THUNDER BAY – Science North’s 2024 Science Festival kicked off on Thursday with the return of a much-loved historical science exhibit.
The Thunder Bay Science Festival is returning for its 12th annual celebration of science and technology from Feb. 18 to 24, starting with the Indigenous Ingenuity Travelling Exhibition.
The exhibition, which has previously been at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, is being hosted by the Thunder Bay Museum this year.
Museum director Scott Bradley said he and his team are very excited to have it.
“Science North has kind of retooled it so it can fit into smaller centres and be able to travel to places that maybe don't have a spare 2,000 square-foot room. And so we're very excited that they did that and we were able to bring it back to Thunder Bay to our patrons and give more people an opportunity to experience it,” he said.
“We have newer generations of kids coming up through school and the more they get to experience something like this the better.”
Along with science of the past, the festival will celebrate and demonstrate modern sciences with a myriad of activities across the city.
“It is a wonderful moment when we can have so many incredible things happening in our community and we know that Indigenous knowledge is the first science,” said Emily Kerton, project lead with the northwest expansion project and Indigenous initiatives with Science North.
“It's great to be able to showcase the Indigenous ingenuity exhibit at the same time as our Thunder Bay-based science festival.”
This year, the festival lineup includes the Science of Sound featuring the Tamarack Wind Quintet; Science at Snowday on the waterfront; and Nerd Night at the Sleeping Giant Brewery. The week wraps up with the Science Carnival on Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Intercity Shopping Centre.
For more information about the Indigenous Ingenuity exhibit and upcoming stops on the tour, visit sciencenorth.ca/indigenous-ingenuity
For Thunder Bay Science Festival event details, visit sciencenorth.ca/scifest
