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A flare for science (10 photos)

Science North wraps up its annual Science Festival with a carnival for inquisitive minds of all ages

THUNDER BAY - By mixing some butane, soap, and water, Kaitlin Richard set her hand ablaze in a giant fireball, but the exciting display is about more than chemical reactions and heat, it’s about sparking something else in young minds.

“This is what brings the initial spark,” Richard, a staff scientist with Science North, said. “You can sit and read a book all you want, but if they are not seeing what is happening and they are not seeing the chemical reaction, then they are not going to get excited. This is more of a dangerous experiment, but we bring the fun to science so hopefully they get engaged and become more interested in science in the future.”

The thermal experiment was just one of the many scientific wonders on display at the Science Carnival at Victoriaville Centre on Saturday to wrap up the Seventh Annual Science Festival that began last week.

“This carnival is really the culminating event,” said Emily Kerton, senior scientist with Science North. “It has 20 organizations who do science showcasing their science in really fun and hands on ways.”

“It’s been really great this year,” Kerton continued. “We really built up this event over the past seven years. We’ve had the best turnout yet at all the events we had this past week. We are expecting more than 2,000 people to come to this carnival.”

There was something for all inquisitive minds on display, from understanding the science of forest fires with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, how it feels to have a stick bug crawl up your arm with Entomica, or learning about the stars in the night sky with the Thunder Bay chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Kerton said when people think of Science North, usually events and activities to engage kids come to mind, but it has something for all ages.

“The stuff that is here could appeal to whether you are two-years-old or you are 99-years-old, because there is something for everyone here,” she said. “The science that is around is in our every day lives and everyone is curious about that and wants to understand that and or know more about it.”

One of the highlights for kids and adults this year was Entomica’s insectarium that had exotic insects from around the world front and centre, and even up-close and personal.

Jon Welyki got to meet a stick bug as it crawled up his arm, but the insect longer than his hand didn’t bother him.

“They are a lot lighter than you would think that would be,” he said. “I’m not particularly bothered by bugs. I grew up in nature.”

Annik seemed just as enthralled with the bugs as Jon and he said the carnival was a great way for the kids to get close to some interesting insects and learn some new things.

And that is what Science North’s festival and carnival are all about, finding answers to questions that everyone wants to ask, because no matter how old you are, there will always be questions that need answering.

“Science really holds the answers to all of our questions,” Kerton said. “Why is the sky blue, how is a rainbow formed, why is that fox behaving in that way, how do owls hear. In those questions, there are answers we can find using science.”



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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