Nova Scotia Students Celebrate National Youth Science Month

Harvesting space tomatoes and cultivating wind energy are two examples of what Nova Scotia students are doing for Youth Science Month.

"Science is helping to mold the minds of Nova Scotia's future inventors and researchers," said Education Minister Marilyn More. "When learning opportunities are presented in a fun and interesting way, there is no limit to the exciting discoveries students can make."

Youth Science Month was created by Youth Science Canada to acknowledge the interesting and innovative discoveries students are making in science. In Nova Scotia, science curriculum promotes hands-on, minds-on learning. Through problem-solving, inquiry and decision-making, science embraces discovery and fun.

"Students are naturally curious, and science gives them an opportunity to explore their interests, and make decisions about some really exciting and complex things," said Joyce Morrison, principal of Greenfield Elementary in New Waterford. "If you give students the right tools and learning environment, they will explore."

Projects like the Tomatosphere work to promote exploration and fun learning. Tomatoshpere is an educational outreach project that teaches thousands of students from across the country about space, food and nutrition. Using tomato seeds that have travelled from Earth to the International Space Station and back, students are meant to discover ways to provide nutritious foods for space living that will support space crews for long periods of time. Hundreds of Nova Scotia students have participated in Tomatoshpere with great success.

"Science is no longer predominately about reading and researching, it is about doing and thinking," said Marilyn Webster, science consultant for the Department of Education. "Exploring using skills and critical inquiry engages the students in their learning and this produces questioners and thinkers."

The Energy Around Us program teaches discovery through experimentation. A joint initiative of the departments of Education and Energy, the program gets Grade 9 students thinking about alternate energy sources and comparing them to wind.

A series of resources will be provided to selected classrooms across the province to help students develop a deeper understanding of sustainable development issues, including the connection between energy and climate change. Students will also be challenged to come up with ideas around what they can do to make a difference in their communities through renewable energy.

Students will present their findings during a celebration event in June.

During this month and April, students will also showcase their talents, abilities and creativity at a series of regional science fairs. The fairs inspire the entrepreneurs and scientists of tomorrow by encouraging science program and innovative learning.

For more information about regional science fairs, visit www.sciencefairinfo.ns.ca .