Education: Science East will bring hands-on learning experience to northern students

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Adam Huras
Telegraph-Journal

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The provincial government is putting funds into an outreach program to increase science literacy in northern New Brunswick.

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David Smith

Roland Haché

Education Minister Roland Haché announced on Monday that $225,000 will be spent a program that will bring a number of Fredericton-based Science East workshops to the Acadian coast.

"This gives us more of a chance to take things on the road, to actually reach into an audience that typically doesn't get the advantages of the larger centres," said Science East CEO David Desjardins.

New Brunswick's hands-on science centre in Fredericton has more than 100 exhibits that illustrate the basics of science.

Since 1994, Science East has been taking its travelling exhibits to libraries, schools, museums and exhibition centres, visiting more than 100 locations in more than 60 communities in New Brunswick.

The staff has set up community nights in the past in the northern regions of the province.

"We are going to take off from that particular program and expand into science nights in general," Desjardins said.

Desjardins said the provincial funding will also allow a team from Science East to spend at least one week per month in northern schools from Grand Falls to Bouctouche and northward.

The announcement was made in Beresford on Monday at Carrefour Étudiant, which will be the first school to benefit from the expanded program. The funding was provided through the Regional Development Corporation.

Workshops conducted along the Acadian coast will see students engage in the exploration of scientific principles. The lessons will adapt to the more difficult curriculum units such as weather, electricity and magnetism.

It will also help in developing science fair competitions in the north.

"It depends what the needs are of the students," Desjardins said. "Normally we will go to a school for the day and each class will spend time with us."