do it for them. He encouraged them to make a choice and not just drift along in life.

Good advice.

I took a few more photos and as always, they are up in their own Flickr set.

When I started working at the Science Centre just over two years ago now, I didn't really have that much interest in space. Oh it's cool, ya, sure, but whatever. Over the past two years I've definitely changed my tune. I think it's absolutely bananas that humans go into space! It's amazing. It's beautiful. It's exciting. And it is the result of so much science, so many smart people, so much discovery, and so much vision. Meeting an actual astronaut and hearing what he had to say--it really is indescribable.

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

On February 14, also known as Valentine's Day, we held a brand new event called Ionic Bonding: A Night Out at the Science Centre. I mentioned it in my previous blog post. It turned out to be a great night!

We had 90 people--none of them kids--come to the Science Centre for a date night. First up they watched Hubble 3D at the Kramer IMAX Theatre.

Everyone was already in the movie when I arrived, ha.

After the film, folks headed out on to the Exhibit Floor. 

No kids were allowed at this event. A cash bar greeted guests!

Also greeting guests was Bartender Carver, of course.

The bar, or concession if folks wanted pop or popcorn, were not included in the ticket price of $20, but everything else was. I absolutely loved all of the desserts we served. Most unique I'd say was the "candy bar". It's kind of like a sundae bar, except that instead of toppings, you are choosing loose candies. You load up candies on your plate, or in a cute takeaway bag. We had fun creating the display too.

The photos are a bit dark, but that's because we had the lights turned low for romance!

I took this before the whipped cream and strawberries were set out, but here is the strawberry shortcake area.

(Those little globe-like white and pink lanterns? I made them! A friend helped with a couple, too.)

We had a caramel fondue, which was something new to me! 

We had a chocolate fountain too. Here is the fruit sitting on dry ice. The ice kept things cool. 

Add some boiling water and you get a neat effect!

CBC arrived and took footage of the event, so we were on the late news. It's always nice to have the media come out.

Speaking of media, Regina.com and Global Regina both gave away some tickets for us, which I think helped with our ticket sales. We hit all of our targets in terms of numbers! 

The evening wasn't just about food, although I still haven't finished showing you the delicious things yet. The evening was also about introducing people to the Saskatchewan Science Centre, particularly people who perhaps don't have kids and didn't realize they'd enjoy the Science Centre too.  It was cute watching couples interact with the exhibits, and each other. Somehow I only managed to get this one photo, though! 

Science Explorers Dani and Neil also made everyone liquid nitrogen ice cream. It's tasty and full of science!

To make it, you mix the usual ice cream ingredients with liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen is super cold, so it freezes the milk quite quickly. And it looks cool.

Et voilà! Ice cream!

And as nobody under 19 was allowed to this event, we topped the ice cream with either cinnamon liqueur or irish cream!

We also had a scavenger hunt happening, to show people around the building as well. It was pretty popular! 

It was a really nice event, and I don't have final confirmation yet but I'm quite sure we'll do this event again. We only thought of it a month ago and it was exactly the evening we thought it would be. If we did it again we'd have time to do a few extra things we couldn't arrange on such short notice, too.

As always, I took more photos than I can post. So, check out the whole set on Flickr. More deliciousness!

Thanks to everyone that came out! And to all of the staff involved in this event. And also thanks to Marc from Twitter (@marcdonaldkelly) for naming the event! I was stuck trying to think of something, so in a last ditch effort I threw it out to Twitter. If I chose someone's name, they'd get two free tickets. The "Ionic Bonding" portion of the event name came from Marc. I heard people really liked the name (as did I), and I liked having Twitter help me out too, so I think I'll be doing that again. (You can follow me at @SkScienceCentre on Twitter.)

So, when we created this night we weren't sure if it would be only couples, or if we'd have groups of singles attending as well. Turns out it was mostly couples, as I'd figured. It was a fun night, and it was so clearly a date night, that I am now considering pitching a singles event to the management team. I wouldn't go to most singles events, but I think I would go to one at the Science Centre! It's such a unique place.

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Z99 called me a few weeks ago, asking if the Science Centre would want to be part of a Valentine's Day promotion called The Bachelor. There were going to find one bachelor who would go on five dates with five ladies. On Valentine's Day he'll have to choose who he would like to see again. Yes! The Science Centre is an awesome place to take a date.

So, last night Bachelor Pete brought his date Amanda to the Science Centre. First they climbed for about an hour on the climbing wall, then they played on the exhibit floor for a bit. After that they headed over to the Kramer IMAX Theatre to see Hubble 3D. The limo then picked them up to take them for dinner at Bellini's Bar. Sounds like an awesome date to me!

I popped by to grab a photo of the couple. Here they are, about to get in line for popcorn before their movie.

We're now just waiting for Z99 to update their website so we can hear Pete and Amanda talk about their date! (I missed it on the radio this morning.)

Another thing we are doing for Valentine's Day is called Ionic Bonding: A Night Out at the Science Centre. It's an event for adults who would like to bring a date or a group of friends to the Science Centre on Valentine's Day. First they'll watch Hubble 3D, then the exhibit floor will be opened up to them. They can get interactive with over 150 permanent exhibits, check out our visiting exhibit Maze-a-Palooza, or they can do the scavenger hunt we put together for the occasion. This isn't an ordinary scavenger hunt, though. This one might help you find love!

Also on the menu for Ionic Bonding is sweets! You can try our famous liquid nitrogen ice cream topped with your choice of liqueur, a "candy bar" where you can fill up a little cup with candies to munch on, a chocolate fountain with tons of fruit and other dippables, plus a caramel fondue. I think it sounds delicious. I will stop by for a bit to take pictures and sample some of the treats I think!

The event is 19+ only, because we'll have a cash bar. We thought it would be fun to have an evening out at the Science Centre, without the kids. Tickets are $20 and you can find out how to buy them here.

If you have other plans for Valentine's Day but are still needing a gift, check out Atom + Geek Science Shop. We have a nice little display of some cute and unusual gifts for Feb 14:

It's much more fun in person! Definitely stuff you can't find anywhere else.

Stay curious,
Collette

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By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

On Monday we bid a very sad but fond farewell to John Snell, our Director of Exhibits and Programming. John had been at the Science Centre for 15 years, and when you consider this place is only 22 years old, that's amazing!

In true Science Centre fashion, we didn't just pop down to the store to buy him a going away gift. Instead, we created a lip dub for him! What is a lip dub? It's basically some lip syncing to a song, I suppose, and they're all the rage these days. One of John's favourite shows is The Office and they did one recently, so a couple of our staff members figured we should do one for John.

The lip dub premiered on John's last day, Monday, to a very giggly and excited group of staff members, including John who was pretty nervous about what we'd come up with.

Wanna see it? Of course!

We filmed this while John was out of the office so we didn't have a lot of time. We did one test run and then filmed it for real in just one take. I think it turned out to be pretty awesome!

I think all of the giggling from Keir, our cameraman, is pretty funny. And did you notice the screams after he goes by the boardroom? That's three of our management team dancing on the table, and that is them screaming after they fall off of the table! I think that's the main reason Keir didn't overlay the song onto the video, because it was just too funny.

We really are going to miss John very much, and we know he'll miss us too. He's now off to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, where we know he'll knock 'em out with his creative ideas and energy.

Stay curious (and silly!),
Collette

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

A few days ago I posted about Noon Year's Eve and how much fun it was, and today I received an email from a happy visitor. She saw my blog post and wanted to follow up on something I'd mentioned!

Through our web contact form I received a message asking for my email address because they wanted to send me some pictures. I replied, and this is what I got back:

Yes! Hi Collette, I do have pictures to send you. I meant to send you these pictures sooner but never did and I saw your blog on the Science Centre website and was so excited to see Elias! He had so much fun that day. When asked what his favorite part of the day was, he replied, "Tiger face". You and your staff were amazing that day and put on such a great show. We definately will be coming back next year. Thanks again and enjoy the pictures!

Thanks Geneva! That email and the attached photos really made my day. So, I present to you Elias the Tiger! (Not Elijah as I'd previously posted; I knew it started with an E.)

And here's an action shot of Elias the Tiger being created. Do you like my party hat? I made it myself! Ha!

Stay curious,
Collette

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Noon Year's Eve was tons and tons of fun this year! So much fun, I've only just been able to catch my breath. Enjoy the photos below that I've uploaded to Flickr for you.

The first thing you saw this year was Marcy giving out hot chocolate and cookies. Over the past year she's changed jobs from Visitor Services to Education Planning Advisor, but it seems she's still our lovely Noon Year's Eve cookie lady! (Ha!)

We had almost no lineups at all this year, and that was due to some extra planning that included this Advance Tickets area. If you had booked or picked up your tickets in advance, you got to breeze right on through to the fun.

In fact, we had just over 100 more guests this year than last year (this year we had 838), but it never really felt that crowded or too busy. Giving folks the option to book their preferred IMAX time when they booked their advance tickets was probably how we won most of that battle. Guests could arrive whenever they liked throughout the day, rather than having to come early to get a guaranteed seat.

We had kids climbing up and down our climbing wall all day, which is always fascinating to watch:

The party hat and cracker crafts tables were always busy:

I got to help out in this area for a while where I met a boy who might be the cutest kid I have ever seen. Here he is working on his hat:

And here he is, so proud of his creation!

I think his name was Elijah. We got to be pretty good pals because later on I painted his face when I was helping out over there. I didn't get a picture of him (oh I wish I had!), but here is one of that area:

We had high school students from LeBoldus High School who came in and helped us, and that was another big reason the event was such a success! Having 15 extra sets of hands to help out was amazing.

Another amazing part of the day: cotton candy. Mmm.

Liquid nitrogen is part of almost every day at the Science Centre, and this was no exception. Here is Nicole getting some for a stage show. (This is likely Nicole's last Noon Year's Eve at the Science Centre, since she is leaving to go enjoy some new adventures. Good luck Nicole! You'll be missed!)

We also had Brett Dawson back from Saskatoon, performing and teaching contact juggling:

And of course Discovery Jones made appearances all day!

Kids enjoyed playing and learning with our permanent exhibits:

And so did the adults!

We also had a great little door prize draw if folks signed up for Kaleidoscope, our electronic newsletter. Thanks very much to Chili's for donating a whole bunch of gift certificates, CONEXUS Arts Centre for donating some tickets to a Regina Symphony Orchestra performance, and Dairy Queen for donating some free smoothies and other coupons. We also chipped in some of our own swag that you can't even buy in our shop: Hubble 3D-themed patches and kaleidoscope making kits, some funky Our Body: The Universe Within pens, and a LEGO sign autographed by Robin Sather, Canada's only LEGO Certified Professional. Ooh, and a stomp rocket too!

Speaking of Hubble 3D, that was the film everyone enjoyed at the Kramer IMAX Theatre. The line for concession was busy all day!

We also had some media come out including CBC, Global TV, and CTV. Here is Eric Anderson from CBC Radio 1 interviewing Science Explorer Jamie:

We also offered snow shoeing. Here is where everyone met up to begin:

And here is what they looked like coming back!

This next photo is the second-luckiest photo I have ever taken. One of our "woosh" bottles in mid-woosh during one of the stage shows!

This was part of The Big Bang Show, so we are getting near the end of the day. Another part of the show is exploding a balloon filled with pure oxygen, which gets us to the luckiest photo I have ever taken. I took the photo below with fingers in both of my ears to protect my hearing (this is LOUD!), without being able to see the display screen, and at the split second needed to capture the explosion!

The very last activity of the entire day is the balloon drop! Hundreds of balloons rained down from the ceiling. To add to the fun, and to add more noise and excitement (some of our favourite things!), we filled about 30 balloons with Chili's gift certificates, Dairy Queen coupons, and free tickets to the Kramer IMAX Theatre. The sound of all of those balloons being popped to reveal their prize is part of the fun!

At the end of the day we had a bit of a mess to clean up. But, it was worth it. It's our favourite day of the year!

Definitely have a look at the entire set of photos on Flickr. I have some really great photos there that I just couldn't post here or this would go on forever. Photos like some bubbling liquid nitrogen, an active volcano, silly Science Explorer Dave having his brain extracted, and more!

Stay curious,
Collette

update: I have posted a follow up entry, which contains even more cuteness!

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

Today the entire office received this email from Nicole, our Exhibit Floor Coordinator:

Hi guys,

I’m planning a weekend activity in a couple of months that requires a lot of old socks and need your help to collect them. If anybody has old socks that they were planning to throw out I’d really appreciate it if I could have them instead. Just leave them on my desk and I’ll take care of the rest.

Thanks so much!

This seemed like something Nicole would do. Right now she is collecting toilet paper rolls for a Noon Year's Eve craft. So, I didn't give it much thought. In fact, I started thinking about whether or not I had any old socks I could bring in.

Half an hour later, the entire office received another email from Nicole. Here it is:

Alright… I thought it was Christmas time not April fools :-p.  Okay for the record, at 1:56pm today I was in a meeting. Not sending out an e-mail about socks.  Please do not put old socks on my desk.  Also, apparently do not leave your computer unattended.  Ha ha.  Any tips on the identity of the mysterious e-mail hacker would be appreciated. Although, I must admit –very clever.

The hacker, and I have my suspicions on who it was, did an awesome job of writing the first email exactly the way Nicole would write it. Totally fooled me, I confess. Nice work!

And yes, I did get Nicole's permission to post this. She is a good sport!

Stay curious,
Collette

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

It was big news yesterday and it's been big news today -- did you see the lunar eclipse last night?

I did! Sort of. I didn't see as much as I'd have liked, but that's because I was trying to get some sleep as well. I need my sleep! And, well, I miscalculated exactly when things would happen. I have never seen an eclipse, to be honest. A science friend of mine even chided me for it. I'm not sure how it happened, but it's true, I'd never seen one.

My plan was to get up by 2am and meet my neighbour, a friend of mine, out on the street to watch it together. I was just going to watch it by myself but through the wonders and serendipity of Facebook we worked out a plan. I understood that just after 2am would be the "best" time to see things, and I was really excited about seeing the orange glow I'd read about.

At 12:30 I received a text on my phone, but due to a combination of sleepiness and laziness I didn't look at it right away. It turns out it was a friend of mine texting to ask if I could see the moon. Eventually just before 1 I heard my phone ping again and I read the text. So, I got up to look.

From my back window I saw the full moon, bright over my house, but with a little bit of the bottom left corner obscured by what I thought was clouds. It had been hazy earlier but at this point things were clear and crisp, except for the fuzzy dark part of the moon. I should have known better. I should have known that was the eclipse, but I had thought it wouldn't start to become obscured until a little bit later. Oops! I am very sad that I didn't take a photo of it. I had taken a "before" photo of the moon earlier and was all set to take some "during" photos.

Silly me, I went back to bed and got up at 1:45. By 2 I was dressed for the cold and standing on my front sidewalk both looking for the moon and waiting for my neighbour. I walked around to my back alley looking for the moon. Nothing. It was obvious that it was more cloudy at that point, but I wondered if I might see something if I hopped in my car and drove to the park. I texted my neighbour but I didn't really wait for his reply before I left in my car. He was already 10 minutes past our meeting time and I figured he'd changed his mind.

I actually only live five blocks away from work, so I came here! I thought I'd have a pretty decent, wide open view of everything from our parking lot. As I pulled up I saw one lone car in the lot and two cross country skiers sitting on a bench in front of it. After a quick mental debate (should I find my own private spot, or should I go be friendly and share the experience with them?) I approached them. Turns out one of them plays on my soccer team!

Dave and his friend had been there a while, watching the whole thing. The moon was in full eclipse at that point so of course I couldn't see it! They pointed to where it had been visible, and we all agreed you could almost see it but the haze was a bit too much. After not too many minutes of chatting and watching, the moon finally reappeared.

The sky was fairly hazy and cloudy at that point, so the crispness that I had expected was not there. It was at that point that I realized what I had seen an hour earlier was the beginning of the eclipse, and some slight regret set in. I'd wanted a picture so much!

Edit: here is a video that was featured on the Huffington Post website of the eclipse. Amazing!

The three of us had a ton of questions that we couldn't answer; it would have been great to have someone knowledgeable in astronomy with us! Where is a Science Explorer when you need one, right?

But it was a beautiful experience. Standing in the cold in the middle of the night in almost complete silence, chatting with friends, realizing how tiny we are in this universe. There were long lulls where we all just watched.

Did you see the eclipse? Feel free to share your experience with me in the comments. And, if you have a photo let me know and we can add it to this post!

Stay curious,
Collette

ps. What did happen to my neighbour last night? He slept through his alarm! He texted me at 3 as I was just arriving back home. Lucky for him, and for all of us, eclipses happen quite regularly. This eclipse was special because it was the first time in hundreds of years that happened on a full moon on the Winter Solstice, but we'll all have more chances to see something like this again.

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

The Go! science Outreach team has had a busy few months.    Our November was spent traveling to the northern part of the province as well to an exciting outreach right here in Regina.

In the beginning of November we traveled to the Northern Boreal Forrest to Canoe Narrows.  The Miksiw Canoe Lake School took part in the Aboriginal Youth Innovators program.   All of the children showed so much enthusiasm to learn science.  It was a fantastic experience for the students at Canoe Lake as well as the outreach team!  The scenery was definitely an enjoyable factor in our trip.  Next, we went to Makwa Sahgiehcan School in Meadow Lake for a day filled with science programming.  The winter weather seemed to be following us because the temperature dropped.

This photo was taking in Beauval outside of the Anglers Fishing Resort.  

 
The end of the month was spent in Regina at Canadian Western Agribition.  This week long Agricultural fair brings in numerous people to Regina.  The area of particular interest to students at Agribition was the Agri-Ed area.   The Go!Science team discussed ecosystems and biodiversity by playing Environmental topple, Ecosystem dominos and building food webs.   Students learned about the importance of animals in our environment by meeting sheep, cows, bees, chickens and turkeys.

This is ``Davey`` the cow.  We spend the week with this four month old Angus.

Look for updates from GO! science Outreach in the New Year! 

Yours in education, Julie Fisowich

By Saskatchewan Science Centre on 12-Apr-06 23:00

(This post was written by another new blogger, Sheila! It was written a couple of weeks ago, but due to a little glitch we weren't sure if we'd get to keep our new resident mentioned below. But, all is well now and it's time to publish. Enjoy! -- Collette)

Today was another exciting day here in the programming department!

It started off by my wading my way through a pile of camping gear from the students who stayed overnight for our sponsored gambling-prevention program, the Risk It All camp-in. The day’s always off to a good start when I hear the excited talk from the students and chaperones as they load up their bus.  It’s great to know how much fun they had doing all the activities last night and that they’ll carry the memories and learning with them for years to come. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of these students. 

Some people get stacks of paper in their inbox – I get snake skin...AND stacks of paper! Our Columbia boa constrictor, Larry, shed while I was away. It’s been awhile since he’s shed in such a large piece (sometimes it comes off in flakes and isn’t as dramatic). See the video taken by Collette:

Later in the morning our newest animal arrived. A Great Horned Owl! He was injured a few years ago and can no longer fly. He was taken care of by the family of one of our staff and will now help to educate visitors. The owl, Bubo (Bubo virginianus), is now residing in the former ferret enclosure. See:

Stop in at the Science Centre to check out the changes we will be making to this area over the next few months to make a welcoming home for Bubo! We are also updating Critter Cave where the ferrets now live. Come visit them in their new home! We'll put photos up soon.

Sheila Beaubien
Biology & Environmental Science Coordinator