This past February, Mr. Wayne Clark, Yorkton Regional High School senior science teacher, escorted seven scientifically-minded students to the Canadian Light Source (Synchrotron) in Saskatoon.
Cordell Young, Jonathan Machnee, Kali Meszaros, Brandon Campbell, Matthew Tripp, Adesawa Oloko, and Hayley Popick engaged in authentic real-world science as they used the amazing capabilities of the largest new science facility in Canada. The group enjoyed the experience so much that they were provided the opportunity to share a presentation with the Board of Education prior to the Board's regular meeting on Thursday, April 21.
Students on the Beamlines gets high school students from across Canada directly involved in cutting-edge scientific research at the Canadian Light Source. The program is supported by NSERC, PromoScience and the Canadian Light Source.
The group of budding scientists attended a three-day session. On the first day, they were provided with an orientation to the facility and a session on how the Synchrotron works. Similar to a group of researchers, the students needed to formulate a hypothesis that they intended to test the following day. The experiment is run on the second day and the third day is spent pouring over the observations and determining scientific conclusions according to the data gathered. Not only do students undertake the experience of working in a world-class facility, but they come to realize that science is not "cookie-cutter"; it is not like a textbook where there is one definitive answer to a question but rather numerous unknown variables come into play that can change the outcome immeasurably.
"The Students on the Beamlines Project provided me with an amazing experience," states Brandon Campbell, one of the student participants. "It allowed me an opportunity to work at a world-class facility that scientists and researchers from around the world regularly use."
Hayley Popick explained, "It was challenging and at times frustrating to take the concepts that we had quickly learned and try to apply them to our experiment without much outside help. Then seeing that our experiment worked and gathering conclusions felt like so much more of an achievement."
The Board of Education espouses the virtues of hands-on academic experiences and appreciates the opportunity to share such learning adventures as this directly with staff and students. "It is interesting to see that our local students can take advantage of world-class facilities such as the Canadian Light Source to further their studies in the area of science," states Raymond Sass, Board Chair.
"Successful field trips such as this may indeed shape a young mind to make a career decision towards a specific area of study they didn't necessarily have access to in the past."
For further information, contact Dwayne Reeve, Director of Education, at 786-5500 or visit the Canadian Light Source website at www.lightsource.ca/media/quickfacts.php.
