Faculty Annual Outreach Programs

The following is a list of outreach programs from the Engineering Student Recruitment and Outreach Office.

SCI-Camp 
The SCI-camp program is a week-long day camp for students in grades 1- 6. The program aims to enhance students’ interest in science, Engineering and technology through fun, hands-on activities and interactive presentations. SCI-camp, previously known as Science Outreach, joined ESROO in 2004. Since that time, the number of participants has more than tripled.

Science and Engineering Outreach In-School Workshops
During the school year ESROO offers a variety of hands-on, curriculum-specific science and Engineering workshops that take place in schools across Ontario. The Science Outreach In-School Workshop program is available for K-8 and the DEEP In-School Workshop program is available for grades 9-12. A total of 1,235 Science Outreach In-School Workshops and DEEP In-School Workshops were delivered in 2006-2007, reaching over 32,500 students. The Science Outreach In-School Workshop Program has been in operation since 1989 and the DEEP In-School Workshop Program was created in 2006.

Saturday Science & Engineering Academy
The Saturday Science & Engineering Academy is an academic program intended for students with a keen interest in science, applied science, Engineering or technology. The program is offered to students from grades 3 - 12. In the inaugural 2006 – 2007 academic year, a total of 189 students participated in the program.

Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP)
DEEP is a summer mini-course program designed for students in grades 9 to 12. The program was created in 2003 and offers high school students the opportunity for advanced study in a variety of pioneering areas within Engineering, science and technology. DEEP offers the most diverse range of pre-university Engineering and science courses in North America. This summer 895 students from across the globe participated over the four weeks of the program.

Jr. DEEP 
Jr. DEEP is a week-long mini-course program for students in grades 7 - 8. This program seeks to introduce students to stimulating and innovative aspects of science, applied science and technology through challenging and innovative hands-on activities and course work. Jr. DEEP was developed in the summer of 2005 as part of ESROO’s plan to cultivate the interests of students in grades 7 - 8 in science and Engineering. This summer the SCI-camp and Jr. DEEP programs were offered at 15 different locations across the Greater Toronto Area. Over the 8 weeks of camp, a total of 4,802 students participated and over $40,000 in bursaries were awarded to students in need.

DEEP In-School Workshops
During the school year ESROO offers a variety of hands-on, curriculum-specific science and Engineering workshops that take place in schools across Ontario. The Science Outreach In-School Workshop program is available for K - 8 and the DEEP In-School Workshop program is available for grades 9 - 12. A total of 1,235 Science Outreach In-School Workshops and DEEP In-School Workshops were delivered in 2006-2007, reaching over 32,500 students. The Science Outreach In-School Workshop Program has been in operation since 1989 and the DEEP In-School Workshop Program was created in 2006.

RobotX
The RobotX program is a week-long robotics immersion program that introduces high school participants to key concepts in mechatronics, robotics, nanotechnology and circuitry. Program participants work in teams to design, build and battle their own robot. The program also seeks to connect these motivated students with university students, researchers and faculty members. In its first year in May of 2007, the RobotX program hosted 15 high school students.

Targeted Outreach Programs

Girls Club
The Girls Club is a Saturday program especially designed for girls in grades 3 - 8. The program aims to inspire and encourage girls to pursue their interests in science and Engineering. Girls Club members experience hands-on science, participate in design projects and meet strong female role models. The Girls Club was first established in 2003 and since that time has welcomed well over 300 participants. In the 2006 – 2007 academic year, a total of 82 girls participated in the program and a total of 30 full bursaries were awarded.

Girls Week During SCI-Camp / Jr. DEEP
For one week of the summer, SCI-camp and Jr. DEEP offer an all-girls week. During this week, the girls participate in a variety of special presentations and mentorship events aimed at promoting self-confidence and encouraging interest in science and Engineering. In the summer of 2007, Girls Week welcomed 237 girls and awarded 66 bursaries totaling over $12,000.

Go Eng Girl
Go Eng Girl is an annual province-wide event that takes place at 12 locations across Ontario. Go Eng Girl first took place in 2005. ESROO plays a key role in the annual Toronto-area Go Eng Girl event by providing the curriculum training and overseeing the delivery of the hands-on science and Engineering activities. This event was created as a way to give adolescent girls the opportunity to experience and explore the field of Engineering and to meet inspirational women currently studying and working in the field.

Skule™ Sisters Mentorship 
Skule™ Sisters is a new program developed by ESROO in 2006 that resulted from the need to remove the stigma of Engineering as a male profession. The program partners a second year female Engineering student with a female tenth grade student in a three-year mentoring partnership as each student progresses through their respective studies. In its inaugural year, the program had 25 mentorship pairs. The plan is to increase this number to 100 pairs this upcoming year.

Regent Park Science Outreach
The newest initiative of ESROO is the Regent Park Community Science Camp. This initiative took a team of 6 science instructors in August 2007 into the Nelson Mandela Park Public School in Regent Park to host a week-long science day camp for its young community. Regent Park is a part of Toronto that is widely-known as a “community in need” with many of the families in the area being of very low economic status, and the area itself known as a high-crime, government-assisted, high-need area of downtown Toronto. This camp was offered free of charge to the 51 students that participated this summer.

Workshops (Roadtrips) in Northern Ontario & Aboriginal Traveling Workshops
From May to August, ESROO sends a staff of science instructors to deliver hands-on science and Engineering activities to K-8 students in schools, in Aboriginal Centres and on First Nations Reserves in Northwestern and South Central Ontario. Over 3,300 students participated in this initiative in the spring and summer of 2007.

Summer Mentorship Program (STEM)
The STEM program offers high school students the opportunity to explore science, technology, Engineering and mathematics through lab work, design projects, field trips and interactive presentations. The program is intended for students from underrepresented or marginalized groups who are deemed to have the potential for post-secondary studies but who are not realizing their potential. The program aims to introduce the participants to role models and experiences get them excited about STEM. Upon successful completion of the program, participants earn one high school co-operative education credit. STEM created in 2006 had 16 participants in 2007.

Visions of Science Camp
In the summer of 2005, ESROO partnered with the organization Visions of Science to send a group of science instructors to numerous African- and Caribbean-Canadian community camps. Each summer the team of instructors travels to these camps to deliver hands-on science, Engineering and technology activities to the campers. To date the program has reached over 3,400 student participants.

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