LU Let's Talk getting students 'AMP'-ed for science

Beeeeeep. Beeeeeep. Beeeeeep.

Slap.

Snooze? No time.

It’s early Friday morning and time to wake up. And not 8:30 a.m.-class early, even earlier.

That’s what the occasional Friday morning of a Laurentian University Let’s Talk Science volunteer looks like.

Ten to 12 undergraduate students volunteered four of their precious winter-semester Fridays to participate in the Aboriginal Mentorship Program (AMP), organized through Let’s Talk Science, a national not-for-profit science outreach organization.

Why such an early wake up? They’re heading to Wasse-Abin High School in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island.

Upon arrival, and after the teacher gets the 20 to 30 students settled down, Luc Boileau, Laurentian’s Let's Talk Science co-ordinator, teaches the students about important aspects of a scientific experiment.

On this particular day, the topic was variables and replicates. Pretty challenging to make this interesting, but Boileau involves students in a small, but engaging science experiment to pique their interest.

Next, the volunteers and students break up into groups to talk science fair projects.

During the four visits throughout the semester, the Laurentian volunteers acted as mentors for teams of two or three students. The projects range from determining how different types of music — classical, techno, rap — affect memory, to seeing which kinds of metals make the best batteries, to how coffee affects a person’s heart rate.

The goal of the program is not to transform every student into a scientist, but to increase their interest in school and engage them in the scientific process.

And the fun doesn’t stop in the classroom. On May 7-9, the students from Wasse-Abin High School took a field trip to Sudbury to get the full university experience. They showcased their science fair projects at Cambrian College, slept at Laurentian’s residence and toured the schools and the city.

Funding for the Aboriginal Mentorship Program was provided by Cancer Care Ontario, Let’s Talk Science, and the Office of the Dean of Science, Engineering and Architecture at Laurentian University.