Royal City Science’s first-ever Curiosity Carnival sparked wonder for children looking to try science activities.
The free event was held at the University of Guelph this weekend. There were science busking tables in the lobby of the MacKinnon building for people to learn about different aspects of science.
There were also planetarium shows using Royal City Science’s new mobile planetarium.
“So we are like, over the moon about our planetarium. So I think that enthusiasm probably spreads. We're so excited to be welcoming our first public shows this weekend,” said Joanne O’Meara, co-founder of Royal City Science and U of G physics professor.
Six different organizations like Creative Encounters, Let’s Talk Science and the Ontario Agriculture College were showcased.
O’Meara hopes people who come through the carnival play, learn and ask questions.
The Tourism Innovation Lab, a non-profit tourism organization, provided funding for the event. The Royal City Science team will get feedback about the event through forms handed out on the weekend. After reviewing the feedback O’Meara hopes to put on the event again.
Beatrix Morrison is nine-years-old and had the idea to bring her aunt to the Curiosity Carnival. She made a stop motion video titled Animals Takeover.
“So we were doing stop motion and I made a little video about a porcupine and a chicken and a fish fighting over space,” said Morrison.
Morrison is creative so she enjoyed mixing creativity and science together.
The tools used to make the stop motion are accessible, said Melissa Helwig, Morrison’s aunt. “So it's things that she can do here and then take home and continue to build on,” she said.
“It's nice to see local events happening at the university,” and it’s a great way to bring the community here, said Helwig.
Melissa Brooks’ six-year-old son Connor Robinson is really interested in science. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree since his mom graduated from U of G with a degree in science and she works in the preclinical research industry.
“My husband saw this and was like, it's right up his alley. So we figured we would come out and check it out. So we do a lot of science stuff at home,” said Brooks.
Her son enjoys science kits and STEM related activities which is what the carnival was all about.
One of the activities at the event was a sniff test where people would sniff letter labelled bottles and guess what the scent is. Green apple, ginger, and raspberry were a couple of the smells.
“So it's how you learn to use your senses without using all your other senses,” said Rachel Chater, liaison officer for the Ontario Agricultural College.
It shows how the human body relies on other senses like smell, sight and taste to determine a smell, she said.
“So this is definitely a great opportunity for families to just get a little more of an understanding for science. How science plays in everyday rules for even their children, as well as just being able to connect with those certain science backgrounds,” said Chater.
The Curiosity Carnival continues on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the MacKinnon building and there is a movie screening at 6 p.m.
