Local youth see fun side of science

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Students from Athabasca Delta Community School found that science can be fun during the Fort Chipewyan Suncor Science Festival 2000 May 1 to 8.

The event was organized through the Science Alberta Foundation, which provides programs and services designed to promote "the advancement, learning and valuing of science and technology in everyday life." Suncor Energy Foundation was the sponsoring partner.

Students took part in "Science at Work," where they got some hands-on experience of how science is used in every day life. They learned about such things as the chemical reactions involved in baking, during a visit to the Fort Chipewyan Lodge; took in an examination of x-ray technology during a visit to the Nunee Health Authority's nursing station, and discovered how water is tested at the water treatment plant.

Other events included a play about climate change, a visit to a portable planetarium, sessions on plant medicine, a science and technology showcase, and a field trip to the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association's air quality monitoring station. The festival was capped off with presentations by Bob McDonald of CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks.

Other organizations involved in the science festival were the Mikisew Cree First Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Metis Association, and Athabasca Delta Community School, as well as Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., the RCMP, Parks Canada, Alberta Environment, Environment Canada, Operation Minerva, Ducks Unlimited, the Municipality of Wood Buffalo, the Kewatinok Recreation Society, and the Fort Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum.