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STEM Programs

Actua members offer life-changing innovative programs to youth in every province and territory, reaching 500 communities annually across the country. They connect youth with the science that surrounds them in their everyday lives. Programs are designed to spark ideas, build critical and creative thinking skills, ignite a love for science, get youth thinking about their career path in a whole new light, and ultimately, foster a culture of innovation. The initiatives developed are community-based. Within the programs described below, members also deliver specialized barrier-breaking programs for under-represented and under-served youth. 

Day Camps: Members offer camps on university and college campuses as well as in dozens of satellite locations across Canada. Being on-campus allows participants to be close-by for lab tours and presentations by expert university researchers. The camps also introduce youth to the university and college environment in a positive light and demonstrate the wealth of resources available to them as a future post-secondary student.  Designed with both group collaboration and individual activities in mind, our camps combine engaging demonstrations and presentations from mentors and hands-on invention and building projects that get campers using real tools and instruments.A wide variety of STEM fields are covered. Some specialty camps offer themed weeks such as robotics and life sciences.   

Workshops: Members deliver school worskshops year-round. Workshops are designed to enhance the schools' science curriculum and provide a resource for teachers, who can easily replicate many of the activities in the workshops.  The workshops also serve as a great introduction to the summer camps and bust the myth that science camps are only for the “smart kids.” The workshops typically last 1 ½ to 3 hours – just enough time for the students to realize that learning science and engaging in hands-on science activities can be a tremendous amount of fun. 

Clubs: Clubs offered by members generally meet once or twice a month throughout the school year, either during school or after regular school hours.  Many of the clubs offered are all-girls clubs and provide girls with the opportunity to invent, design, build and lead.  The girls also  interact with female mentors through presentations and field trips to university and college campuses, museums, local factories and other places of interest. This program is designed to promote opportunities in STEM to girls, especially in those areas where women are so greatly underrepresented.

Community Outreach Initiatives: Beyond the workshops, camps, and clubs, our members take every advantage to promote their programming to wider youth audiences through various community outreach events. Initiatives can include a taste of our programming at a community event or a special demonstration at a local science fair.  Our members are always looking for unique and meaningful ways to engage more youth in science.