Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
August 06, 2003
Creative Encounters celebrates 10th anniversary
Creative Encounters, the University of Guelph's award-winning science, technology and engineering camp, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary August 15 with activities for parents and students starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Thornbrough Building.
Over the past decade, Creative Encounters has introduced thousands of young people to the worlds of science, engineering and technology in a fun, hands-on and interactive manner. The anniversary celebration will allow participants to see highlights of the last ten years and feast on a barbecue.
"It's exciting to look back and see the difference that has been made in children's lives over the years," said Ashley Wilson, Creative Encounters co-director and a molecular biology and genetics student. Added co-director and biological engineering graduate Ryan Gervais, "Our success has been the result of the hard work of many dedicated undergraduate science and engineering students at the University of Guelph, as well as strong support from the Guelph community."
Creative Encounters affects the lives of close to 10,000 children ages 9 to 16 annually through summer camp and community programs. The programs include a one-week science and engineering camps for grades 4 to 8; PAGES, an overnight science camp for girls entering grades 7 and 8; and TechQuest, a camp that teaches the fundamentals of the Internet, Web site design, graphic manipulations, programming, electronics and robotics. The curriculum changes each year to attract and maintain interest.
In addition to the summer camps, Creative Encounters holds more than 200 workshops in public schools in May and June on science and engineering and runs the All-Girls Science and Engineering Club, an extension of PAGES for girls aged 12 to 15 that meets once a month to participate in the common pursuit of scientific discovery and social camaraderie.
Creative Encounters is an entirely student run, not-for-profit organization, affiliated with U of G's school of engineering and a member of Actua, a national, not-for-profit organization that provides training, resources and support to 28 organizations offering science and technology education programs to over 240,000 youth annually. As a member of Actua, Creative Encounters receives support through many leading national and international companies such as Merck Frosst, the Government of Ontario, Hewlett-Packard, NSERC, RBC Royal Bank, Shell (Canada), the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, and L'Oréal Canada.
For more information, visit the Web site, www.thinkbig.at/creativeencounters.
Contact:
Ashley Wilson and Ryan Gervais
Creative Encounters Co-Directors
University of Guelph
(519) 824-4120, Ext. 53045 or cse@uoguelph.ca
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt (519) 824-4120, Ext. 53338, or Rachelle Cooper, (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982.
